Gastric granulomatous cryptococcosis mimicking gastric carcinoma in a dog.

An ulcerated lesion resembling a tumour in the lesser curvature of the stomach of a 3-year-old male Dobermann pinscher was found to be caused by Cryptococcus neoformans. The dog had been vomiting for two months and had slight leucocytosis and anaemia. Biopsies of the ulcerated lesion revealed granulomatous inflammation and many cryptococci, which were particularly prominent in PAS and mucicarmine stained sections. No other lesions were found at necropsy.

An alternative protocol for the medical management of canine pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism.

As an alternative to the o,p'-DDD treatment aimed at the selective destruction of the adrenal cortices, the authors have introduced a protocol aimed at the complete destruction of the adrenal cortices. It consists of a longer period of daily treatment with o,p'-DDD and lifelong substitution for primary hypoadrenocorticism. The results obtained in 41 dogs, with a minimum follow-up period of one year, indicate that this approach has advantages over lifelong maintenance therapy with o,p'-DDD.

Acromegaly associated with transient overproduction of growth hormone in a dog.

A 6-year-old female crossbred Belgian Shepherd Dog with features of acromegaly was monitored for almost 4 years. The history of frequent and excessive administration of a progestational agent suggested that the progestational drug induced the acromegaly. During the monitoring period. soft tissue changes diminished and there was normalization of several factors: plasma growth hormone concentration, response of plasma insulin and glucose to an oral glucose load, and response of plasma glucose hormone to the injection of insulin.

The iodine requirement and influence of iodine intake on iodine metabolism and thyroid function in the adult beagle.

Various aspects of iodine metabolism were studied in adult beagles maintained at iodine intake levels ranging from 480 to 20 mug/day. On the basis of changes in radioiodine metabolism, the minimum daily iodine requirement of the adult beagle was found to be 140 mug. Although striking changes were observed in radioiodine metabolism when iodine intake was reduced to 90mug/day, serum T4 and T3 levels were unaffected. Marked reductions in serum T4 occurred in dogs restricted to an iodine intake of 50 or 20 mug/day, but even at these low levels of iodine intake there were only slight reductions in serum T3 concentration and a eumetabolic state was maintained. Prolonged iodine deficiency (8-12 months) resulted in variable patterns of thyroid histology, which were related to differences in thyroidal 127I content and in the rate of release of radioiodine from the thyroid. The heterogeneity in thyroid morphology and iodine kinetics did not, however, have a significant effect on serum T4 and T3 levels.