Abstract
News
Working with the AAFP
The ESFM and the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) held a very successful study day in Vancouver at the WSAVA meeting in August this year. Speakers Buillermo Couto and Stephen Dibartola covered topics of vaccines, feline lymphoma, feline haematology, disorders of potassium and sodium, and interpretation of acid base abnormalities, the proceeding of which can be found in this issue. Both societies were delighted to be liaising with each other and to find that their aims and objectives in raising the profile and quality of feline medicine in practice were extremely similar. We hope the project will be the first of many – indeed watch this space for further news of a very exciting collaboration in the near future!
AAFP's winter 2002 meeting will be held in Steamboat Springs in Colorado on February 24–26 – details from the AAFP website at www.aafponline.org
ESFM conference
ESFM will hold its first stand-alone weekend conference on September 6–8, 2002 just outside Stockholm in Sweden. Until now ESFM has had study days in association with major conferences such as BSAVA, WSAVA and other national or society meetings. These will still continue, but ESFM has wanted to hold its own meeting for some time and is delighted to be going to Sweden. Final details are still being worked out but for now put the date in your diary – details to follow in the March 2002 issue of JFMS.
Looking good – and all in colour
When we were designing JFMS it was important to us that the cover and pages looked stylish and attractive and that the layout was easy to read. Although we would like to have used colour illustrations for papers, initially colour was limited to a few pages a year. However, we are now delighted to announce that any paper can be printed with colour illustrations rather than the usual black and white. This will make a great deal of difference to the reproduction of illustrations on many topics and will add hugely to the quality of presentation of many papers.
Glossy prints and 35 mm slides are suitable for reproduction – radiographs are still best supplied as black and white prints from the original radiograph for optimal reproduction. Digital camera images and scanned slides are suitable, providing they are of a sufficiently high resolution – we ask for a minimum of 200 dpi and preferably 300 dpi. Often digitally supplied images are only about 70 dpi and while this is sufficient for looking at images on a screen, it is not sufficiently good for printing purposes.
For printing purposes pictures need to be scanned in ′CMYK (cyan, magenta, yellow, black) and not RGB (red, green, black). Changing a scan from RGB to CMYK leads to colour distortion in the image.
We look forward to receiving your papers.
First Hill's ESFM day at ESVIM
Myra Forster-van Hijfte, ESFM's treasurer, chaired the Hill's ESFM Feline Symposium at the European Society of Veterinary Internal Medicine (ESVIM) Conference in Dublin at the end of September. She writes:
I will never be a James Joyce or Oscar Wilde but will try to communicate my impressions of this first Feline Day at ESVIM.
A steady drizzle of rain welcomed me to Trinity College in the heart of Dublin – luckily I had been warned this was a strong possibility and had come prepared. That evening we were welcomed by Dublin's Mayor in his official residence Mansion House (apparently the Queen of Holland and Nelson Mandela had also been received in the same room – but not at the same time).
The Congress started the next day and several societies including ESFM had special programmes. The ESFM day was very well attended – to the extent that some of the other societies were complaining that all the delegates had congregated in the feline session! The lectures were given by eminent clinicians in their field trying to tackle problems such as feline pancreatitis, IBD, myopathies and hyperthyroidism. Not only was there an in-depth discussion of pathogenesis but also of the possible aetiologies of the different diseases. Abstracts in the afternoon covered hypertension, hyperadrenocorticism, platelet abnormalities and the question of what to feed the diabetic cat. In short, there was something for everyone.
The following two days of the Conference also contained some streams concentrating on the feline species, so those with an enthusiasm for cats were well catered for.
A report of an Irish conference would not be complete without reference to the social programme. A tour of the Guiness factory followed by a magnificent dinner and the congress dinner (including an Irish band) were events not to be missed.
In short, I would encourage everyone to come to the second Hill's ESFM day next year in Munich.
Proceedings of the talks on IBD, pancreatitis, hyperthyroidism and hyperadrenocorticism will be published in the March 2002 issue of JFMS. Details of the Hills ESFM day at ESVIM will also be published in that issue.
WSAVA liver standardisation group
WSAVA has established the WSAVA Liver Diseases and Pathology Standardisation Research Group in an effort to reach standardisation for canine and feline liver diseases. At present there is no good standard to refer to regarding liver pathology and different nomenclatures for the same diseases are used in different countries. Also, different diseases may occur in different stages with respect to severity and chronicity. This not only causes confusion for clinicians but makes it uncertain how to interpret scientific publications. When multi-centre treatment protocols are to be evaluated, it is of prime importance to start with well-established diagnostic criteria and definitions.
The intention is to obtain worldwide standardisation for histological evaluation of liver tissue; ie unified nomenclature, well-defined histological diagnostic criteria, and precise definition of chronicity stages and grades of diseases. Also, requirements for tissue standing techniques and size of tissue specimens will be recommended for the different diseases. Finally, descriptions and typical slides of all relevant liver diseases of dogs and cats should be available as a reference for all veterinarians.
The Group working on this is made up of internationally recognised scientists in hepatogastroenterology. The main effort will come from liver-specialised pathologists support by expert clinicians from USA, Europe, Australia and South Africa. A top human liver pathologist will provide independent back up and help with difficult topics. Two meetings a year will coincide with the ACVIM Forum and ECVIM Congress. It is hoped that it will be possible to obtain standardisation of all relevant liver diseases within two years – the aim being to publish consensus results.
Although the work can only be performed by a small group of experts, it does not mean that the opinions of any interested veterinarians are not important. Coordinator of the project is Dr Jan Rothuizen, Department of Sciences of Companion animals, University of Utrecht, Yalelaan 8. 3508 TD Utrecht, The Netherlands or e-mail
Membership fee increases
From January 2002 ESFM membership fees will be £60, joint ESFM/FAB membership £77 (£87 outside the UK) and practice membership remains the same at £95 in the UK and £120 outside the UK.
The financial statements set out above were approved by the trustees on 4 April 2001 and were signed on their behalf by:
TJ Gruffydd-Jones
In accordance with your instructions we have prepared the unaudited financial statements set out above. The financial statements have been prepared from the accounting records of the Society which is incorporated within the Feline Advisory Bureau.
JPB Harris & Co.
54 St. Mary's Lane Upminster ESSEX RM 14 2QT
Agenda for the AGM of the European Society of Feline Medicine 2002
To be held on 3rd April 2002
Austin Court, ICC, Birmingham
Apologies for absence
Minutes of previous meeting
Matters arising from the minutes
Election of EC members and composition of the Executive Committee
Dr Sarah Caney (The Feline Centre, University of Bristol) has received several nominations for the position of Secretary of the EC
President's report
Membership report
Treasurer's report
JFMS report
Future meetings
Any other business
Date of the next meeting
Book Review
The new addition to the BSAVA manuals conforms to the standard layout. The first chapter of the book covers diagnostic techniques. Most tests are best carried out in a professional laboratory and tests are well explained, including the limitations of the different tests. Occasionally a test could have been explained in more detail so a veterinary practice would have an easy reference for its in-house laboratory.
The next three chapters deal with therapy, vaccination and control of infectious diseases.
The following chapters cover the infectious diseases, which are grouped per (main) body system that is affected by the disease. This has the advantage that it provides a quick reference when dealing with, for instance, a suspected infectious skin problem. A differential diagnosis is thus provided within the relevant chapter. The disadvantage is that if you are looking for a specific infectious agent the information will be found over different chapters. As a result in some cases the reason why the main description of an organism is under a certain body system becomes arbitrary. For instance in the case of Leishmaniasis, the disease is discussed in detail under ‘Haematopoietic and Lymphoreticular systems’ and briefly mentioned under ‘Skin diseases’, where skin lesions are the most common complaint of the disease.
The appendices are very useful and include the Pet Travel scheme, posting of samples and drug dosages. This has been written from the perspective of the UK-veterinarian.
The BSAVA Manual provides a good read and covers a lot of ground although the length of the manual restricts the depth of discussion of the different diseases.
I recommend the book as a reference for the practice library and veterinary student.
Abstracts
Special thanks to the ACVIM for allowing us to reprint these abstracts and poster presentations from the 2001 ACVIM Forum, Denver, CO, May 23–26, 2001. The 2002 ACVIM Forum will be in Dallas, Texas, May 29–June 1, 2002. More information can be found at the ACVIM website www.acvim.org
GM Rutz, CG Ruaux, L Jobe, JM Steiner, DA Williams
Many vaccines contain trace amounts of BSA as a result of vaccine virus culture. Repeated exposure at annual vaccinations thus might sensitize cats to BSA that may be encountered in the diet. The goal of this project was to determine if anti-BSA titers differ between clinically healthy cats and cats with gastrointestinal disease.
No evidence was found for a role of anti-BSA antibodies in perpetuation of gastrointestinal disease in cats. A role in disease initiation or disease in the perivaccinal period can not be ruled out.
Abstract No. 3, previously published in J Vet Intern Med
DS Westfall, DC Twedt, PF Steyn, EB Oberhauser, JW Van-Cleave
We have reported tablet induced focal esophagitis and esophageal stricture formation in cats secondary to doxycycline administration. The objective of this study was to evaluate the passage of tablets and capsules when given alone (dry swallow) and when followed by a water bolus (wet swallow).
Each cat was given a 20 mg barium tablet and a 190 mg (size 4) barium capsule both as a dry and wet swallow. A wet swallow consisted of immediately following administration with 6·0 ml of water orally via syringe. A specially designed Plexiglass box was used to restrain the cats during the study. Fluoroscopy was utilized to evaluate tablet or capsule passage at 30, 60, 90, 120, 180, and 300 seconds following administration. The percentage of dry tablet swallows that successfully passed into the stomach was 0·0% at 30 and 60 seconds, 6·7% at 90 seconds, 13·3% at 120 seconds, 26·7% at 180 and 240 seconds, and 36·7% at 300 seconds. Wet tablet swallows successfully passed 90·0% of the time at 30 seconds, 93·3% at 60 seconds, and 100·0% of the time thereafter. For each time interval, wet swallows achieved significantly greater percentage passage into the stomach when compared to dry swallows (P < 0·05). Based on this study, we recommend the routine administration of a water bolus to cats receiving oral tablets or capsules to prevent possible medication associated esophagitis.
Abstract No. 6, previously published in J Vet Intern Med
E Breitschwerdt, A Abrams-Ogg, S Hancock, S Cowan, J Clooten, B Hegarty
Although antibodies to E. canis antigens have been detected in sera from North American cats, no Ehrlichia species has ever been cultured from a naturally infected cat. Also, to our knowledge, E. canis DNA has not been amplified and sequenced from cat blood or tissue samples. The purpose of this report is to describe the clinicopathologic, serologic and molecular findings in three cats that were naturally infected with E. canis.
The cats originated from Greensboro, NC (C-1), Guelph, ONT (C-2), and Norval, ONT (C-3). At the time of admission in May, March and October respectively, they were 31, 12 and 12 months of age and the duration of illness was 14, 2, and 3 days. All 3 cats were examined because of acute onset of lethargy and inappetance. Crytococcosis was diagnosed in C-1 and systemic lupus erythematosus in C-2. Physical examination abnormalities included fever (41.1, 40.2 C) in C-1 & C-2, moderate stifle joint effusion (C-1), generalized lymphadenopathy (C-2) and pallor, petechiae and blindness (C-3). Ocular abnormalities included chemosis, conjunctivitis and protrusion of the third eye lid in C-1, and multifocal retinal hemorrhage with bilateral retinal detachment in C-3. Clinicopathologic testing identified numerous abnormalities including neutrophilia with a regenerative left shift and neutphilic polyarthritis in C-1, pancytopenia with reactive lymphadenopathy in C-2, and a normocytic normochromic non-regenerative anemia and thrombocytopenia in C-3. A core bone marrow biopsy revealed erythroid and megakaryocytic hypoplasia in both C-2 and C-3. Due to the predominance of early myeloid percursors in C-2, acute myeloid leukemia or immune-mediated myelodysplasia were the main differential diagnoses. All 3 cats were negative for FeLV, FIV and various other infectious diseases. Antinuclear antibodies were detected in the two cats tested (C-1 & C-2). By IFA testing, reciprocal antibody titers to E. canis antigens were <16 for C-1 and C-2. Using primers ECCmod and HE3R mod, 380 bases of the 16S rRNA gene were amplified, cloned and sequenced. The resulting sequence from all three cats was identical, except for 2 bases in C-1, to the homologous sequence for E. canis. Treatment with doxycycline, and other drugs, elicited clinical improvement in all 3 cats, but the concurrent use of immunosuppresive drugs for the presumptive diagnoses of immune-mediated polyarthritis, systemic lupus erythematosus and immune-mediated anemia and thrombocytopenia may have interfered with therapeutic elimination of the organism. We conclude that cats can be infected with E. canis, without developing an IFA E. canis antibody response.
Abstract No. 18, previously published in J Vet Intern Med
KM Meurs, MD Kittleson, PJ Reiser, AL Magnon, JA Towbin
Hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HMC) is a familial disease inherited as an autosomal dominant trait in the Maine Coon (MC) cat. The disease has many similarities to familial HCM in humans, including inheritance pattern, clinical presentation, and histopathologic changes. Over 125 mutations in nine genes encoding sarcomeric proteins are known to cause familial HCM in humans. The objective of this study was to evaluate myocardial sarcomeric proteins from MC cats with familial HCM.
We conclude that myomesin, a sarcomeric protein, is reduced or absent in myocardium from MC cats affected with familial HCM. This information supports the theory that familial HCM in MC cats is a disease of the sarcomere, and it provides the rationale for additional evaluation of the feline myomesin gene.
Abstract No. 38, previously published in J Vet intern Med
JJ McDonnell, KP Carmichael, D Bienzle
Cats persistently infected with the retrovirus feline leukemia virus (FeLV) are affected by a wide spectum of proliferative and degenerative diseases. Some diseases such as the leukemia/lymphoma complex and fibrosarcomas are generally accepted to be induced by or associated with FeLV infection. We present evidence that FeLV-infected cats have a novel and unique neurodegenerative process clinically evident as a progressive myelopathy. We have identified a chronic neurologic syndrome in long-term FeLV-infected cats consisting of paresis that progresses to paralysis. Other signs reported include abnormal vocalization and a hyperesthesia syndrome. Records of nine affected cats were reviewed which showed that all cats were FeLV antigenemic for more than 3 years and had a nonpainful progressive spastic paraparesis. There was no other common physical examination finding or hematological abnormality. Imaging studies consisting of radiography, myelography and/or magnetic resonance imaging were negative for compressive lesions. Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) analysis was normal. Cats were euthanized due to neurological deterioration. Necropsies of eight cats did not identify gross central nervous system abnormalities. Microscopically, there were profound lesions in the spinal cord and brainstem. The most severe lesions were within the thoracolumbar spinal cord that would explain the clinical signs. Lesions consisting of diffuse white matter degeneration characterized by dilated myelin sheaths and swollen axons were present in the absence of monocuclear cell infiltrates. FeLV antigen was identified immunocytologically in the spinal cords of affected cats. Proviral DNA was amplified from sections of spinal cord, intestine, spleen and lymph nodes. These findings suggest that in a proportion of chronically FeLV-infected cats, a virus has evolved with an expanded host cell range enabling infection of neurons and glial cells resulting in axonal degeneration.
Abstract No. 73, previously published in J Vet Intern Med
Claudia Reusch, Martina Casella, Juergen Zapf, Jan Mol
The growth hormone (GH)-insulin-like growth factor (IGF I) axis is an integral part of the endocrine system responsible for promoting linear growth. Insulin is a major anabolic effector in the body, and is also an important regulator of the GH-IGF axis. Studies in diabetic humans revealed that insulin deficiency leads to a decrease in IGF I concentrations, although GH levels tend to be high. After starting insulin therapy IGF I concentrations normalize within 1 to 4 weeks. In diabetic cats IGF I and GH measurements are used for the diagnosis of hypersomatotropisms (HS). The objectives of our study were twofold: first, to investigate if there is a difference in IGF I and GH levels in diabetic cats without HS before and after initiating insulin therapy. Second, to investigate if IGF I and GH measurement prior to insulin administrations are reliable to diagnose HS in diabetic cats.
Prior to insulin therapy IGF I levels in cats without HS ranged between 13 and 433 ng/ml (median 163), which was significantly lower than in controls. In 11 of the 15 cats IGF I was below the reference range. GH ranged between 1·6 and 9·0 ng/ml (median 4·3) and was above the reference range in 3 cases. There was an inverse correlation between IGF I and GH. After initiating insulin therapy IGF I levels increased significantly and were not different from control levels after a median of 4 weeks. GH was elevated in all 4 cats with HS, however IGF I was only elevated in those 2 cats which had received insulin therapy for several months (2711 ng/dl, 686 ng/dl). In the other 2 cats IGF I was normal (293 ng/dl, 42 ng/dl). In both cases IGF I increased above the reference range after initiating isulin therapy (705 ng/dl, 886 ng/dl).
We conclude that in untreated diabetic cats the GH-IGF I axis may be altered due to insulin deficiency. The parameters may be unreliable to diagnose hypersomatotropisms prior to insulin therapy.
Abstract No. 102, previously published in J Vet Intern Med
CR Ward, SE Achenbach, ME Peterson
Feline hyperthyroidism is a common endocrinopathy in cats that resembles toxic nodular goiter (TNG) in humans. Abnormalitites of the TSH receptor – G protein-mediated signal transduction cascade have been shown to be involved in the pathogenesis of human TNG. Previous work from our laboratory has implicated similar pathogenic mechansims involved in feline hyperthyroidism (Hammer et al., 2000 AJVR 61:874–879). We demonstrated that adenomatous thyroid tissue from hyperthyroid cats showed significantly decreased expression of inhibitory G proteins (Gi). Three subtypes of Gi proteins (Gi1, Gi2, Gi3) have been identified that have unique signaling activities in different cell types. The purpose of this study was to identify which Gi protein subtype(s) showed decreased expression in adenomatous thyroid tissue from hyperthyroid cats. We conclude that Gi2 is the Gi that shows altered expression in adenomatous tissue and may be involved in the pathodenesis of feline hyperthyroid disease.
Abstract No. 108, previously published in J Vet Intern Med
K Tomsa, R Hardegger, T Glaus, C Reusch
We previously reported, that hyperthyroid cats suffering from severe non-thyroidal illness (sick hyperthyroid cats) were indistinguishable from sick euthyroid cats based on serum T4 and on thyrotropin-releasing hormone (TRH) stimulation test. Limitation of the TRH stimulation test was mainly poor specificity.
The purpose of this prospective study was to evaluate the usefulness of thyroid pertechnetate scintigraphy for assessment of thyroid function in a population of cats with clinically suspected hyperthyroidism, and normal serum T4 concentration and to evaluate its potential superiority over TRH stimulation test. Inclusion criteria were: clinical suspicion of hyperthyroidism, serum T4 concentration <3·5 μg/dl, and available thyroid histology. Complete blood count, serum chemistry, urinalysis and TRH stimulation test were performed in each cat. Scintigraphy was additionally performed in 3 clearly hyperthyroid cats (serum T4 >3·5 μg/dl) as positive controls. A totla of 14 cats fulfilled the inclusion criteria (study cats). Serum T4 concentrations ranged from 0·6 to 3·0 μg/dl (median 1·7). Percentage of stimulation after TRH application ranged from −7 to 83% (median 29·5). Eight cats showed stimulation <50%, 3 cats between 50–60%, and 3 cats >60%. Thyroid scan was positive in all cats. Thyroid pathology, consistent with hyperthyroidism (nodular hyperplasia or adenoma), was evident on histology in 3 control cats and in 11 of 14 study cats. No thyroid pathology was found in 3 study cats. These were the cats with a stimulation of < 60% after TRH application.
Scintigraphy is a sensitive test for diagnosing hyperthyroidism in sick hyperthyroid cats. However, the positive results in 3 cats with normal thyroid hgistology raises suspicion about its specificity. Possible explanations for positive scintigraphy in these 3 cats are true false-positives, false-positives associated with iodine depletion, or true-positives but false-negative histopathology Further studies are needed with larger numer of cats, especially euthyroid cats with a lack of stimulation after TRH application.
Abstract No. 109, previously published in J Vet Intern Med