A 22-year-old captive male South American sea lion (Otaria flavescens)
developed an undifferentiated carcinoma originating in the cardiac region of the stomach.
Clinical symptoms included vomiting, anorexia and weight loss. Ultrasonography and
endoscopy showed gastric wall thickness. At necropsy, the gastric wall had significant
thickening around the cardiac region, and metastases were found in some organs.
Histologically, samples from the stomach wall and metastases showed the same tumor tissue.
Immunohistochemistry was positive for epithelium markers. Ductal growth, keratinocytes or
signet ring cells were absent. The tumor was classified as an undifferentiated carcinoma
using the World Health Organization’s (WHO) guide to international classification of
tumors in domestic animals. This is the first report of a primary gastric carcinoma in a
pinniped.
A postmortem examination revealed a large brain cavity in the right cerebral hemisphere
of a 9-year-old male fennec (Vulpes zerda). The cavity was filled with
cerebrospinal fluid and extended to the right lateral ventricle. Swelling and displacement
of the right hippocampal area were also observed. Histologic examination revealed no
evidence of previous infarct lesions, hemorrhage, inflammation or invasive tumor cells.
Observation of the defective part suggested a local circulatory disorder during the fetal
stage, although the cause was not detected. No neurological symptoms that could enable a
provisional diagnosis were observed during the course of his life. This is the first
report of asymptomatic porencephaly in a fennec fox.
Senile plaques and cerebral amyloid angiopathy (CAA)?are well-documented in various mammals, and several species even exhibit neurofibrillary tangle (NFT). However, we know far less about whether such symptoms are present in birds. Therefore, here we clarified the occurrence and pathogenesis of avian aβ-related lesions, analyzing the aβ amino-acid sequence across 28 birds at multiple life stages, representing 15 species, 14 genera, and 9 nine families.?We also determined the expected aβ amino-acid sequence after comparing data from the brains of nine birds (seven species) with publicly available NCBI data. We observed CAA and senile plaque-like deposition only in a female Amazon parrot, estimated to be around 30–40 years old. We identified two Aβ depositions (40 and 42) in the same location that correspond to Aβ 6-42. Additionally, we observed severe Aβ deposition, accompanied by severe hemorrhaging, in blood vessels of the superficial and deep portions of the brain. These lesions were directly related to the cause of death. Of 40 bird species, 36 exhibited type 1 Aβ amino-acid sequences, similar to humans. Given that all of these birds were old, our results suggest that Aβ is deposited primarily as CAA as the animals age. This report is the first clinically based description of CAA in birds. Interspecific variation likely exists because we identified species that did not exhibit Aβ deposition even when the birds are old enough. However, even birds of the same taxonomic status differed in whether they possessed or lacked Aβ deposition. Thus, other factors besides Aβ amino-acid sequence could influence this symptom.
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