Ocular chemical burns are among the most critical and true ocular emergencies in dogs and cats, with destructive consequences on the ocular surface and intraocular tissues. Platelet alpha granules are an important reservoir of growth factors that can stimulate chemotaxis of inflammatory cells, mitosis, migration and differentiation of cells. On the other hand, tetracyclines and their derivatives exhibit non-antimicrobial properties, such as affecting inflammation, immunomodulation, cell proliferation and angiogenesis. The objective of this study is to investigate the effect of intrastromal platelet rich plasma (PRP) in combination with oral doxycycline in the healing process of the cornea. Thirty six New Zealand rabbits were used in this experimental study. Alkali burns were created by applying a round filter paper soaked in NaOH. PRP was prepared by centrifugation of autologous blood. The rabbits were allocated to four groups (9 animals each). Group 1 served as the control group without any treatment. Group 2 received doxycycline (5mg/kg b.w.) orally once a day throughout the study. Group 3 received an intrastromal injection of PRP (0.5ml) in the cornea, and group 4 received intrastromal PRP combined with oral doxycycline. Treatments had varied levels of success, with PRP combined with oral doxycycline producing the best results regarding corneal healing. Animals in the control group had epithelial defects for the whole duration of the study, and 3 animals presented corneal perforation. Groups 3 and 4 had smaller mean defect area, compared to groups 1 and 2. On the 7th day, neovascularisation was lower in treatment groups compared to the control group. Groups 3 and 4 also had less corneal oedema compared to the control group on day 3 and 7. Group 4 exhibited the best wound healing, with less neovascularization and better collagen arrangement, as shown by the histopathological evaluation. To the authors’ knowledge this is the first experimental study that intrastromal PRP is combined with oral doxycycline for the management of corneal chemical burns. This combination is a simple, safe and economical therapeutic approach that promotes corneal healing.

In this paper an extremely rare case of primary bilateral eyelid meibomian gland epithelioma in a dog is presented. Meibomian tumors arise from the meibomian (tarsal) glands on the inner aspect of the eyelid, and meibomian gland adenomas and adenocarcinomas are the most frequent neoplasia arising from those glands. A 10-year-old male dog was admitted, with ophthalmic signs of periorbital swelling of the right eye. During the last two years, the dog had a progressive engorgement of the upper eyelid of the right eye, and during the past few months, strabismus and exophthalmos were also noticed, as well as a slighter enlargement on the lower eyelid of the left eye. Upon ophthalmic examination strabismus and periorbital swelling at the lateral canthus of the right eye, accompanied by mild exophthalmos and lagophthalmos, were recorded. Also, deep ulcerative keratitis with corneal oedema and neovascularization were noticed. Intense chemosis, epiphora and a small pinkish mass arising from the palpebral conjunctiva of the left lower eyelid were also seen. Neoplasia of both eyelids was suspected, and a series of diagnostic examinations were carried out. Orbital exenteration of the right eye was performed in the first place, followed by surgical removal of the mass of the left eyelid one month later. Based on clinical and histopathological findings, meibomian gland epithelioma was diagnosed. No relapse or metastases (local or distant) were observed in re-examinations within 18 months after the surgery. This study shows that although meibomian gland epithelioma is rare, it should be considered in the differential diagnosis of cases of orbital and eyelid tumors. Even though this tumor shows low malignancy, prompt surgical intervention and extended excision is the treatment of choice, in order to preserve vision in some cases. To the authors’ knowledge, the present case is the first report of bilateral meibomian gland epithelioma in the veterinary literature.

OBJECTIVENeuro-ophthalmological abnormalities (blindness, miosis, mydriasis, anisocoria, Horner's syndrome, strabismus and nystagmus) appear frequently in dogs and cats admitted with neurological disease. This study reports the incidence of neuro-ophthalmological abnormalities in 99 dogs and 15 cats with neurological disease, along with correlation with the commonest final diagnoses. METHODSThe study population consisted of dogs and cats admitted with neurologic signs and at least one neuroophthalmological sign. Inclusion criteria were history, clinical and neurological examination, neuroanatomic and aetiologic diagnosis. Descriptive statistics were used. RESULTSThe most frequent presenting complaints were head tilt (22/99) and paresis/paralysis (22/99) in dogs and head tilt (3/15) and ataxia (3/15) in cats. The most common neuroophthalmological abnormalities were strabismus (55/99) in dogs and anisocoria (7/15) in cats. The localization of lesions was found to be multifocal (38/99), and focal, in the vestibular system (37/99) in dogs, whilst in cats it was solely multifocal (6/15). An aetiologic diagnosis was reached only in 48 dogs and 10 cats; the former were mainly diagnosed with distemper encephalitis (10/48) and congenital hydrocephalus (6/48) and the latter mostly with encephalitis (5/10). STATEMENTNeuro-ophthalmological abnormalities may be misinterpreted by concurrent extra-neural, ocular signs or stress reflex reactions that may hamper diagnosis. Consequently, neuro-ophthalmological examination and correlation with neurological signs is important for the neuroanatomic diagnosis, severity assessment and prognosis of the respected diseases. As shown, neuroophthalmological cases reached a 18.24% of the total neurologic case load admitted during a five-year period; therefore, represent a significant number of cases, which should not be ignored.