Katia Marioni-Henry

A retrospective study on the use of acepromazine maleate in dogs with seizures

Use of acepromazine (i.e., acetylpromazine) maleate in dogs with a history of seizures is reportedly contraindicated because of the risk of decreasing the seizure threshold in these animals. In this retrospective study, acepromazine was administered for tranquilization to 36 dogs with a prior history of seizures and to decrease seizure activity in 11 dogs. No seizures were seen within 16 hours of acepromazine administration in the 36 dogs that received the drug for tranquilization during hospitalization. After acepromazine administration, seizures abated for 1.5 to 8 hours (n=6) or did not recur (n=2) in eight of 10 dogs that were actively seizing. Excitement-induced seizure frequency was reduced for 2 months in one dog.

Feline spinal cord diseases

The objective of this article is to review the recent literature that reports on the most common diseases affecting the spinal cord of cats, and to draw some general conclusions that will be useful to formulate diagnosis and prognosis for feline spinal patients. The most common types of feline spinal cord diseases documented were inflammatory/infectious diseases, and feline infectious peritonitis was the most common disease, representing approximately 50% of all feline myelitis. Neoplasms were documented in approximately 25% of cases; lymphosarcoma was the most common tumor affecting the spinal cord of cats, with reported prevalence between 28% and 40%. Cats diagnosed with spinal lymphosarcoma were significantly younger (median age 4 years) than cats with other spinal cord tumors (median age 10 years). Cats with clinical signs of intervertebral disc disease had a median age of 8 years, and 67% had Hansen type I disc protrusions. The most commonly affected intervertebral disc was at the L4 to L5 intervertebral disc space. Fibrocartilaginous embolism-affected older cats (median age 10 years), seemed to predominate in the cervicothoracic intumescence, and clinical signs were markedly lateralized, especially when the cervical region was affected.

Complex partial orofacial seizures in English cats

WE would like to alert colleagues to the fact that in the past month we have examined four cats with a particular form of epilepsy. All four cats lived in a radius of 80 miles from our hospital and presented with complex partial seizures characterised by arrest in a sitting position, profuse salivation, facial twitches, vocalisation (most often howling and hissing) and mydriasis. The complex partial seizures progressed within a few days with an increase in frequency and duration, and in two cats the progression led to generalised seizures with loss of consciousness and involuntary urination. One cat had …

Clinical Features in Border Terrier Dogs with Paroxysmal Involuntary Movements

There have been anecdotal reports of episodic involuntary movements in the Border Terrier dog breed for over a decade. Recently, it has been hypothesized that this condition may be a form of paroxysmal dystonic choreoathetosis. The aim of this study was to characterize the phenomenology and clinical course of this condition and compare it to known human movement disorders.

Network analysis of canine brain morphometry links tumour risk to oestrogen deficiency and accelerated brain ageing

Background Structural ‘brain age’ is a valuable but complex biomarker for several brain disorders. The dog is an unrivalled comparator for neurological disease modeling, however brain phenotypic diversity among pedigrees creates computational and statistical challenges. Methods We applied unbiased network correlation analysis in dogs to explore complex interactions between brain morphometrics, patient metadata, and neurological disease. Twenty-four parameters measured from each of 286 brain magnetic resonance imaging scans generated 9,438 data points that were used to cluster canine patients according to their brain morphometry profiles. The network was then explored for statistically significant enrichments within breed, sex, age, and diagnostic categories. Findings Morphometric comparisons revealed an advanced ‘aged-brain’ profile in the Boxer breed, consisting of a small brain length, width, and volume, combined with ventriculomegaly. Key features of this profile were paralleled in neutered female dogs which, relative to un-neutered females, had an 11-fold greater risk of developing primary brain tumours. Enrichment analysis confirmed that Boxers and geriatric individuals were enriched for brain tumour diagnoses, despite a lack of geriatric Boxers within the cohort. Interpretation These findings suggest that accelerated brain ageing might contribute to tumour risk in Boxers and may be influenced by oestrogen deficiency — a risk factor for dementia and brain tumours in humans. We propose that morphometric features of brain ageing in dogs, like humans, might better predict neurological disease risk than a patient’s chronological age. Funding Wellcome Trust Integrated Training Fellowship for Veterinarians (096409/Z/11/Z to N.M.R) and an MSD Animal Health Connect Bursary (to O.M.S.).

Feline hyperaesthesia syndrome with self-trauma to the tail: retrospective study of seven cases and proposal for integrated multidisciplinary diagnostic approach

Case series summary This was a retrospective study on the clinical features and response to treatment in seven cats with feline hyperaesthesia syndrome (FHS) and tail mutilation. FHS is a poorly understood disorder characterised by skin rippling over the dorsal lumbar area, episodes of jumping and running, excessive vocalisation, and tail chasing and self-trauma. The majority of the cats were young, with a median age of 1 year at the onset of clinical signs, male (n = 6) and with access to the outdoors (n = 5). Multiple daily episodes of tail chasing and self-trauma were reported in five cats, with tail mutilation in four cats. Vocalisation during the episodes (n = 5) and rippling of lumbar skin (n = 5) were also reported. Haematology, serum biochemistry, Toxoplasma gondii and feline immunodeficiency virus/feline leukaemia virus serology, MRI scans of brain, spinal cord and cauda equina, cerebrospinal fluid analysis and electrodiagnostic tests did not reveal any clinically significant abnormalities. A definitive final diagnosis was not reached in any of the cats, but hypersensitivity dermatitis was suspected in two cases. A variety of medications was used alone or in combination, including gabapentin (n = 6), meloxicam (n = 4), antibiotics (n = 4), phenobarbital (n = 2), prednisolone (n = 2) and topiramate (n = 2); ciclosporin, clomipramine, fluoxetine, amitriptyline and tramadol were used in one cat each. Clinical improvement was achieved in six cases; in five cats complete remission of clinical signs was achieved with gabapentin alone (n = 2), a combination of gabapentin/ciclosporin/amitriptyline (n = 1), gabapentin/prednisolone/phenobarbital (n = 1) or gabapentin/topiramate/meloxicam (n = 1). Relevance and novel information This is the first retrospective study on a series of cats with FHS. The diagnostic work-up did not reveal any significant abnormalities of the central or peripheral nervous system; dermatological and behavioural problems could not be ruled out. We propose an integrated multidisciplinary diagnostic pathway to be used for the management of clinical cases and for future prospective studies.

Author Gender and Career Progression in Environmental Science & Technology

Technology Theodore B. Henry*,†,‡,§ and Katia Marioni-Henry †The School of Energy, Geoscience, Infrastructure and Society, Institute of Life and Earth Sciences, Heriot-Watt University, Edinburgh, EH14 4AS U.K. ‡The Center for Environmental Biotechnology, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996 United States Department of Forestry Wildlife and Fisheries, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee 37996, United States Hospital for Small Animals, Royal (Dick) School of Veterinary Studies and the Roslin Institute, University of Edinburgh, Midlothian, EH25 9RG U.K.

Idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation mimicking a malignant spindle cell tumor in a dog

A dog presented with a retrobulbar mass, diagnosed histopathologically as malignant spindle cell neoplasia. Emergence of analogous findings in the contralateral orbit prompted extended immunohistochemistry of the original mass and reassignment to idiopathic sclerosing orbital inflammation. Early incisional biopsy with extended immunohistochemical analysis should be considered for canine orbital tumors.

Invasion of fat into the brain case in a cat

FAT in the brain case has occasionally been reported in the human literature and is usually secondary to intracranial fat-containing tumours or iatrogenically caused by free fat grafts placed into skull defects following craniotomy ([Tokiguchi and others 1988][1], [Reece and others 1989][2], [Hwang