To elucidate whether acute-phase protein responses occur in dogs infected with Ehrlichia canis, C-reactive protein (CRP) and al-acid glycoprotein (AAG) levels were serially measured in the plasma of five dogs experimentally inoculated with E. canis and 10 sham-inoculated or noninoculated control dogs. The CRP concentration was measured by a canine-specific capture enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay, and the AAG concentration was measured by a canine-specific radial immunodiffusion method. In all E. canis-inoculated dogs, a 3.3to 6.5-fold increase in the plasma CRP concentration and a 1.9to 8.6-fold increase in the plasma AAG concentration over the preinoculation level occurred at days 4 to 6 postexposure. Despite the persistence of E. canis and high antibody titers, both CRP and AAG concentrations gradually declined to preexposure levels by day 34 postexposure. E. canis-infected dogs had mild and transient clinical signs which resolved without treatment by day 14 postexposure. The CRP and AAG concentrations in control inoculated or nontreated dogs remained within the normal range throughout the experimental period. Of 12 dogs naturally infected with E. canis, 75% had greater than 50 ,ug of CRP per ml and 83% had greater than 500 ,ug of AAG per ml. All of these 12 dogs had chronic and severe clinical signs of canine ehrlichiosis. Thus, elevations in the levels of acute-phase proteins occur in both acute and chronic canine ehrlichiosis. Determination of CRP and AAG concentrations may help in assessing the severity of inflammatory damage in dogs with E. canis infections.

Background & Objective: Microvascular complications are the major outcome of type 2 Diabetes Mellitus progression, which reduce the quality of life, incur heavy economic burdens to the health care system and increase diabetic mortality. The aims of this study were to assess the prevalence of microvascular complications among newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients and to analyze the association between these complications and poor glycemic control. Methods: This cross sectional hospital based study was carried out in Diabetic Clinic of Shaikh Zayed Postgraduate Medical Institute, Lahore Pakistan. The study was conducted from November 2011 to November 2012 among newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients. Relevant information of all patients was recorded with the help of a proforma. They were investigated for retinopathy, nephropathy and neuropathy. Results: We have divided the patients into two groups: Group I with good glycemic control (HbA1c <6.5) and group II with poor glycemic control (HbA1c >6.5). In group II microvascular complications were 89.8%. Neuropathy, nephropathy and retinopathy were present in 68.5%, 56.2% and 31.4% respectively. These similar percentages in Group I were 50%, 0% and 31% respectively and are significantly lower. Conclusion: The study showed that even in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetic patients who had poor glycemic control, frequency of microvascular complications is much higher as compared to those who had average glycemic control. Thus tight glycemic control does count even in newly diagnosed type 2 diabetics to prevent and minimize the occurrence of complications.

We present evidence that supports the carrier status of dogs experimentally infected with Ehrlichia canis after treatment with doxycycline. Canine ehrlichiosis was induced in five dogs by intravenous inoculation with E. canis-infected DH82 cells. All animals developed mild clinical signs of transient fever, body weight loss, thrombocytopenia, and increased gamma globulin levels in plasma. An indirect fluorescent-antibody test (IFA) revealed that all dogs had seroconverted (titer, 5,120) by day 10 postinoculation (p.i.). E. canis was reisolated from blood samples collected at intervals throughout the 2-month period p.i. Doxycycline was administered orally once daily at 10 mg/kg of body weight per day for 1 week starting at 2 months p.i. Following treatment, gamma globulin levels in plasma were decreased. At necropsy on days 54 to 59 after the start of treatment, spleen, liver, kidney, and lymph nodes were collected for E. canis culture and histopathologic examination. Although the dogs did not show significant clinical signs during or after treatment with the antibiotic, E. canis was reisolated from the blood and tissue samples of three of five dogs. A 16-fold reduction in IFA titer was noted in two dogs which were negative for E. canis reisolation at day 49 after the start of treatment, whereas a zero-to fourfold reduction in IFA titer was seen in the remaining three dogs. Western immunoblot reactions to higher-molecular-size E. canis antigens in the sera of two dogs which were negative for E. canis on blood culture decreased, whereas they remained continuously high or only transiently decreased for the duration of the study for antigens in the sera of three dogs from which E. canis was reisolated. Histopathologically, prominent plasmacytosis in the kidney cortex was present in three dogs from which E. canis was reisolated, whereas the kidney cortices of two dogs had moderate to minor plasmacytosis. These findings pose questions regarding the efficacy, dosage, and duration of doxycycline treatment in dogs with E. canis infection. In addition, it was shown that IFA and Western immunoblotting may aid in assessing the efficacy of antibiotic therapy when definitive reisolation procedures are not readily available.

The purpose of the study was to compare the sensitivity of PCR with those of cell culture reisolation of Ehrlichia canis, the indirect fluorescent antibody test (IFA), and Western immunoblotting (WI) in the early diagnosis of canine ehrlichiosis. Five German shepherd dogs were intravenously inoculated with 107 E. canis-infected DH82 cells. Blood was collected on alternate days during a 2-week postinoculation period. Mononuclear cell fractions were harvested and used for E. canis reisolation and DNA extraction for PCR. The plasma was used for assaying antibodies against E. canis. By PCR, the 16S rRNA gene of E. canis was detected in the mononuclear cell specimens collected as early as day 4 to 10 postexposure (PE). E. canis was reisolated from the blood starting on day 2 PE from all five dogs. The indirect fluorescent antibody test and Western immunoblotting could detect E. canis antibodies as early as 2 to 8 days PE. Cell culture reisolation proved to be the most sensitive and definitive for early diagnosis of ehrlichiosis, but it is not very convenient, since it takes a long time (14 to 34 days) to show up positive. The sensitivity of PCR is comparable to or slightly less than that of other established methods; however, the convenience, quickness, and direct nature of detecting E. canis DNA is expected to make PCR more useful for clinical diagnosis.

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Cytologic features of aspiration smears from a mucus-producing medullary carcinoma of the thyroid are described. Two patterns of mucin production by the tumor cells were noted. In some cells, mucin was present as numerous small cytoplasmic vacuoles with ultrastructural morphology characteristic of mucin granules. Other cells had larger, more well-defined cytoplasmic mucin vacuoles; on ultrastructural examination, they were found to be intracytoplasmic lumina. Although mucin production has been demonstrated in several histologic studies of medullary carcinoma, it has not been previously recognized in fine-needle aspiration biopsies from this neoplasm.