The purpose of this study was t o evaluate fructosamine concentrations in clinically healthy cats, sick cats with stress hyperglycemia, and untreated diabetic cats t o determine the usefulness of this test in diagnosing diabetes mellitus in cats, and in differentiating the disease from stress-induced hyperglycemia. In addition, we evaluated if the degree of glycemic control in cats treated for diabetes influenced their serum fructosamine concentrations. In the 14 sick cats with stress hyperglycemia, the median serum fructosamine concentration (269 @mol/L) was not significantly different from the median value in the 26 clinically normal cats (252 pmol/ L). Two of the 14 cats with stress hyperglycemia (14.3%) had serum fructosamine concentrations above the upper limit of the reference range (175 t o 400 pmol/L); on the basis of these results, the test specificity was calculated as 0.86. In 30 cats with untreated diabetes mellitus, the median serum fructosamine concentration was 624 pmol/L, markedly higher than the value in either the normal cats or the cats with stress hyperglycemia. All but 2 of the 30 untreated n human diabetic patients, serum fructosamine concentra-I tion has been shown to provide a reliable assessment of short-term glucose homeostasis.'.' Fructosamine assays are reported to be quick, technically simple, inexpensive, precise, fairly free of interference, and easily a~t o m a t e d .~.~ The fructosamine test also detects deteriorating glycemic control faster than measurement of glycosylated hemoglobin, another test commonly used to monitor glycemic control in human diabetic patient^.'.^.'.^The term "fructosamine" refers to albumin and other plasma proteins that have been linked to a sugar (usually glucose) by a nonenzymatic chemical reaction, a process known as glycation. The serum fructosamine concentration is proportional to the blood glucose concentration over the life span of the glycated protein being measured (eg, in humans, 2 to 3 weeks in the case of albumin). Therefore, measuring the serum fructosamine concentration is a means of assessing the average blood glucose concentration in an individual over the preceding few weeks. Although the life span of albumin in cats is not known, it is assumed to be similar to that in dogs, approximately 1 to 2 weeks.' The glycation of hemoglobin over the life span of erythrocytes is commonly thought of as the classic example of this process and is a reflection of the average blood glucose concentration over the life span of the red blood cells (70 and 120 days in cats and humans, respectively).","

Canine granulocytic anaplasmosis is a disease diagnosed in many areas of the United States, with the highest prevalence reported in dogs in the upper midwestern, northeastern, and western states. It is also found in several European countries. Anaplasmosis can manifest with a wide range of clinicopathologic findings. A 20 wk old puppy was presented with physical examination and laboratory findings atypical of the disease. In addition to other signs, abdominal effusion was detected. Diagnostic evaluation confirmed that the puppy was positive for anaplasmosis. No morulae were found in peripheral white blood cells, but morulae were apparent in the white cells of the abdominal effusion. Leukopenia was observed, characterized by neutropenia, as opposed to the lymphopenia and eosinopenia typically seen with the disease. Blast cells were also seen in the peripheral blood, and reactive lymphocytes were noted in the bone marrow. The patient responded well to doxycycline therapy. All hematologic and physical abnormalities resolved.

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