Case Description-A 5-year-old male guinea pig (Cavia porcellus) was examined because of lethargy, weight loss, and episodic neurologic signs, including paddling in lateral recumbency, head tilt, and ...circling. Prior to initial examination, the animal was treated with corn syrup whenever it appeared lethargic, plus an unknown dosage of sulfadimethoxazole. Clinical Findings-The animal was thin, with abdominal distention and subtle torticollis. Chemistry panel results documented hypoglycemia (45 mg/dL). Corn syrup was discontinued in favor of a high-fiber formula fed via a syringe. Measurement of blood insulin concentration demonstrated hyperinsulinemia (> 1,440 pmol/L > 201 μU/L), with concurrent hypoglycemia (0.6 mmol/L 11 mg/dL). Treatment and Outcome-Diazoxide treatment for presumptive insulinoma was started at a dosage of 5 mg/kg (2.3 mg/lb), PO, every 12 hours. A blood glucose curve demonstrated persistent hypoglycemia, and the diazoxide dosage was gradually increased to 25 mg/kg (11.4 mg/lb), PO, every 12 hours. A second glucose curve measurement 12 days later confirmed adequate euglycemic control. Three weeks after the initial diazoxide dosage increase, the animal was reexamined for constipation and abdominal distension and died the following day. Histologic analysis confirmed a pancreatic beta-cell tumor (insulinoma). Clinical Relevance-To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of premortem diagnosis and treatment of an insulinoma in a guinea pig. This case demonstrates that diazoxide treatment can help achieve euglycemia in hypoglycemic guinea pigs and is a potential treatment option for guinea pigs with insulinoma.
A 7.5-year-old spayed female ferret was evaluated because of weight loss despite a good appetite. Pancreatic insulinoma had been diagnosed at another animal hospital on the basis of detection of low ...blood glucose concentration on 1 occasion; however, concurrent determination of blood insulin concentration was not performed. The ferret had been treated SC with methylprednisolone acetate (unknown dosage) every 30 days for 2 years. No follow-up data regarding blood glucose concentration were available.
On physical examination, the ferret was thin (weight, 0.619 kg 1.36 lb) and bruised easily. Serum biochemical analysis revealed hyperglycemia (blood glucose concentration, 855 mg/dL; reference range, 63 to 134 mg/dL).
Glucocorticoid injections were discontinued, and the ferret was administered prednisolone (1.13 mg/kg 0.51 mg/lb, q 12 h for 14 days, then 0.56 mg/kg 0.25 mg/lb, q 12 h for 7 days) orally. After prednisolone administration was discontinued, hyperglycemia and weight loss persisted. The ferret was administered insulin glargine (0.5 U) SC; blood glucose concentration was monitored every 2 hours for 24 hours, at which time the value had decreased to nearly within reference range. The owner continued insulin glargine administration at that dose every 12 hours; after 77 days of treatment, the ferret's weight was 0.731 kg (1.61 lb), which was considered normal, and blood glucose concentration was within reference range.
Regular SC administration of insulin glargine was successful in the treatment of diabetes mellitus in the ferret of this report and may be effective for other diabetic ferrets.
Like any other service your hospital gofers, exotic pet care -- whether birds, small mammals, reptiles, amphibians, wildlife or uncommon species (hedgehogs, pot-bellied pigs, sugar gliders, prairie ...dogs) -- will only be worth it if you can charge appropriately for it. And the way to feel justified charging for exotic pet services is to spend time studying bird and exotic animal diseases and treatment and to acquire basic equipment to diagnose and treat these pets. Once you've set yourself up with basic equipment and have a general knowledge of bird and exotic pet diseases and treatment, it's a matter of time and practice to make exotic pet services profitable.
In 2010, the author went against the advice of her friends and colleagues and opened her own all-bird and exotic pet hospital. They said she wouldn't get enough clients to survive. But she was ...determined to make it work, and with a little time and money and a lot of creativity, she did. Her top tips for tooting your own horn are presented. They are: 1. Create a Web site and market it well. 2. Connect via social media. 3. Go the extra mile. 4. Create a knockout facility. 5. Reach out to the community. 6. Be camera-ready. 7. Talk it up: blogging, writing, lecturing. Marketing a veterinary hospital may take considerable time, effort and money-but it can also be fun and creative. And involving your whole team takes the burden off of you.
The RNA exosome complex is a key component of RNA processing and quality control that both degrades and processes many classes of RNA. This complex is highly conserved among eukaryotes and was first ...identified and studied in budding yeast (S. cerevisiae). Mutations in the human EXOSC2 gene, which encodes a cap subunit of the RNA exosome, have been linked to a novel syndrome characterized by retinitis pigmentosa, progressive hearing loss, premature aging, short stature, mild intellectual disability and distinctive gestalt. While the amino acid substitutions in EXOSC2 that cause this syndrome are known, how these amino acid changes impact RNA exosome function is not. The goal of my project is to analyze the functional consequences of retinitis pigmentosa‐linked amino acid substitutions modeled in the budding yeast ortholog of EXOSC2, Rrp4.
The two variants I have analyzed, rrp4‐G58V and rrp4‐G226D, correspond to patient mutations G30V and G198D, respectively. I first assessed growth of the mutant strains compared to wildtype yeast cells, which revealed that rrp4‐G226D mutant cells exhibit a growth defect at 37°C, whereas the rrp4‐G58V mutant cells grow normally. To assess whether these amino acid substitutions affect Rrp4 protein levels, I used immunoblotting. Results of this analysis reveal that the rrp4‐G58V and rrp4‐G226D proteins are expressed, but at somewhat reduced level compared to wildtype Rrp4. In the future, I will continue characterization of the mutants by using biochemical approaches to study the assembly of the RNA exosome complex and genetic analysis of rrp4 mutant interactions with RNA exosome cofactors.
Support or Funding Information
EMORY INITIATIVE TO MAXIMIZE STUDENT DEVELOPMENT
Emory Initiative to Maximize Student Development: R25 GM125598
Neurodevelopmental Role of an RNA Binding Protein Required for Cognitive Function: R01 MH107305
This is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this published in The FASEB Journal.
RNA exosomopathies, a growing family of diseases, are linked to missense mutations in genes encoding structural subunits of the evolutionarily conserved, 10-subunit exoribonuclease complex, the RNA ...exosome. This complex consists of a three-subunit cap, a six-subunit, barrel-shaped core, and a catalytic base subunit. While a number of mutations in RNA exosome genes cause pontocerebellar hypoplasia, mutations in the cap subunit gene
cause an apparently distinct clinical presentation that has been defined as a novel syndrome SHRF (
hort stature,
earing loss,
etinitis pigmentosa, and distinctive
acies). We generated the first in vivo model of the SHRF pathogenic amino acid substitutions using budding yeast by modeling pathogenic
missense mutations (p.Gly30Val and p.Gly198Asp) in the orthologous
gene
The resulting
mutant cells show defects in cell growth and RNA exosome function. Consistent with altered RNA exosome function, we detect significant transcriptomic changes in both coding and noncoding RNAs in
cells that model
p.Gly198Asp, suggesting defects in nuclear surveillance. Biochemical and genetic analyses suggest that the Rrp4 G226D variant subunit shows impaired interactions with key RNA exosome cofactors that modulate the function of the complex. These results provide the first in vivo evidence that pathogenic missense mutations present in
impair the function of the RNA exosome. This study also sets the stage to compare exosomopathy models to understand how defects in RNA exosome function underlie distinct pathologies.
A 19-year-old female Congo African grey parrot (Psittacus erithacus) presented for an oval, solid, pigmented, suspected intraocular mass with extrascleral extension through the inferior cornea of the ...left eye. The eye was nonvisual, and intraocular portions of the mass significantly altered the posterior chamber. Neoplasia was confirmed by biopsy, and enucleation was performed because of the severity of ocular disease, loss of vision, enhancement of patient comfort, and potential metastasis. Histopathologic examination of the entire globe revealed a pigmented iridociliary adenoma. Iridociliary adenomas have been rarely reported in birds, and this case report details diagnosis and treatment. Iridociliary adenomas in other species are often benign, indicating this neoplasia can be successfully treated with no reoccurrence by complete excision.
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