Neoplastic diseases are typically diagnosed by biopsy and histopathological evaluation. The pathology report is key in determining prognosis, therapeutic decisions, and overall case management and therefore requires diagnostic accuracy, completeness, and clarity. Successful management relies on collaboration between clinical veterinarians, oncologists, and pathologists. To date there has been no standardized approach or guideline for the submission, trimming, margin evaluation, or reporting of neoplastic biopsy specimens in veterinary medicine. To address this issue, a committee consisting of veterinary pathologists and oncologists was established under the auspices of the American College of Veterinary Pathologists Oncology Committee. These consensus guidelines were subsequently reviewed and endorsed by a large international group of veterinary pathologists. These recommended guidelines are not mandated but rather exist to help clinicians and veterinary pathologists optimally handle neoplastic biopsy samples. Many of these guidelines represent the collective experience of the committee members and consensus group when assessing neoplastic lesions from veterinary patients but have not met the rigors of definitive scientific study and investigation. These questions of technique, analysis, and evaluation should be put through formal scrutiny in rigorous clinical studies in the near future so that more definitive guidelines can be derived.

The optimal dosage of astaxanthin for goldfish Curussius uurutus was determined by feeding a series of diets containing 0, 25, 50, 75, and 100 mg of astaxanthinkg of diet for 4 wk. The pigmentation on fish skin was measured by visual assessment against a color chart and by counting chromatophores produced in the dermis layer of fish skin. Both criteria showed that 36-37 mgjkg astaxanthin was the optimal dosage to stimulate fish color. A 4-wk observation after this experiment demonstrated that fish color stimulated by dietary astaxanthin was stable in its intensity. Therefore feeding astaxanthin could be a suitable way for goldfish producers to stimulate color among fish grown in an algae-free environment. The survival rate of fish fed diets with astaxanthin was significantly higher than fish fed diets without astaxanthin. However, there was no significant effect of astaxanthin on fish weight gain.

No abstract

A total of 75 biopsied samples of cardia, fundus, body, and pyloric antrum from necropsied dogs that were submitted to the Department of Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Chulalongkorn University from April 2003 to June 2004 were investigated. The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of Helicobacter spp. in canine stomach by polymerase chain reaction (PCR) in comparison to histochemistry versus immunohistochemistry (IHC), and to correlate these diagnostic methods with the clinical significance in infected dogs. Histopathological results revealed 60.0% (45/75) of samples to be positive, and consisted of mild gastritis in 64.44% (29/45), moderate gastritis in 11.11% (5/45), and severe gastritis in 24.44% (11/45). The proportion showing no histopathological lesions was 40.0% (30/75). Helicobacter spp. were localized to the luminal crypt in 18.67% (14/75), gastric pit in 22.67% (17/75), gastric gland in 21.33% (16/75), and gastric epithelium in 8% (6/75). The percentages of positive samples of Helicobacter spp. diagnosed by hematoxylin and eosin stain (H&E), Warthin Starry stain (WSS), IHC with rabbit polyclonal anti-H. pylori antibody, and PCR were 17.3% (13/75), 46.7% (35/75), 30.7% (23/75), and 10.7% (8/75), respectively. No significant differences weree observed in histopathological changes in portions of the stomach (p>0.05). The diagnosis of Helicobacter spp. by PCR in comparison to that by WSS and IHC was not significantly different (p>0.05). There were no relationships between pathological studies using H&E, WSS, and IHC, and especially between PCR and clinical signs of Helicobacter spp. infections in canine stomachs (p>0.05). The present study revealed significantly different levels of correlation for Helicobacter spp. detection between H&E and WSS (p<0.001). Results indicate that the method of choice for diagnosis of Helicobacter spp. infection in canine stomach is dependent on the purpose of study and appropriate specimen collection.

Blood characteristics of YHT are species-specific, and this study can be served as a reference for future clinical studies and medical care of YHT.