Prevalence,Distribution and Factors Associated with the Presence and the Potential for Malignancy of Cutaneous Neoplasms in 174 Dogs Admitted to a Clinic in Northern Greece

One hundred and seventy-four dogs diagnosed with cutaneous neoplasms in the Animal Medical and Surgical Clinic, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, were studied. Thirty-one types of neoplasm were diagnosed, among which mast cell tumours (13.8%), hepatoid gland adenomas (9.8%), lipomas (5.7%) and histiocytomas (5.7%) were the most common. The prevalence of epithelial, mesenchymal, lymphohistiocytic and melanocytic tumours was 47.7, 40.8, 8.6 and 2.9%, respectively. Potentially malignant neoplasms were less frequently recorded than benign neoplasms. The tumours were single (80.5%) or multiple (19.5%) and located on the head and neck (18.4%), the body trunk (49.4%), the limbs (25.9%) or at multiple sites (6.3%). The factors evaluated in multivariable logistic regression models for possible association with the odds of a tumour's potential for malignancy included the age, the sex and the breed of the dog, as well as the histological type of the neoplasm. Dogs with mesenchymal tumours had two times higher odds of potential for malignancy than those with epithelial tumours. In contrast, dogs with either lymphohistiocytic or melanocytic tumours did not have increased risk of malignancy compared with dogs with epithelial tumours. The odds of tumour malignancy linearly increased with increasing age of the dog by a factor of 1.1 per year. Finally, the effect of the sex and the breed of the dog on the risk of developing cutaneous neoplasms was investigated in an age-matched case–control sample of 348 dogs by conditional logistic regression analysis. The odds of neoplasm presence were two times higher in pure bred dogs than in mongrels but did not differ between cross-breeds and mongrels.     

The Rigiflex TTS: A New Method to Dilate Benign Esophageal Stenosis

Abstract: This paper dicusses the use of esophageal dilatation with a Rigiflex TTS balloon. This method was used 45 times on 11 patients affected by anastomotic or a severe grade peptic esophageal stenosis. Fluoroscopic guidance was used in 36 procedures (80%) without effecting the mean duration of the treatment (12 minutes). The results were considered satisfactory when these goals had been achieved: a) dilatation of the stenosis over 15 mm; b) a dysphagia free-time of more than 6 months. A satisfactory result was achieved in 10 patients (90.9%), without deaths and major complications. 5 patients received 1 dilatation and the other 5 needed, 3-3-4-7–11 procedures respectively to obtain a satisfactory result. On these basis we consider that its great efficacy, security and tolerability depend on the following characteristics of the Rigiflex TTS balloon: 1) “radial” dilatation; 2) the possibility of introducing the balloon through the operative channel of the fiberscope; 3) direct visualization of the stenosis during dilatation. The following disadvantages with this method are: the absence of a tactile sensation of dilatation and the elevated cost of the instrument. We conclude that the Rigiflex TTS balloon is an important alternative to guide-wire techniques, especially for the treatment of severe esophageal strictures.     

Sciatic neuritis as initial symptom of spontaneous clostridial myonecrosis.

A 21-year-old woman is reported with aplastic anaemia, who presented with pain in the leg. Rapid loss of sciatic nerve function followed. MRI showed irregular streaks of low intensity in the muscles of the pelvic region. A diagnosis of sciatic neuritis as initial symptom of clostridial myonecrosis was made.     

Neuronal expression of nuclear and mitochondrial genes for cytochrome oxidase (CO) subunits analyzed by in situ hybridization: comparison with CO activity and protein.

Cytochrome oxidase (CO) is a mitochondrial energy-generating enzyme of the oxidative phosphorylation pathway. In neurons, CO activity varies among different cells and compartments (perikarya, dendrites, axons, and terminals) according to their physiological activity and metabolic requirements. Regulation of enzyme protein levels, rather than enzyme turnover number, largely accounts for local variations in CO activity (Hevner and Wong-Riley, 1989, 1990). In the present study, we examined how CO activity and protein levels are related to mitochondrial DNA (mtDNA) and CO subunit mRNA levels in neurons and neuronal compartments. Mammalian CO comprises 13 subunits (Kadenbach et al., 1983), of which three are encoded in mtDNA and 10 in nuclear genes. We studied one mitochondrial-encoded mRNA [subunit I (COI)], two nuclear-encoded mRNAs (COIV, COVIII), and mtDNA, using in situ hybridization to determine their distributions in monkey hippocampus, cerebellum, and primary visual cortex. We compared their distributions with those of CO activity and protein, determined by histochemistry and immunohistochemistry, respectively. In all regions, the local content of mtDNA was similar, but not identical, to the activity and amount of CO. Expression of COI mRNA was not proportional to mtDNA abundance or CO activity and protein, but instead was highest in cell bodies, lower in dendrites, and undetectable in axon terminals. COIV and COVIII mRNAs were detected exclusively in perikarya and proximal dendrites. Thus, the nuclear-encoded subunits of CO are probably translated mainly in neuronal cell bodies and allocated to other compartments posttranslationally. Regulation of CO was studied in two monkeys treated by monocular tetrodotoxin (TTX) injection, a procedure that blocks impulses from one eye. In those animals, cortical changes in CO activity were correlated with changes in mtDNA and in COI, COIV, and COVIII mRNA. Our results suggest that neuronal CO is synthesized and assembled mainly in cell bodies and indicate that both nuclear and mitochondrial CO subunit genes are regulated by neuronal activity.     

In vivo and in vitro studies on modulation of the pineal endocrine function by L-acetyl-carnitine in the rat.

Male Sprague-Dawley rats injected (i.p.) at 1500h with L-acetyl-carnitine in doses of 10, 30 or 90 mg/kg exhibited a notable increase in their pineal and serum melatonin content 1 hr later. Likewise, L-acetyl-carnitine administered in the same dose range induced a significant increase of pineal and serum melatonin content in rats treated at 0100h, following exposure of 30 min to bright white light to suppress endogenous melatonin. Under in vitro experimental conditions, however, 60 min of coincubation of isolated rat pineal glands with L-acetyl-carnitine (10(-5) M) did not result in an elevation in melatonin accumulated in the incubation medium. These results demonstrate that, in vivo, L-acetyl-carnitine can exert a modulatory action on synthesis and release of melatonin, possibly by modifying noradrenergic transmission and signal transduction in the pineal gland.     

Psychiatric aspects of head and neck surgery. Part I: New surgical techniques and psychiatric consequences.

Individuals who undergo head and neck surgery experience extreme stressors that go beyond those which occur with the usual surgical patient. This paper will review the literature and discuss the psychiatric consequences of otolaryngeal surgery. In addition, new head and neck surgical techniques, which offer special challenges to the patient as well as to the psychiatric consultant, will be examined. Tracheostomy, which occurs as a result of head and neck surgery, is of particular importance with regard to postoperative adaptation and is a significant complication that must be reckoned with.