Background: Little is known about etiology, disease progression, treatment outcome, survival time, and factors affecting prognosis in dogs with primary hepatitis (PH).Objectives: To review retrospectively different forms of hepatitis in a referral population, by the World Small Animal Veterinary Association Standardization criteria.Animals: One-hundred and one dogs examined for histologically confirmed PH between 2002 and 2006. Dogs with nonspecific reactive hepatitis were excluded.Methods: Retrospective study. Medical records were reviewed for prevalence, signalment, clinical and clinicopathologic manifestation, outcome, survival time, and prognostic factors for shortened survival.Results: PH occurred in 0.5% of dogs in this referral population. Acute (AH) and chronic hepatitis (CH) were diagnosed in 21 and 67 dogs, respectively. Progression from AH to CH occurred in 5/12 of the repeatedly sampled dogs. CH was idiopathic in 43 (64%) dogs, and was associated with copper accumulation in 24 (36%) dogs. Median survival time was longer in dogs with AH than in dogs with CH (either idiopathic or copper associated), and dogs with lobular dissecting hepatitis had the shortest survival time. Prognostic factors predicting shortened survival were associated with decompensated liver function and cirrhosis at initial examination.Conclusions and Clinical Importance: The majority of PH in dogs is CH. Previous studies appear to have underestimated the etiologic role of copper in both AH and CH. Prognosis is reduced in dogs with hepatic cirrhosis or cirrhosis-related clinical findings. Further research into etiology and treatment effectiveness in all PH forms is needed.

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The neurosurgeon performing hypophysectomies must master a learning curve and must be familiar with the most frequent complications of the operation to recognize them as early as possible and to treat them immediately and effectively. Urinary C/C ratios are sensitive indicators for the assessment of remission and recurrence of hyperadrenocorticism.

This study summarizes the clinical and pathologic findings in 15 Labrador Retrievers with copper-associated chronic hepatitis (CACH). Our hypothesis was that this form of hepatitis is caused by a defect in hepatic copper metabolism, which most likely originates from a genetic defect. Affected Labradors consisted of 11 female and 4 male Labrador Retrievers. Eight family members of 2 of these patients were examined prospectively, as were 6 unrelated healthy Labrador Retrievers. All dogs were registered at the breed club. The average age at clinical presentation was 7 years (range, 2.5-10.5 years). All dogs were presented for anorexia, which was associated with vomiting in 8 patients. The diagnosis of CACH was based on histologic examination of liver biopsy specimens in all dogs, including semiquantitation of copper. A disproportionate increase in alanine aminotransferase (ALT) activity relative to alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activity, as well as the centrolobular localization of copper and the association of copper accumulation with hepatic lesions, suggested a primary copper storage disease rather than primary cholestatic liver disease causing copper accumulation. Mean hepatic copper concentration measured in related Labradors was 1,317 mg/g dry weight liver (range, 402-2,576 mg/g). Mean hepatic copper concentration of unrelated normal Labradors was 233 mg/g dry weight liver (range, 120-304 mg/g). Our findings support the hypothesis that a hereditary form of hepatitis occurs in Labrador retrievers and is caused by a defect in hepatic copper metabolism.

Results-CT imaging enabled accurate preoperative localization of the pituitary. Appropriate positioning and surgical technique facilitated exposure of the pituitary and its extraction without hemorrhage. Postoperative recovery was generally uncomplicated. None of the eight dogs had somatotropic, gonadotropic, lactotropic, melanotropic, or posterior pituitary responses to stimulation at 10 weeks after hypophysectomy. Four dogs (ACTH nonresponders) also had no corticotropic response and four (ACTH responders) had small but significant responses in the combined anterior pituitary function test. Adrenocortical atrophy was more pronounced in the ACTH nonresponders than in the responders. No residual pituitary tissue was found along the ventral hypothalamic diencephalon but nests of pituitary cells were found embedded in fibrous tissue in the sella turcica. Conclusions-The surgical technique proved to be safe and effective. Microscopic nests of pituitary cells in the sella turcica may be responsible for residual corticotropic response to hypophysiotropic stimulation after hypophysectomy.Clinical Relevance-The surgical technique may be used in the treatment of dogs with pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism. The corticotropic response is the most sensitive criterion in assessing completeness of hypophysectomy in dogs. OCopyright 1997 by The American College of Veterinaly SurgeonsHE SURGICAL technique of hypophysectomy T in dogs was first described at the beginning of this century, when dogs were used in experimental studies to examine the physiological role of the hypophysis.'" Because there was a high rate of mortality associated with the intracranial transtemporal approach, the transsphenoidal approach for ablation of the pituitary became the preferred technique in experimental studies in dog^.^-'^ From the late 1960s onwards, reports in the veterinary literature mentioned the use of hypophysectomy to treat pituitarydependent hyperadrenocorticism (PDH).'5-23 However, little clinical data were published and, despite its long history, hypophysectomy remained a rare procedure in clinical veterinary medicine. 15-17~19 This was mainly because of the high rate of complications associated with the procedure and the availability of alternative treatments for PDH (ie, bilateral adrena-From the