Concurrent toxoplasmosis and feline infectious peritonitis in a cat.

A 13-year-old, 4-kg, neutered male Maine coon presented with ascites. Toxoplasma gondii tachyzoites were seen within neutrophils and macrophages, and free within the abdominal fluid. At necropsy, many abdominal organs were positive for feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) antigens using immunohistochemical staining. This apparently is the first report of concurrent toxoplasmosis and FIP in a domestic cat.

Skeletal changes in multiparous and nulliparous mice fed a nutrient-deficient diet containing cadmium.

Female mice were given nutrient-deficient, purified diets containing either 0.25 (environmental), 5, or 50 ppm Cd; the nutrient quality of each was patterned after deficiencies known to be present in food consumed by Japanese women who contracted Itai-Itai disease. One-half of the mice were bred for six consecutive, 42-day rounds of pregnancy/lactation (PL mice); remaining females were non-pregnant, virgin controls (NP mice). PL and NP mice were sacrificed at the end of rounds 1, 2, 3, 5, or 6. PL mice taken during the first three rounds were successively pregnant; those taken in later rounds experienced gestation/lactation either four (round 5) or three (round 6) non-successive times. No consistent round-by-round decreases in diet consumption or body weight occurred among NP mice during the 252 days of cadmium exposure, however a significant decrease in femur calcium content (11-17%) was observed in virgin groups exposed to 50 vs. 0.25 ppm Cd. Similar femur decalcification (14-20%) was observed in PL mice, however calcium loss at 50 ppm Cd paralleled decreases in food consumption (24%) and body weight (9-17%). Significant but smaller decreases in the calcium/dry weight (Ca/DW) ratio were found for NP and PL groups consuming 50 ppm dietary Cd. Over the 6-round experiment, exposure to cadmium was found to effect smaller decreases in both femur Ca content and Ca/DW ratio than either consumption of nutrient-deficient diet or multiparous experience. Demineralization results for PL mice provide evidence that the combination of chronic ingestion of cadmium in a nutrient-deficient diet and multiparous activity likely played a role in the etiology of Itai-Itai disease; results for NP mice additionally suggest that decalcification may have been initiated in human females at a time prior to the multiparous and menopausal stages of life.

Cadmium-109 metabolism in mice. IV. Diet versus maternal stores as a source of cadmium transfer to mouse fetuses and pups during gestation and lactation.

The transfer of 109Cd from dam to offspring during gestation and lactation was studied in uniparous mice. From 70 to 210 d of age and during the subsequent reproductive period, young adult female mice received drinking water containing tracer amounts of 109Cd (8 ppb total Cd) and nutrient-sufficient or -deficient solid diet containing stable Cd (5 ppm Cd). The nutrient quality of the deficient diet was patterned after that consumed by Japanese women who contracted itai-itai disease. To evaluate established maternal stores as a potential source of cadmium transfer to pups, some dams were switched to water with no 109Cd and diet with an environmental or control level of cadmium (0.25 ppm Cd) during the reproductive period. The resulting pups were analyzed for 109Cd at birth and at 7-d intervals throughout the lactation period. Pup 109Cd content at birth, representative of the amount transferred via the placenta during gestation, accounted for less than 1% of the total 109Cd transferred during the full reproductive period. During lactation, 109Cd levels in pups from dams with current 109Cd exposure approximately tripled with each 7-d interval; no significant differences occurred due to nutrient quality of the dams' diet. For 21-d-old pups, 98% of the 109Cd burden came from the diet of the dam, while only 2% came from her tissue stores, primarily the hepatic one. Such fractions represented a transfer per pup of about 0.01% of the oral 109Cd dose ingested by the dam during the reproductive period and about 0.05% of the 109Cd in her tissue stores. Overall, transfer per litter amounted to about 7% of the dietary 109Cd dose absorbed and retained by the dam during that interval and about 0.2% of the 109Cd from tissue stores. On lactation d 21, 90% of the total 109Cd in pups was sequestered in the gastrointestinal tract. Cadmium transfer was additionally examined in multiparous mice that began a repetitive breeding program at 70 d of age at the time of introduction to the same diet/water regimens already described. Overall, females consuming nutrient-sufficient diet experienced 5 consecutive 42-d rounds of gestation/lactation, while their deficient diet counterparts experienced 3 nonconsecutive rounds during an equivalent period. Transfer was examined during their last gestation/lactation experience. Throughout the lactation interval, 109Cd transfer to pups was about 30% increased for multiparous versus uniparous females; however, transfer again was not significantly affected by nutrient quality of the dams' diet.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Skeletal changes in multiparous mice fed a nutrient-sufficient diet containing cadmium.

Female mice were given nutrient-sufficient, purified diets containing either 0.25, 5, or 50 ppm Cd. One-half of the females were bred for 6 consecutive 42-day rounds of pregnancy/lactation (PL mice); remaining females were non-pregnant controls (NP mice). PL mice and NP controls were sacrificed after 1, 2, 4, or 6 consecutive rounds of pregnancy/lactation. No consistent, cadmium-dependent decreases in body weight, femur calcium content, or calcium/dry weight (Ca/DW) ratio occurred among the NP mice during the 252 days of cadmium exposure. In contrast, significant, cadmium-dependent decreases in body weight (3-11%), femur calcium content (15-27%), and Ca/DW ratio (5-7%) occurred in the multiparous mice exposed to 50 vs 0.25 ppm Cd. In addition, among the PL mice, the effect of cadmium was dose-dependent, with femur calcium contents decreasing significantly as the cadmium exposure level increased from 0.25 to 5 then 50 ppm Cd (P less than 0.05). Results demonstrate that dietary cadmium exposure had a greater effect on the skeletons of dams exposed to cadmium during the stresses of pregnancy and lactation than in non-pregnant controls. The results provide evidence that the combination of cadmium exposure and multiparity may have played a role in the etiology of Itai-Itai disease in Japan.

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the head and neck.

Eight cases, the largest series of malignant fibrous histiocytomas of the head and neck to date, are reported. In over one-half of the cases, the initial problems encountered in the case made the true diagnosis misleading. For correct diagnosis multiple biopsies may be required. The diagnosis is further confirmed by the clinical behavior of the tumor and its site, size, and depth of involvement. Four specific histopathologic variants are described. Wide surgical excision is the preferrred treatment. The potential role of adjunctive irradiation should be considered.

Head and neck manifestations of SLE.

The records of 100 consecutive patients hospitalized with systemic lupus erythematosus were reviewed, and a 76 percent incidence of head and neck signs and symptoms was found. The findings of this study correlate with previous reports. Although no head and neck manifestations or combination of them is pathognomonic of the disease, the family physician should consider the diagnosis of systemic lupus erythematosus in young adults who present with otherwise unexplained and nonspecific head and neck findings.

Vasodilating agents in augmentation of skin flap survival.

Skin flap necrosis is a serious problem in reconstructive head and neck surgery. Currently, the only clinically effective means of preventing flap necrosis is delay. Hypothesized mechanisms of delayed and experimental methods of increasing flap survival are discussed. Investigative data supporting the use of phentolamine to augment flap survival are presented.

Immediate facial rehabilitation in poor prognosis tumor patients.

Effective rehabilitation of facial paralysis in the poor prognosis tumor patient is best accomplished by the judicious and individualized use of that combination of static or static and dynamic procedures which will correct the major deformities present immediately and with minimal morbidity. This approach may be taken at the time of tumor ablation or later when the effects of paralysis become distressingly evident. In the rare patient whose disease is controlled, additonal dynamic rehabilitative efforts may be considered subsequently.

Malignant fibrous histiocytoma of the larynx.

Fibrous histiocytoma is a rare mesenchymal tumor. The origin is believed to be a pleuri-potential cell, histiocytic in type, which can evolve into a facultative fibroblast under certain conditions. A case of a malignant fibrous histiocytoma in the subglottic larynx is reported. At present, the clinical behavior and degree of malignancy cannot be predicted. It appears that wide, local excision of the tumor with a margin of normal tissue is the treatment of choice. Regional block dissection of lymph nodes is not indicated unless clinically palpable nodes are present.

Clinical course of unusual malignant sarcomas of head and neck.

The clinical manifestations of 29 recently encountered sarcomas of the head and neck were analyzed in an attempt to define more accurately the diagnostic characteristics and therapeutic responses of these unusual tumors. The host factors of age, sex distribution, race, habits and associated features differ sufficiently to distinguish the sarcoma from the carcinoma population. In addition, the clinical course of sarcoma patients as monitored by mode of presentation, site of involvement, tumor histology, diagnostic features and certain elements of management and outcome, further indicates that these tumors can be defined and managed as a distinct group of lesions. A review of the recent literature supports the major conclusions of this study.

Juvenile ossifying fibroma: an ultrastructural study.

The ultrastructural features of a juvenile ossifying fibroma of the maxilla are described. The stromal portion of the tumor was composed of osteoblasts and to a lesser extent of fibroblasts. The bone spicules were rimmed by osteoblasts and osteoclasts. Calcification was seen to occur along the collagen fiber matrix, corresponding to calcification of osteoid, and also in the form of intracellular and extracellular crystallization. The latter form of calcification corresponded to so-called psammoma-like bodies, and was considered characteristic of this subtype of ossifying fibroma.

Does skin have antimicrobial properties? An in-vitro experiment and literature review.

Skin grafts placed over burn wounds were first reported to reduce bacterial growth levels about 20 years ago. Recently, three separate groups of investigators have studied effects of skin in vitro in order to better understand the mechanism of this in vivo phenomenon. Although significant bacterial inhibition was not found, the interaction of host tissue factors with the skin which is possible in vivo was not included in these experiments. Hence, the question of in vitro activity of skin was still not resolved. In this experiment human and pig skin, fresh and preserved, intact and homogenated, were all tested separately with and without active serum against four representative bacteria and one fungus, individually and in mixed cultures. No growth inhibition was observed under any circumstances on daily review for up to three-week periods. In light of conflicting reports related to antibacterial effects of skin grafts used clinically, it now seems important to definitively clarify whether skin really possesses antibacterial properties in vivo.

Facial plexiform neurofibroma.

Facial plexiform neurofibroma is a relatively rare manifestation of Von Recklinghausen's neurofibromatosis. Two patients with extensive facial tumor involvement are presented, each having undergone wide local resection after multiple previous local excisions had failed to control the tumor and its locally deforming and destructive effects. A discussion of the problem, its etiology, pathogenesis, natural history, prognosis and suggested treatment is presented.

"Practical suggestions on facial plastic surgery--how i do it". Management of the dog ear deformity.

The dog ear is a common skin deformity resulting from attempted closure of unfavorably shaped defects or from transfer of many local flaps. Prevention is possible in many instances and surgical correction is usually feasible when the deformity appears.