Spontaneous degenerative polioencephalomyelopathy in feeder pigs--a new motor neuron disease?

A central nervous disorder occurred spontaneously in a herd of feeder pigs characterized by muscle fasciculations, convulsions, squealing, and acute death in numerous animals. Histopathology revealed a degenerative poliomyeloencephalopathy of brain stem and spinal cord consisting of neuronal hypertrophy, chromatolysis, neuronophagia, and satellitosis associated with Wallerian degeneration of ventral rootlets and neurogenic muscle atrophy of limb musculature. The sudden onset of clinical signs and the pattern of morphological findings were suggestive of intoxication. Though parathion was found in two animals, serum acetylcholine esterase activity and morphological findings were not compatible with an organophosphate poisoning. A hereditary disorder was excluded by genetic analysis. Summarized findings in the present cases are reminiscent of changes observed in ruminants suffering from patulin poisoning, a neuromycotoxicosis caused by Aspergillus clavatus. However, toxicological and microbiological investigations failed to identify the cause of this unusual and so far not described disease in pigs. Morphologically, lesion distribution and alterations of motor neurons resemble changes observed in equine motor neuron disease, spinal muscular atrophy of certain canine breeds, and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (Lou Gehrig's disease) in man. Therefore, the term spontaneous porcine motor neuron disease (SPMND) is proposed for this new and unique entitiy.

A method to determine suitable fluoroscopic projections for transcatheter aortic valve implantation by computed tomography.

BACKGROUND: In transcatheter aortic valve implantation (TAVI), optimal selection of fluoroscopic projections that permit orthogonal visualization of the aortic valve plane is important but may be difficult to achieve. OBJECTIVE: We developed and validated a simple method to predict suitable fluoroscopic projections on the basis of cardiac CT datasets. METHODS: In 75 consecutive patients that underwent TAVI, angulations in which a 35-mm thick maximum intensity projection would render all aortic valve calcium into 1 plane were determined by manual interaction with contrast-enhanced dual-source CT datasets. TAVI operators used the predicted angulation for the first aortic angiogram and performed additional aortic angiograms if no satisfactory view of the aortic valve plane was obtained. Predicted angulations were compared with the angulation used for valve implantation. Radiation exposure and contrast use was compared between patients with accurate prediction of fluoroscopic angulations by CT and patients in whom CT failed to predict a suitable view. RESULTS: The mean difference between the predicted angulation according to CT and the angulation used for implantation was 3 ± 6 degrees. CT predicted a suitable angulation (<5-degree deviation) in 63 of 75 cases (84%). The mean number of aortic angiograms acquired in patients with correct prediction (1.02 ± 0.1) was significantly lower than in patients with incorrect prediction of the implantation angle by CT (3.0 ± 1.7; P < 0.001). Contrast agent required for the entire TAVI procedure was lower in patients with correct prediction (72 ± 36 mL vs 106 ± 39 mL; P = 0.001). CONCLUSION: CT permits prediction of suitable angulations for TAVI in most cases.

A proposal for standardization in forensic canine DNA typing: allele nomenclature of six canine-specific STR loci.

In this study a proposal for the allele nomenclature of six polymorphic short tandem repeat (STR) loci (PEZ3, PEZ6, PEZ8, PEZ10, FHC2161, and FHC2328) for canine genotyping (Canis lupus familiaris) is presented. The nomenclature is based on the sequence data of the polymorphic region of the microsatellite markers as recommended by the DNA commission of the International Society of Forensic Haemogenetics (ISFH) in 1994 for human DNA typing. To cover commonly and rarely occurring alleles, a selection of homozygous and heterozygous animals were analyzed and subjected to sequence studies. The alleles consisted of simple tri- and tetra-nucleotide repeat patterns as well as compound and highly complex repeat patterns. Several alleles revealing the same fragment size but different repeat structures were found. The allele designation described here was adopted to the number of repeats, including all variable regions within the amplified fragment. In a second step the most commonly occurring alleles were added to an allelic ladder for each marker allowing a reliable typing of all alleles differing in size. A total number of 142 unrelated dogs from surrounding municipal animal homes, private households, and canines in police duty were analyzed. The data were added to a population database providing allele frequencies for each marker.

Diagnostic polymorphisms in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene allow discrimination between cattle, sheep, goat, roe buck and deer by PCR-RFLP.

BACKGROUND: As an alternative to direct DNA sequencing of PCR products, random PCR-RFLP is an efficient technique to discriminate between species. The PCR-RFLP-method is an inexpensive tool in forensic science, even if the template is degraded or contains only traces of DNA from various species. RESULTS: Interspecies-specific DNA sequence polymorphisms in the mitochondrial cytochrome b gene were analyzed using PCR-RFLP technology to determine the source (i.e., species) of blood traces obtained from a leaf. CONCLUSIONS: The method presented can be used for the discrimination of cattle (Bos taurus), sheep (Ovis aries), goat (Capra hircus), roe buck (Capreolus capreolus) and red deer (Cervus elaphus).

Analysis of sequence variability of the bovine prion protein gene (PRNP) in German cattle breeds.

Different alleles of the prion protein gene (PRNP) of human and sheep are known to be associated with varying susceptibilities to transmissible spongiform encephalopathies. However, no polymorphisms in the bovine PRNP gene with an effect on susceptibility to prion diseases have been identified to date. In this study we investigated such polymorphisms in German cattle; 48 healthy animals from six different German cattle breeds and 43 cattle with bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE) were analyzed. In contrast to previous studies, all three exons as well as the promoter region of the PRNP gene were investigated. Sequence variants in the bovine PRNP gene could have an impact on the amino acid sequence or the expression level of the prion protein and thus on susceptibility to BSE. We identified a total of 60 polymorphisms in the PRNP gene of German cattle. Of these 60 polymorphisms, 36 were newly identified, whereas 24 of these polymorphisms had been described previously. We did not detect any novel polymorphisms affecting the amino acid sequence of the prion protein. However, we identified a 23-bp insertion/deletion polymorphism in the putative PRNP promoter region that shows a significant association with BSE susceptibility in our animals.