ABSTRACT
Myxomatous mitral valve degeneration (MMVD) or endocardiosis is a heart valve disease that occurs in many mammalian species, especially in humans, dogs and pigs. Nitric oxide (NO) plays an important role in the MMVD development. NO can be indirectly evaluated by the nitric-oxide synthase (NOS) expression and by the histochemical reaction of nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide phosphate-diaphorase (NADPH-d). The aim of this study was to evaluate NOS activity, by NADPH-d reaction, in the anterior leaflet of dogs with regular mitral valves and in those with MMVD, as well as in young swine and old females, comparing the reaction level with the degree of endocardiosis disease and also the histological alterations. Twelve mitral valves of dogs and 22 of swine were used for the research. All the valves were macroscopically analyzed for the occurrence or not of endocardiosis. They were fixed in a 4% paraformaldehyde, exposed to NADPH-d reaction, routinely processed and microscopically evaluated for the detection of mucopolysaccharides (MPS) deposition, collagen degeneration, fibrosis and level of endocardiosis. In dogs, relation was observed between higher intensity of the NADPH-d reaction, higher endocardiosis degree, MPS deposition as well as the collagen degeneration. No alteration in color was observed in pigs´ valves during NADPH-d reaction. In conclusion, NO works in canine mitral
ABSTRACT
The purpose of this paper is to establish criteria that could guide the diagnosis, prognosis and treatment of canine mammary neoplasias. It was elaborated during the Mammary Pathology Meeting: Diagnosis, Prognosis and Treatment of the Canine Mammary Neoplasm, held on November 6th and 7th, 2010 in Belo Horizonte MG, Brazil, sponsored by the Laboratory of Comparative Pathology UFMG, with the support of the Brazilian Association of Veterinary Pathology (ABPV) and Brazilian Association of Veterinary Oncology (ABROVET). Academics from several regions of Brazil were present and contributed to this work.
ABSTRACT
The present report describes the occurrence of skin metastasis in a dog with primary renal carcinoma. The clinical findings included progressive weight loss, inappetence, palpable abdominal mass and cutaneous tumor. The histopathological examination was carried out after unilateral nephrectomy and was confirmed by immunohistochemistry. The immunohistochemical and histopathological findings characterized this case as renal cell carcinoma with skin metastasis.
ABSTRACT
Nodular fasciitis is a benign soft tissue lesion commonly diagnosed in human beings, but with rare description in dogs and cats. A female, spayed, 7.5 years old, otherwise healthy Labrador was examined because of a nodular growth of rapid development in the infraorbital region. The histopathological examination from the excisional biopsy revealed a well circumscribed proliferation of plump and moderately pleomorphic fibroblasts and vascular proliferation with a small central area of degeneration. Nodular fasciitis was diagnosed and several months pos surgical excision, no recurrence was observed. This report illustrates an histologically well circumscribed lesion of cutaneous nodular fasciitis in a dog, similar to some lesions in human beings and different from what is usually reported in veterinary patients.
ABSTRACT
Inflammatory mammary carcinoma (IMC) is a unique form of mammary cancer that affects women and female dogs. Hallmarks of IMC include clinical signs of inflammed affected glands and invasion of dermal lymphatics by tumor cells. Due to locally aggressive behavior and high metastatic rate, prognosis is considered poor. No satisfactory treatment has been suggested in veterinary medicine. The goal of this study was to evaluate the immunoreactivity for estrogen and progesterone receptors and cell proliferative indexes in nine cases of canine IMC. Estrogen and progesterone receptors were negative in all cases. For cell proliferative indexes, the mean number of neoplastic cells staining positive for Ki-67 and PCNA were 4.47% and 20.81%, respectively. Lack of estrogen and progesterone receptor expression, suggesting an undifferentiated phenotype, in conjunction with a relatively high proliferative capacity reflected by Ki-67 and PCNA staining are features typical of many clinically aggressive neoplasms, including canine IMC.