Significance Sea stars inhabiting the Northeast Pacific Coast have recently experienced an extensive outbreak of wasting disease, leading to their degradation and disappearance from many coastal areas. In this paper, we present evidence that the cause of the disease is transmissible from disease-affected animals to apparently healthy individuals, that the disease-causing agent is a virus-sized microorganism, and that the best candidate viral taxon, the sea star-associated densovirus (SSaDV), is in greater abundance in diseased than in healthy sea stars.

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of different tumor types within a large cohort of cats with intracranial neoplasia and to attempt to correlate signalment, tumor size and location, and survival time for each tumor. Medical records of 160 cats with confirmed intracranial neoplasia evaluated between 1985 and 2001 were reviewed. Parameters evaluated included age, sex, breed, FeLV/FIV status, clinical signs, duration of signs, number of tumors, tumor location(s), imaging results, treatment, survival times, and histopathologic diagnosis. Most of the cats were older (11.3 +/- 3.8 years). Primary tumors accounted for 70.6% of cases. Metastasis and direct extension of secondary tumors accounted for only 5.6 and 3.8% of cases, respectively. Twelve cats (7.5%) had 2 or more discrete tumors of the same type, whereas 16 cats (10.0%) had 2 different types of intracranial tumors. The most common tumor types were meningioma (n = 93, 58.1%), lymphoma (n = 23, 14.4%), pituitary tumors (n = 14, 8.8%), and gliomas (n = 12, 7.5%). The most common neurological signs were altered consciousness (n = 42, 26.2%), circling (n = 36, 22.5%), and seizures (n = 36, 22.5%). Cats without specific neurological signs were common (n = 34, 21.2%). The tumor was considered an incidental finding in 30 (18.8%) cats. In addition to expected relationships (eg, meninges and meningioma, pituitary and pituitary tumors), we found that lesion location was predictive of tumor type with diffuse cerebral or brainstem involvement predictive of lymphoma and third ventricle involvement predictive of meningioma.

The purpose of this study was to determine the frequency of different tumor types within a large cohort of cats with intracranial neoplasia and to attempt to correlate signalment, tumor size and location, and survival time for each tumor. Medical records of 160 cats with confirmed intracranial neoplasia evaluated between 1985 and 2001 were reviewed. Parameters evaluated included age, sex, breed, FeLV/FIV status, clinical signs, duration of signs, number of tumors, tumor location(s), imaging results, treatment, survival times, and histopathologic diagnosis. Most of the cats were older (11.3 +/- 3.8 years). Primary tumors accounted for 70.6% of cases. Metastasis and direct extension of secondary tumors accounted for only 5.6 and 3.8% of cases, respectively. Twelve cats (7.5%) had 2 or more discrete tumors of the same type, whereas 16 cats (10.0%) had 2 different types of intracranial tumors. The most common tumor types were meningioma (n = 93, 58.1%), lymphoma (n = 23, 14.4%), pituitary tumors (n = 14, 8.8%), and gliomas (n = 12, 7.5%). The most common neurological signs were altered consciousness (n = 42, 26.2%), circling (n = 36, 22.5%), and seizures (n = 36, 22.5%). Cats without specific neurological signs were common (n = 34, 21.2%). The tumor was considered an incidental finding in 30 (18.8%) cats. In addition to expected relationships (eg, meninges and meningioma, pituitary and pituitary tumors), we found that lesion location was predictive of tumor type with diffuse cerebral or brainstem involvement predictive of lymphoma and third ventricle involvement predictive of meningioma.

Until recently, cancer in wildlife was not considered to be a conservation concern. However, with the identification of Tasmanian devil facial tumour disease, sea turtle fibropapillomatosis and sea lion genital carcinoma, it has become apparent that neoplasia can be highly prevalent and have considerable effects on some species. It is also clear that anthropogenic activities contribute to the development of neoplasia in wildlife species, such as beluga whales and bottom-dwelling fish, making them sensitive sentinels of disturbed environments.

A retrospective review of records of 205 cats with histologically confirmed disease of the spinal cord was performed to identify the prevalence of disease in this nonrandomly selected population of cats. Clinical records were reviewed, and age, duration of neurologic illness, and clinical and histopathologic findings in cats with spinal cord disease were abstracted. Disease processes were classified into 7 categories and 23 groups. The most common diseases affecting the spinal cord of cats were feline infectious peritonitis (FIP), lymphosarcoma (LSA), and neoplasia of the vertebral column secondarily affecting the spinal cord. Information on age, onset and duration of clinical signs, and lesion localization at the postmortem examination in cats belonging to the 7 categories of disease were analyzed to create a practical list of differential diagnoses. Cats were also subcategorized into 3 groups based on their age at death. FIP was the most common disease of cats younger than 2 years of age. LSA and vertebral column neoplasia were the most common diseases affecting cats between 2 and 8 years of age. Vertebral column neoplasia was the most common disease affecting cats older than 8 years of age. Results of this histopathologic study showed that FIP and LSA were the most common disease processes affecting the spinal cord of cats. However, at least 21 other groups of diseases and their relative prevalence were identified.