Wobbly hedgehog syndrome with disseminated histiocytic sarcoma and lateral ventricular meningioma in an African pygmy hedgehog.

An 8-mo-old male African pygmy hedgehog was anorectic and ataxic; physical examination revealed tetraparesis and a gangrenous left hindlimb. Analgesic and supportive care were administered, but the animal died 3 d after presentation. Postmortem examination revealed a histiocytic sarcoma in a mesenteric lymph node with metastasis to several organs, multifocal vacuolation in the cerebral and cerebellar white matter, and a meningioma in the left lateral ventricle. We diagnosed wobbly hedgehog syndrome (WHS) with disseminated histiocytic sarcoma and lateral ventricular meningioma. Ventricular meningioma, a rare neoplasm in veterinary and human patients, has not been reported previously in hedgehogs, to our knowledge. The neurologic signs in our case were probably caused by the WHS-related vacuolar lesions and are consistent with those of reported WHS cases. Duration of illness was shorter than is typical of WHS cases, which might be related to the disseminated histiocytic sarcoma. Clinical relevance of the lateral ventricular meningioma was not evident because the ventricular mass was localized and not invasive.

Evaluation of left ventricular rotation by two-dimensional speckle tracking method and real-time three-dimensional echocardiography: comparison with MRI tagging method.

BACKGROUND: Recently, it has become possible to evaluate left ventricular (LV) torsion by two-dimensional (2D) speckle tracking images. However, LV torsion is a three-dimensional (3D) performance, which per se cannot be assessed by the 2D speckle tracking method. The present study investigated the accuracy of the 2D speckle tracking method and real-time 3D echocardiography in measuring LV rotation, comparing with the MRI tagging method. METHODS: We assessed LV apical rotation using the 2D speckle tracking method, real-time 3D echocardiography, and MRI tagging method in 26 normal subjects, and compared the results of these three methods. LV apical rotation was measured just before the level in which the posterior papillary muscle was absorbed into the free wall. RESULTS: The degree of LV apical rotation evaluated by the 2D speckle tracking method (Δθ 2D) was significantly smaller than that evaluated by 3D echocardiography (Δθ 3D) and the MRI tagging method (Δθ MRI) (Δθ 2D 7.3 ± 2.8°; Δθ 3D 8.8 ± 3.4°; Δθ MRI 9.0 ± 3.4°; Δθ 2D vs. Δθ 3D, p = 0.0001; Δθ 2D vs. Δθ MRI, p < 0.0001). There were good correlations among Δθ 2D, Δθ 3D, and Δθ MRI, but agreement between Δθ 3D and Δθ MRI (mean difference 0.14 ± 1.43°) was better than that between Δθ 2D and Δθ MRI (mean difference 1.68 ± 1.89°). CONCLUSION: The degree of LV apical rotation was underestimated with the 2D speckle tracking method compared with the MRI tagging method, whereas it could be precisely measured by 3D echocardiography.