No description available.

Ultrasonography (US) is an essential imaging tool for identifying abnormalities of the liver parenchyma, biliary tract and vascular system. US has replaced radiography as the initial imaging procedure in screening for liver disease in small animals. There are few reports of the use of conventional and helical computed tomography (CT) to assess canine or feline parenchymal and neoplastic liver disease and biliary disorders. In human medicine the development of multidetector- row helical computed tomography (MDCT), with its superior spatial and temporal resolution, has resulted in improved detection and characterization of diffuse and focal liver lesions. The increased availability of MDCT in veterinary practice provides incentive to develop MDCT protocols for liver imaging in small animals. The purpose of this study is to assess the rule of MDCT in the characterization of hepatobiliary diseases in small animals; and to compare this method with conventional US. Candidates for this prospective study were 175 consecutive patients (dogs and cats) referred for evaluation of hepatobiliary disease. The patients underwent liver US and MDCT. Percutaneous needle biopsy was performed on all liver lesions or alterations encountered. As for gallbladder, histopatological evaluation was obtained from cholecystectomy specimens. Ultrasonographic findings in this study agreed well with those of previous reports. A protocol for dual-phase liver MDCT in small animals has been described. MDCT findings in parenchymal disorders of the liver, hepatic neoplasia and biliary disorders are here first described in dogs and cats and compared with the corresponding features in human medicine. The ability of MDCT in detection and characterization of hepatobiliary diseases in small animals is overall superior to conventional US. Ultrasonography and MDCT scanning, however, play complementary rules in the evaluation of these diseases. Many conditions have distinctive imaging features that may permit diagnosis. In most instances biopsy is required for definitive diagnosis.

No description available.

No description available.

No description available.

The aim of this study is to evaluate the effects of the pulsed electromagnetic fields (PEMFS) on pain relief and functional capacity of dogs with osteoarthritis by which a single centre study prospective clinical trial. PEMFs are non ionized, athermic and time varying electromagnetic fields that has been successfully used for the treatment of osteoarthritis in human thanks to their chondroprotective, antinflammatory and analgesic property. 20 dogs were treated with PEMFs , 3 times per week for a total of 20 sessions.We found beneficial effects on pain relief and lameness in the absence of adverse effect. The decrease of pain impacted positively on the health-dogs related quality of life and the grade of satisfaction of their owner was very high. The benefits were obvious at half therapy and lasted for a medium long time. This is the first published report concerning PEMFs treatment on canine osteoarthtitis. The result of this study proves that PEMFs is a non –invasive remedy, lacking in adverse effect , easy to employ and useful for controlling pain and inflammation associated with osteoarthritis.

No description available.

Sono stati studiati gli effetti tossici dell’esposizione cronica a cobalto e cromo. In passato, questa tossicità, che colpiva lavoratori esposti per ragioni occupazionali, è stata un problema molto sentito. Tuttavia, recenti pubblicazioni hanno descritto una specifica tossicità mediata da elevati livelli di cobalto e cromo, anche in pazienti portatori di protesi metalliche, quali gli impianti d’anca. Anche se sintomi clinici tra cui, cecità, sordità e neuropatia periferica, suggeriscono uno specifico neurotropismo, ancora poco è conosciuto delle basi neuropatologiche di questo processo ed oltretutto non ne è ancora stata apportata un’evidenza sperimentale. In questo progetto di ricerca, quindi, si è voluto approfondire il meccanismo patogenetico da cui scaturiscono tali sintomi neurologici, utilizzando come modello sperimentale il coniglio. Conigli New Zealand White sono stati trattati con dosi endovenose ripetute di cobalto e cromo, inoculati singolarmente od in associazione tra loro. Nessuna evidente alterazione clinica o patologica è stata associata alla somministrazione di solo cromo, nonostante gli elevati livelli in sangue e tessuti, mentre i trattati con cobalto-cromo o solo cobalto hanno mostrato segni clinici gravanti sul sistema vestibolo-cocleare; il cobalto, quindi, è stato identificato come il maggiore elemento scatenante neurotossicità. Inoltre all’esame istopatologico gli animali hanno mostrato severa deplezione delle cellule gangliari retiniche e cocleari, assieme a danno al nervo ottico e perdita di cellule sensitive capellute dell’orecchio. È risultato infine evidente che la gravità delle alterazioni è stata correlata al dosaggio ed al tempo di esposizione; dati questi che confermano, quindi, le precedenti osservazioni fatte su pazienti umani esposti a rilascio abnorme di cobalto e cromo da usura di protesi d’anca. È stato ipotizzato che il cobalto agisca sui mitocondri provocando l’incremento di produzione di specie reattive dell’ossigeno e il rilascio di fattori proapoptotici, causando sulle cellule neuronali un danno proporzionale al loro fabbisogno energetico e grado di mielinizzazione. / The toxic effects of continuous exposure to cobalt and chromium have been studied. In the past, this toxicity concerning workers exposed in occupational setting, was a very sensitive issue. However, recent reports have described a specific toxicity mediated by high levels of cobalt and chromium even in patients who had received metallic prostheses, such as hip implants. Although clinical symptoms, including blindness, deafness and peripheral neuropathy, suggest a specific neurotropism, little is still known about the neuropathological basis of this process, and moreover, it has not yet been provided an experimental evidence. So, in this research project we wanted to investigate the pathogenic mechanism from which these neurologic symptoms come out, using rabbit as an experimental model. New Zealand White rabbits were treated with repeated intravenous doses of cobalt and chromium, administered alone or in combination between them. No evident clinical or pathological alteration has been associated with the only chromium administration, despite its high levels in blood and tissue while the cobalt-chromium and cobalt alone treated rabbits showed vestibulo-cochlear signs; cobalt, then, has been identified as the major trigger element mediating neurotoxicity. In addition, on histopathological examination, the animals showed severe depletion of retinal and cochlear ganglion cell along with optic nerve damage and loss of sensory cochlear hair cells. Finally, it has also been clear that the severity of the alterations has been related to the dose and the exposure time. These data confirm previous observations in human patients exposed to abnormal release of cobalt and chromium, arising from damaged hip prostheses. It has been supposed that the cobalt acts on mitochondria leading to increased production of reactive oxygen species and release of pro-apoptotic factors, producing a damage on neuronal cells in proportion to their energy requirements and degree of myelination.

La leishmaniosi canina (LCan) causata da Leishmania infantum rappresenta un’importante zoonosi in molte aree del mondo ed il cane rappresenta il principale reservoir del parassita per l’uomo. Il tipo di risposta immunitaria che i soggetti colpiti mettono in atto condiziona fortemente la progressione della malattia: animali che non sviluppano un’adeguata risposta immunitaria cellulo-mediata mostrano la sintomatologia clinica nonostante abbiano una forte ma inefficace risposta umorale che contribuisce al peggioramento della sintomatologia clinica. L’obbiettivo dello studio è stato quello valutare da un punto di vista descrittivo il segnalamento, i segni clinici e clinicopatologici dei pazienti affetti da leishmaniosi portati in visita presso il Dipartimento di Scienze Mediche Veterinarie nel periodo compreso da Gennaio 2002 a Marzo 2012 con particolare attenzione sull’impatto della patologia renale e dell’anemia nel quadro clinico della LCan. In base ai risultati ottenuti è stato possibile affermare che la leishmaniosi canina è una patologia relativamente frequente nella nostra realtà clinica universitaria e che presenta caratteristiche cliniche e clinicopatologiche simili a quelle riportate in letteratura. I nostri risultati preliminari suggeriscono che in questa malattia il coinvolgimento renale e le conseguenze sistemiche che ne derivano possono essere predominanti a livello clinico e laboratoristico. La gravità del quadro clinico appare associata in maniera significativa all’entità della risposta umorale e del successivo coinvolgimento glomerulare nel contesto di una risposta infiammatoria sistemica cronica. Successivamente, sono state misurate le concentrazioni di IgG ed IgM in corso di follow-up in alcuni dei soggetti inclusi nello studio e sottoposti a differenti trattamenti anti-leishmania. Dai risultati preliminari ottenuti nel nostro lavoro è stato possibile affermare che in corso di trattamento le concentrazioni di tali immunoglobuline subiscono una riduzione progressiva confermando pertanto l’efficacia del trattamento anti-leishmania non solo nella remissione della sintomatologia clinica ma anche nel ripristino della normale risposta umorale. / Canine leishmaniasis (LCan) caused by Leishmania infantum is an important zoonosis in many parts of the world and the dog is the main reservoir of the parasite to humans. The type of immune response that those affected put in place strongly influences the progression of the disease: the animals do not develop adequate cell-immune mediated response show clinical symptoms despite having a strong but ineffective humoral response that contributes to worsening the clinical symptoms . The objective of this study was to evaluate a descriptive standpoint, signaling, clinical and clinicopathological signs of leishmaniasis patients taken to visit at the Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences during the period from January 2003 to March 2012 with particular attention to the impact of kidney disease and anemia in the clinical picture of LCan. Based on the results obtained it was possible to say that leishmaniasis is a relatively common disease in our clinical practice and that the clinical features and clinicopathological features are similar to those reported in the literature. Our preliminary results suggest that in this disease, renal involvement and systemic consequences can be predominant in the clinical and laboratory findings. The severity of the clinical picture is significantly associated with the extent of the humoral response and subsequent glomerular involvement in the context of a chronic systemic inflammatory response. Subsequently, we measured the concentrations of IgG and IgM in the course of follow-up in some of the subjects included in the study and subjected to different anti-Leishmania treatment. By preliminary results obtained in our work it has been possible to state that in the course of treatment, the concentrations of these immunoglobulins undergo a progressive reduction thus confirming the effectiveness of anti-Leishmania treatment not only in the remission of clinical symptoms but also in the restoration of normal humoral response.

Il presente studio rappresenta la prima applicazione della tecnica CEUS in alcune delle più diffuse specie non convenzionali, nonché la prima nei rettili. In particolare è stata investigata la perfusione di fegato e milza in 10 conigli, 10 furetti e il fegato in 8 iguane. Per quanto riguarda i mammiferi, la tecnica è risultata di facile attuazione e i risultati ottenuti erano equiparabili a quelli documentati per i piccoli animali. Maggiore variabilità si è messa in evidenza a livello splenico in entrambe le specie e nel coniglio rispetto al furetto. Nelle iguane è stata necessaria una modifica del protocollo a seguito dei tempi più lunghi delle fasi di wash in e di wash out. Le curve ottenute erano caratterizzate da picchi più bassi e TTP più lunghi, con wash out incompleto anche dopo 10 minuti di indagine. Nelle iguane l’indagine del fegato è stata approfondita grazie all’esecuzione di TC dinamiche con MDC, studio pioneristico per quanto riguarda la medicina dei rettili. L’esecuzione è avvenuta senza problemi in anestesia generale. Diffusione del MDC e conseguenti variazione di HU a livello aortico e epatico sono state considerate contemporaneamente, con costruzione di curve HU-tempo piuttosto ripetibili, entrambe caratterizzate da un wash in rapido, un picco, particolarmente alto a livello aortico, e da una fase di wash out più lento, anche qui incompleto dopo i 600 secondi di indagine. Una certa variabilità è stata notata in tre individui, risultato attendibile conseguentemente alla forte dipendenza da fattori intriseci ed estrinseci del metabolismo e della funzionalità epatica dei rettili. L’intero protocollo è stato applicato in un furetto e due iguane patologiche, al fine di evidenziare le potenzialità cliniche delle tecniche. Sebbene il numero esiguo di casi non permetta di trarre conclusioni a questo riguardo, l’ultimo capitolo della tesi vuole essere uno spunto per studi futuri. / The present work represents the first application of CEUS in some of the most overspread exotic pets and in reptiles in general. We investigated liver and spleen perfusion in 10 rabbits, and 10 ferrets other than the liver perfusion in 8 green iguanas. The technique was easily performed in the mammals, and results were similar to the one already reported for small mammals. More variability was highlighted for the spleen in both species and for the rabbit compared to the ferret. Small modifications were necessary to adapt the protocol to the longer phases occurring in the iguana. Curves obtained for this species were characterized by smaller peaks and longer TTP, and wash out phase was not complete over the 600 seconds of the study. Liver perfusion was further investigated in the iguana by a dynamic contrast enhanced CT scan, a pioneer study in reptile medicine. The technique was easily performed under general anesthesia. MDC diffusion was evaluated by HU variations both in the aorta and in the hepatic vessels and parenchyma at the same time, and time-intensity curves were determined. The shape of the curves was repeated in all the animals in a very similar way, even if few variation were noticed, probably as a consequence of the strong dependence of reptile metabolism and liver function both to intrisic and extrinsic factors. The whole protocol was applied in two pathological iguanas and one pathological ferret, in order to investigate clinical potentiality of the techniques. Even if no conclusion can be derived, the final section of the thesis should represent a cue for future studies.