Historical Prevalence of Radiological Appendicular Osteoarthritis in Cats (1972-1973).

Interest in feline osteoarthritis has grown recently; this might be due to increased prevalence or increased awareness. This study records the presence of appendicular osteoarthritis in a subset of the United Kingdom cat population in the 1970s and estimates its prevalence. One hundred cats euthanized in 1972-1973 had a series of skeletal radiographic images taken post mortem. Each joint was put into a set with or without osteoarthritis according to the presence or absence of a specified set of radiographic features. Limited historical data were analyzed. The prevalence of osteoarthritis in these cats was 74%. There is no evidence that feline osteoarthritis is a "novel" disease. The prevalence was similar to recent prospective radiological surveys. Recent interest in the condition may have derived from more attention being paid to feline medicine and welfare.

Chronic diseases in cats from the medieval site of Qalhât (Oman).

Paleopathological information observed in cats (Felis catus, L. 1758) is rarely described in zooarcheological assemblages. This article is intended to present different bone diseases (infections, degenerative and traumatic lesions) affecting several bones (i.e. femur, hip bone, skull, etc.) of at least two cats from the medieval harbor site of Qalhât (Oman) and to inform us about the health status of these felines.

Cats on the Couch: The Experimental Production of Animal Neurosis.

Argument In the 1940s-50s, one of the most central questions in psychological research related to the nature of neurosis. In the final years of the Second World War and the following decade, neurosis became one of the most prominent psychiatric disorders, afflicting a high proportion of military casualties and veterans. The condition became central to the concerns of several psychological fields, from psychoanalysis to Pavlovian psychology. This paper reconstructs the efforts of Chicago psychiatrist Jules Masserman to study neurosis in the laboratory during the 1940s and 1950s. Masserman used Pavlovian techniques in a bid to subject this central psychoanalytic subject to disciplined scientific experimentation. More generally, his project was an effort to bolster the legitimacy of psychoanalysis as a human science by articulating a convergence of psychoanalytic categories across multiple species. Masserman sought to orchestrate a convergence of psychological knowledge between fields that were often taken to be irreconcilable. A central focus of this paper is the role of moving images in this project, not only as a means of recording experimental data but also as a rhetorical device. The paper argues that for Masserman film played an important role in enabling scientific observers (and then subsequent viewers) to see agency and emotion in the animals they observed.

Estimating the probability distribution of the incubation period for rabies using data from the 1948-1954 rabies epidemic in Tokyo.

Data of 98 rabies cases in dogs and cats from the 1948-1954 rabies epidemic in Tokyo were used to estimate the probability distribution of the incubation period. Lognormal, gamma and Weibull distributions were used to model the incubation period. The maximum likelihood estimates of the mean incubation period ranged from 27.30 to 28.56 days according to different distributions. The mean incubation period was shortest with the lognormal distribution (27.30 days), and longest with the Weibull distribution (28.56 days). The best distribution in terms of AIC value was the lognormal distribution with mean value of 27.30 (95% CI: 23.46-31.55) days and standard deviation of 20.20 (15.27-26.31) days. There were no significant differences between the incubation periods for dogs and cats, or between those for male and female dogs.

History of the discovery of the life cycle of Toxoplasma gondii.

It has been 100 years since the discovery of Toxoplasma gondii in 1908. Its full life cycle was not discovered until 1970 when it was found that it is a coccidian parasite of cats with all non-feline warm blooded animals (including humans) as intermediate hosts. The discovery of the environmentally resistant stage of the parasite, the oocyst, made it possible to explain its worldwide prevalence. In the present paper, events associated with the discovery of its life cycle are recalled.

[Histoplasmosis story from Tennessee, U.S.A. to Turkey]. / Tennessee (ABD)'den Türkiye'ye histoplazmozun öyküsü.

Histoplasmosis is a mycotic disease that is acquired by inhalation of spores of the dimorphic fungus Histoplasma capsulatum. It is an acute, subacute or chronic, localized or systemic, sporadic, granulomatous infectious disease caused by yeast form of the fungus, and can present just like pulmonary tuberculosis. Originally thought to be a rare tropical disease, histoplasmosis has been recorded from the whole America continent mainly the central zone of the United States, whole continents except Antarctica and more than 60 countries. In this article the discovery and identification story of H. capsulatum and histoplasmosis in United States especially by the researchers in Vanderbilt University Hospital (VUMC) in Nashville-Tennessee, was reminded. The first antemortem diagnosis of histoplasmosis was made at VUMC in 1932 by MDs Edna Tomkins and Katherine Dodd, who found the organism in peripheral blood monocytes of an infant. The man who succeeded in growing and defining the H. copsulatum for the first time in the world is Dr William A. DeMonbreun. VUMC has been closely associated with progress in the understanding of the disease ever since. Ekrem Kadri Unat was the researcher who initiated the pivotal systemic mycological studies for histoplasmosis in Turkey. First human histoplasmosis case was reported by Tevfik Saglam, MD in 1945 and first feline case was reported by DVM Resat S. Akün in 1949. This feline case was the first histoplasmosis case defined in a cat not only in Turkey but also in the world. Ayhan Yücel MD and Kantarcloglu isolated H. capsulatum from environmental samples in 1989 for the first time in Turkey. Owing to these data, it is believed that Turkey is a possible endemic region for this fungal disease. Therefore it is aimed to make a concise review of histoplasmosis in U.S.A., Europe and Turkey in this article.

Identification of faecal transmission of Toxoplasma gondii: Small science, large characters.

The first clue to the elucidation of the complete life cycle of Toxoplasma gondii was the identification of an infectious form in cat faeces that could be transmitted orally and could survive in the external environment for extended periods. This personal review describes the scientist (W.M. Hutchison) and the background to the initial discovery and covers the period to the complete elucidation of the life cycle of T. gondii.

A century of leishmaniasis in Alpes-Maritimes, France.

A century of publications on leishmaniasis in Alpes-Maritimes, in southern France, is here reviewed. Autochtonous human and canine leishmaniasis were first recognised in this département, which lies by the Mediterranean Sea and near the Italian border, in 1918 and 1925, respectively. The parasite responsible for the leishmaniasis, Leishmania infantum, is transmitted by Phlebotomus perniciosus and P. ariasi. The human leishmaniasis is zoonotic, with domestic dogs acting as the main 'reservoir' hosts. In prospective surveys over the last two decades, a mean of 12% of the domestic dogs checked in Alpes-Maritimes have been found seropositive for L. infantum but only about 50% of the seropositive animals showed any clinical signs of infection at the time of the surveys. During the last 30 years, 178 cases of human visceral leishmaniasis have been recorded in the area. Such cases are sporadic and often opportunistic, occurring predominantly in children (29% of the 178 cases) or HIV-positive subjects (31%). Recently, it has been demonstrated that, in Alpes-Maritimes, approximately 20% of those found seropositive in leishmanin skin tests are asymptomatic carriers, with amastigotes in their peripheral blood.

Feline caries in two cats from a 13th century archeological excavation.

Mandibles of two cats containing carious lesions were discovered among the previously published findings of feline dental resorptive lesions from materials examined at an archaeological museum. These lesions were too small to be noted on radiographs, and consisted of two inconspicuous enamel lesions in a mandibular left first molar tooth (309), a clinically visible white spot area containing an enamel lesion in a mandibular left fourth premolar tooth (308), and a root surface caries in the 308 of a different specimen. Histologic examination using special stains and polarized light revealed both initial and early initial stage enamel caries, as well as root surface caries. Knoop hardness measurements confirmed these findings, considered the first documented cases of feline caries.

Cats are not small dogs: the emergence of feline medicine.

Cats have finally garnered the attention they deserve in veterinary medicine, however, there is still much to learn about this unique species and new challenges surface daily. For example, at the time of writing, avian influenza in cats is being closely monitored by world veterinary and health officials. Controversial topics, such as how to manage the homeless cat population, declawing, and cloning will continue to spark active debate. However, the future appears promising for cats as more veterinarians, researchers, and organizations increase their focus on felines.

Feline dental resorptive lesions in the 13th to 14th centuries.

The Schild excavation (1971-1975) unearthed 1871 feline bones from at least 181 cats from the town market in medieval Schleswig-Gottorf. Seven of the 189 mandibles and one of the 126 skulls were investigated using a combination of macroscopic, radiographic, and histologic examinations as well as Knoop hardness measurements. The preliminary results of examinations of three mandibles and one skull are presented and reveal that feline dental resorptive lesions were present in cats that lived in a settlement period dating from the 13th and 14th centuries in former Schleswig, Germany.

Feline "odontolysis" in the 1920's: the forgotten histopathological study of feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions (FORL).

This article reviews an historic description of feline odontoclastic resorptive lesions (FORL) from the 1920's. Hopewell-Smith describes the complete resorption process of feline permanent premolar teeth in remarkable detail, using 14 excellent photomicrographs. Resorptive lesions in cats were seen in the early part of this century, however the prevalence of this condition in domestic cats appears to have increased concurrently with certain aspects of domestication since the 1960's.