Ultrassonografia gestacional no diagnóstico de anormalidades fetais em pequenos animais / Gestational ultrasonography in the diagnosis of fetal abnormalities in small animals

A ultrassonografia gestacional em pequenos animais permite, além da confirmação e do monitoramento da prenhez, a detecção precoce de malformações e anormalidades fetais, representando uma importante ferramenta de acompanhamento pré-natal. Médicos veterinários, tutores e criadores podem beneficiar-se deste diagnóstico, uma vez que o conhecimento prévio de anormalidades fetais que exigem cirurgia ou intervenções neonatais permite o planejamento adequado por parte destes indivíduos. Na medicina humana, a detecção precoce de anormalidades fetais já é amplamente empregada no planejamento da conduta em relação à gestante e ao feto antes e após o nascimento. Em medicina veterinária, apesar de escassos, há relatos de malformações fetais diagnosticadas ao exame ultrassonográfico gestacional em pequenos animais. Entretanto, limitações inerentes ao aparelho, ao operador e à anatomia animal podem limitar o diagnóstico na totalidade dos exames, levando à ocorrência de diagnósticos falso-positivos e falso-negativos.(AU)

Gestational ultrasonography in small animals allows, in addition to the confirmation and monitoring of pregnancy, the early detection of malformations and fetal abnormalities, representing an important prenatal monitoring tool. Veterinarians, owners and breeders may benefit from this diagnosis, since prior knowledge of fetal abnormalities that require surgery or neonatal interventions allows adequate planning for these individuals. In human medicine, the early detection of fetal abnormalities is already widely used in planning the conduct in relation to the pregnant woman and the fetus before and after birth. In veterinary medicine, although there are few, there are reports of fetal malformations diagnosed at the ultrasound gestational examination in small animals. However, limitations inherent in the device, the operator and the animal anatomy may limit the diagnosis in all the exams, leading to the occurrence of false positive and false-negative diagnoses.(AU)

Ultrassonografia gestacional no diagnóstico de anormalidades fetais em pequenos animais / Gestational ultrasonography in the diagnosis of fetal abnormalities in small animals

A ultrassonografia gestacional em pequenos animais permite, além da confirmação e do monitoramento da prenhez, a detecção precoce de malformações e anormalidades fetais, representando uma importante ferramenta de acompanhamento pré-natal. Médicos veterinários, tutores e criadores podem beneficiar-se deste diagnóstico, uma vez que o conhecimento prévio de anormalidades fetais que exigem cirurgia ou intervenções neonatais permite o planejamento adequado por parte destes indivíduos. Na medicina humana, a detecção precoce de anormalidades fetais já é amplamente empregada no planejamento da conduta em relação à gestante e ao feto antes e após o nascimento. Em medicina veterinária, apesar de escassos, há relatos de malformações fetais diagnosticadas ao exame ultrassonográfico gestacional em pequenos animais. Entretanto, limitações inerentes ao aparelho, ao operador e à anatomia animal podem limitar o diagnóstico na totalidade dos exames, levando à ocorrência de diagnósticos falso-positivos e falso-negativos.

Gestational ultrasonography in small animals allows, in addition to the confirmation and monitoring of pregnancy, the early detection of malformations and fetal abnormalities, representing an important prenatal monitoring tool. Veterinarians, owners and breeders may benefit from this diagnosis, since prior knowledge of fetal abnormalities that require surgery or neonatal interventions allows adequate planning for these individuals. In human medicine, the early detection of fetal abnormalities is already widely used in planning the conduct in relation to the pregnant woman and the fetus before and after birth. In veterinary medicine, although there are few, there are reports of fetal malformations diagnosed at the ultrasound gestational examination in small animals. However, limitations inherent in the device, the operator and the animal anatomy may limit the diagnosis in all the exams, leading to the occurrence of false positive and false-negative diagnoses.

Prevalence of Endoparasites in Urban Stray Dogs from Brazil Diagnosed with Leishmania, with Potential for Human Zoonoses.

BACKGROUND: In tropical environments, abandoned animals can be an important source for human zoonotic infections, such as human visceral leishmaniasis and other vector-borne diseases. Here, we report the frequency of protozoan and helminth intestinal parasites in stray dogs, which might have an implication for human health in urban Brazilian settings. MATERIAL AND METHODS: We performed necropsies on 93 animals, euthanized due to canine visceral leishmaniasis control program, and examined their intestines looking for the presence of helminths; we determined the parasite load, and the elimination of eggs and cysts of protozoan parasites in fecal samples. Further, we performed serology tests for the detection of specific antibodies against Toxoplasma gondii. RESULTS: Overall, a high prevalence of intestinal parasites with potential for human zoonoses resulted and only 8.6% of examined intestines remained negative. The most prevalent helminths were Ancylostoma caninum and Dipylidium caninum. For nematodes, high worm burdens were detected for A. caninum and Trichuris vulpis. Additionally, we analyzed worm burdens and quantitative stool examinations, but found no significant association between positive serology for Leishmania infection and intestinal parasite burden. Interestingly, serology for T. gondii infection revealed a prevalence of 33.3% and a positive result was significantly associated with a higher A. caninum adult worm recovery (p = 0.0087). CONCLUSION: Our results showed stray dogs living in urban areas are heavily parasitized, which presents a potential risk for humans. Beyond the control of canine visceral leishmaniasis, we propose an improvement of the control program to reduce the risk for other parasitic diseases in dogs and humans.

Morphological changes in mouse embryos cryopreserved by different techniques.

Cryopreservation of mammalian embryos is an important tool for the application of reproductive biotechnologies. Subjective evaluation to determine embryo viability is often used. The determination of the best cryopreservation protocol depends on morphological and molecular analysis of cellular injuries. The main objective of this study was to compare two methods of cryopreservation by assessing morphological alterations of frozen embryos using light, fluorescence, and transmission electron microscope. Fresh (control), slow frozen, and vitrified mouse embryos were composed. To evaluate the viability of the embryos, the cell membrane integrity was assessed using Hoechst33342 and propidium iodide (H/PI) staining. Morphological analyses using hematoxylin and eosin (HE) staining were performed to test different techniques (in situ, paraffin, and historesin) by both light and fluorescence microscopy. Transmission electron microscope was used to detect ultrastructural alterations in Spurr- and Araldite-embedded samples. H/PI staining detected more membrane permeability in the vitrification (69.8%) than in the slow freezing (48.4%) or control (13.8%) groups (P < 0.001). Historesin-embedded samples showed to be more suitable for morphological analyses because cellular structures were better identified. Nuclear evaluation in historesin sections showed the induction of pycnosis in slow freezing and vitrification groups. Cytoplasm evaluation revealed a condensation and an increase in eosinophilic intensity (indicating apoptosis) in the slow freezing group, and weakly eosinophilic structures and degenerated cells (indicating oncosis) in the vitrification group (P < 0.05). Ultrastructural analyses confirmed HE morphological findings. It was concluded that both cryopreservation techniques resulted in oncosis and apoptosis injuries. However, vitrification caused more severe cellular alterations and reduced embryonic viability compared to slow freezing.