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Jahns H, Callanan JJ, McElroy MC, Sammin DJ, Bassett HF. Age-related and Non-age—related Changes in 100 Surveyed Horse Brains. Vet Pathol 2016; 43:740-50. [PMID: 16966453 DOI: 10.1354/vp.43-5-740] [Citation(s) in RCA: 15] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.9] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Brains from 100 horses, aged 2-25 years, were systematically examined by histopathology at 46 different neuroanatomical sites. The horses were sourced from a slaughterhouse (group A, n = 57), from a kennel that collected dead animals, and from 2 diagnostic laboratories (group B, n = 43). All horses from group A and 26 horses from group B were examined by a veterinarian in the period before death. None of the horses were known to exhibit clinical signs suggestive of neurologic disease. Among the main changes identified were vacuolation in the neuropil ( n = 73), neurons ( n = 32), white matter ( n = 31), and focal perivascular lymphoid cell infiltrates ( n = 35). Spheroids were frequently seen ( n = 91), and 10 horses each had more than 10 spheroids in the cuneate or gracile nucleus. Statistically significant age-related changes noted included intraneuronal ( n = 97) and glial or extracellular lipofuscin deposition ( n = 41), hemosiderin deposition around blood vessels ( n = 60), and calcium depositions ( n = 24). One horse had low-grade nonsuppurative meningoencephalitis; Alzheimer type II cells were detected in the brains of 2 horses. Hyalinized vessel walls in the cerebellum were observed in 1 horse. It was concluded that some histopathologic changes are a frequent feature in equine brains, which has implications for the pathologists involved in equine neurology and disease surveillance.
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Affiliation(s)
- H Jahns
- Central Veterinary Research Laboratory, Backweston Campus, Young's Cross, Celbridge, Co. Kildare, Ireland.
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Youssef SA, Capucchio MT, Rofina JE, Chambers JK, Uchida K, Nakayama H, Head E. Pathology of the Aging Brain in Domestic and Laboratory Animals, and Animal Models of Human Neurodegenerative Diseases. Vet Pathol 2016; 53:327-48. [DOI: 10.1177/0300985815623997] [Citation(s) in RCA: 82] [Impact Index Per Article: 10.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/21/2022]
Abstract
According to the WHO, the proportion of people over 60 years is increasing and expected to reach 22% of total world’s population in 2050. In parallel, recent animal demographic studies have shown that the life expectancy of pet dogs and cats is increasing. Brain aging is associated not only with molecular and morphological changes but also leads to different degrees of behavioral and cognitive dysfunction. Common age-related brain lesions in humans include brain atrophy, neuronal loss, amyloid plaques, cerebrovascular amyloid angiopathy, vascular mineralization, neurofibrillary tangles, meningeal osseous metaplasia, and accumulation of lipofuscin. In aging humans, the most common neurodegenerative disorder is Alzheimer’s disease (AD), which progressively impairs cognition, behavior, and quality of life. Pathologic changes comparable to the lesions of AD are described in several other animal species, although their clinical significance and effect on cognitive function are poorly documented. This review describes the commonly reported age-associated neurologic lesions in domestic and laboratory animals and the relationship of these lesions to cognitive dysfunction. Also described are the comparative interspecies similarities and differences to AD and other human neurodegenerative diseases including Parkinson’s disease and progressive supranuclear palsy, and the spontaneous and transgenic animal models of these diseases.
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Affiliation(s)
- S. A. Youssef
- Department of Pathobiology, Dutch Molecular Pathology Center, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - M. T. Capucchio
- Department of Veterinary Sciences, Torino University, Torino, Italy
| | - J. E. Rofina
- Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, Utrecht, Netherlands
| | - J. K. Chambers
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - K. Uchida
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - H. Nakayama
- Department of Veterinary Pathology, Graduate School of Agricultural and Life Sciences, University of Tokyo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
| | - E. Head
- Sanders Brown Center on Aging, Pharmacology & Nutritional Sciences, University of Kentucky, Lexington, UK, USA
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Martínez J, Montgomery DL, Uzal FA. Vascular mineralization in the brain of horses. J Vet Diagn Invest 2012; 24:612-7. [PMID: 22529137 DOI: 10.1177/1040638712442352] [Citation(s) in RCA: 7] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/15/2022] Open
Abstract
Vascular mineralization (siderocalcinosis) in the brain of horses has been usually assumed to be an incidental age-related finding with no clinic significance. In the present study, eight 15-32-year-old horses of different breeds with cerebral siderocalcinosis were studied. Four of these horses had acute and severe central nervous system clinical signs of unknown etiology, 2 horses had neurological signs of known cause, and 2 horses did not have neurological signs. Gross examination of the brains in 4 animals revealed symmetrical foci of malacia in the cerebellar white matter. Histologically, moderate to severe mineralization of blood vessels and parenchyma were observed in all 8 horses, occasionally associated with necrosis of the adjacent tissue. Some horses were tested by virus isolation, polymerase chain reaction, immunohistochemistry, and serology to investigate Rabies virus; West Nile virus; Equid herpesvirus 1 and 4; Eastern, Western, Venezuelan, and Saint Louis encephalitis virus; and Sarcocystis neurona infection. These tests were negative in all samples analyzed. Brain cholinesterase activity and heavy metal screening were also unremarkable. The significance of the vascular and parenchymal mineralization in the brains of some of these horses remains undetermined. However, the severity of the lesions observed in the brains of some of the animals in the present study, coupled with the negative results for other common causes of neurological disease in horses, suggests a possible relationship between siderocalcinosis and the clinical signs observed.
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Affiliation(s)
- Jorge Martínez
- Departament de Sanitat i Anatomia Animals, Universitat Autònoma Barcelona, Spain.
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Gerhauser I, Wohlsein P, Ernst H, Germann PG, Baumgärtner W. Vacuolation and mineralisation as dominant age-related findings in hamster brains. ACTA ACUST UNITED AC 2012; 65:375-81. [PMID: 22257562 DOI: 10.1016/j.etp.2011.12.001] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 08/24/2011] [Revised: 11/08/2011] [Accepted: 12/04/2011] [Indexed: 11/24/2022]
Abstract
Syrian golden hamsters (Mesocricetus auratus) are laboratory animals increasingly used for research and toxicological studies. Despite the need for an adequate knowledge of spontaneously occurring lesions, studies investigating the background pathology of different organ systems in hamsters are lacking. The aim of this study was to investigate the occurrence of spontaneous, age-dependent lesions in the central nervous system of this species. Multiple brain and spinal cord transverse sections of 520 hamsters of 1, 3, 6, 12, and 24 months of age were investigated using histology and immunohistochemistry. Vacuolation of grey matter neuropil and mineralisation especially in the brain stem were the most prominent findings. They gradually increased in severity and frequency with age. Vacuolation and mineralisation affected approximately 100% and 50% of 24-month-old hamsters, respectively. In addition, pigment deposition and mast cell infiltration were commonly detected. Whether vacuolation and mineralisation represent an incidental finding or are related to a cognitive dysfunction syndrome remains to be determined.
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Affiliation(s)
- Ingo Gerhauser
- Department of Pathology, University of Veterinary Medicine Hannover, Bünteweg 17, D-30559 Hannover, Germany.
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Capucchio MT, Márquez M, Pregel P, Foradada L, Bravo M, Mattutino G, Torre C, Schiffer D, Catalano D, Valenza F, Guarda F, Pumarola M. Parenchymal and vascular lesions in ageing equine brains: histological and immunohistochemical studies. J Comp Pathol 2009; 142:61-73. [PMID: 19744668 DOI: 10.1016/j.jcpa.2009.07.007] [Citation(s) in RCA: 23] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.5] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 04/15/2009] [Revised: 06/11/2009] [Accepted: 07/18/2009] [Indexed: 11/18/2022]
Abstract
Many age-related changes are described in the nervous system of different species, but detailed studies of brain lesions in ageing horses are lacking. The aim of the present study was to systematically characterize lesions in the brains of 60 horses aged from 7 to 23 years. No gross changes were present in any brain. Microscopically, spongiform changes, lipofuscin storage, corpora amylacea, gliosis and satellitosis were common, together with axonal and neuronal swellings. The most important findings were the presence of pseudocalcium-calcium (pCa-Ca) deposits and arterial wall degeneration. Scanning electron microscopical examination of two cases with vascular mineralization revealed marked deposition of an amorphous substance in the vessel walls that was probably formed by a polyanionic protein matrix and a mineral component. Immunohistochemically, numerous axonal spheroids were positively labelled for ubiquitin. No PrPsc was detected in sections with neuronal vacuolation. Neuronal swelling, corpora amylacea, hippocampal Tau-positive neurons and methenamine-positive diffuse (preamyloid) plaques were also detected. Congo red staining failed to detect amyloid deposition. The characterization of age-related lesions in the brains of these horses will allow these changes to be discriminated from pathological processes in future studies. Some lesions described here, including some vascular changes, the presence of diffuse plaques and tau accumulation in hippocampal neurons, have not been described previously in the horse.
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Affiliation(s)
- M T Capucchio
- Department of Animal Pathology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Torino, 10095 Grugliasco, Torino, Italy.
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Gavier-Widen D, Wells GA, Simmons MM, Wilesmith JW, Ryan J. Histological observations on the brains of symptomless 7-year-old cattle. J Comp Pathol 2001; 124:52-9. [PMID: 11428189 DOI: 10.1053/jcpa.2000.0428] [Citation(s) in RCA: 38] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.7] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/11/2022]
Abstract
The histological changes in the brains of 506 clinically normal 7-year-old cattle, which were part of a cohort study on maternal transmission of bovine spongiform encephalopathy, are described. Vacuolation of the white matter, of unknown aetiology, located particularly in the substantia nigra, was a frequent finding. Vacuolated neurons were commonly observed in the red nucleus (64.3% of the animals) and in the habenular nucleus (50.1%). Spheroids were found in 10.8% of the brains, most frequently in the vestibular nuclei. Cellular inflammatory infiltrates in association with blood vessels occurred in 30% of the animals at various locations in the brain; their aetiology remains uncertain, but they may have reflected subclinical or latent infections. Mineralization of the wall of blood vessels, with proliferation of the intima, was observed frequently in vessels of the internal capsule and was probably associated with ageing. The description of histological findings in the brain of symptomless adult cattle in the present study provides a useful background for diagnostic bovine neuropathology.
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Affiliation(s)
- D Gavier-Widen
- Veterinary Laboratories Agency, Woodham Lane, New Haw, Addlestone, Surrey, KT15 3NB, UK
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