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Background Vascular complications are a primary diagnostic consideration in liver transplant recipients, with an overall incidence of 9%. Cross-sectional imaging techniques provide information regarding vascular structure and luminal patency but can not quantitatively assess hepatocyte damage in the liver graft parenchyma. Perfusion computerized tomography (CT) is a recently developed method that allows for quantitative evaluation of hemodynamic changes in tissue. Our objective was to evaluate the clinical utility of perfusion CT in assessing vascular complications during living-donor liver transplantation (LDLT). Methods The 33 recipients were divided into 3 groups according to Doppler ultrasonographic findings: hepatic arterial complication group, portal venous complication group, and hepatic venous complication group. Blood volume (BV), blood flow (BF), arterial liver perfusion (ALP), portal venous perfusion (PVP), and hepatic perfusion index (HPI) were calculated for the affected vascular territory regions. Results Compared with normal liver parenchyma, BV, BF, ALP, and HPI were significantly lower in the hepatic arterial complication group. Although PVP and BV were significantly lower, ALP, HPI, and BF were higher in the affected vascular territory region than in normal liver parenchyma for the portal venous complication group. In the hepatic venous complication group, PVP was significantly higher and BF, ALP, and HPI significantly lower in the affected vascular territory regions than in normal liver parenchyma. Conclusions Perfusion CT imaging is a noninvasive technique that enables the quantitative evaluation of vascular complications in the graft parenchyma after LDLT and permits a quantitative evaluation of the treatment response.

The detection of bovine viral diarrhea virus (BVDV) in a female Holstein calf presented with perosomus elumbis, a congenital anomaly, is reported here. A cow with dystocia was evaluated and an abnormal dead calf was detected during vaginal examination. The calf was retrieved via caesarean section and exhibited abnormalities characteristic of PE, such as vertebral and pelvic malformations. These abnormalities were further confirmed using radiographic and necropsy examinations. At necropsy cerebellar hypoplasia was an additional finding, which is a typical lesion associated with bovine virus diarrhea (BVD). Several tissue samples from the calf were tested for the presence of antigens of BVDV and bovine herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) by ELISA. In addition, sera samples from the dam and calf were tested for the presence of antibodies against BVDV, BHV-1, and bluetongue disease virus (BTV) using a virus neutralization assay. Results indicated that the calf was congenitally infected with BVDV, whereas there was no evidence for the presence of BHV-1 and BTV. In the dam's serum no antibodies against BVDV, BHV-1, and BTV were detected. Even though the etiology of perosomus elumbis is unknown, BVDV, which causes fetal anomalies at early gestation in cows, may have been a contributing factor in this case.

TOXIC epidermal necrolysis (TEN) is a rare dermatological disorder characterised by widespread erythema, necrosis and bullous detachment of the epidermis and mucous membranes, resulting in exfoliation of the skin and possibly leading to sepsis and/or death (Lyell 1956, Lebargy and others 1997). The epithelium of the gut and airways can also be affected, causing clinical signs such as profuse diarrhoea and respiratory distress. Studies conducted in human beings have revealed that detachment of the epidermis is a result of disseminated apoptosis of keratinocytes and that the death of these cells is most likely caused by cytotoxic lymphocytes, monocytes and macrophages (Paul and others 1996). TEN in human beings is most commonly a drug-induced disease caused by antibiotics (such as sulfonamids, macrolides, penicillins, ampicillin and some quinolones (eg, ciprofloxacin), antiepileptic drugs and NSAIDs. However, the disorder has other potential aetiologies in human beings, including Mycoplasma pneumonia infection, malignancy and vaccinations (Fournier and others 1995, Tay and others 1996). M pneumonia -related TEN cases in human beings are usually milder than drug-induced ones, and generally only 10 per cent of the skin is involved (Tay and others 1996). The pathophysiology of TEN has not been fully elucidated, but it has been suggested that this disease is an immune-related cytotoxic reaction that destroys keratinocytes expressing a foreign antigen (Paul and others 1996). TEN is a clinical diagnosis confirmed by histopathological analysis of skin lesions. There are only two reports regarding TEN in cattle (Yeruham and others 1999a, b). These studies reported cases of TEN in calves; however, because no underlying cause for disease was detected, the cases were classified as idiopathic (Yeruham and others 1999b). This short communication describes an association …

A 2-year-old, female Persian cat was presented with a history of distocia. In her first pregnancy, she had whelped four kittens and had eaten all of them right after parturition. She had mated again with the same tomcat. Well-developed foetuses with weak foetal heart beats were observed in the ultrasonographic examination. En block ovariohysterectomy was performed. Three live and mature foetuses were obtained from the uterus; two of them were female foetuses and had no anatomical problem but the third one exhibiting multiple malformations was a male and diagnosed as 'schistosoma reflexum' (SR). The vertebral column deviated markedly to the right (scoliosis) at thoracolumbar region, and the middle lumbar and the sacral vertebrae were directed dorsocranially (lordosis). The entire small intestine, a part of large intestine, stomach, spleen and the right kidney were displayed out of the body, and it seemed that the listed internal organs were protruded from an abdominal cleft associated with the allantoic membrane. Liver, lungs and heart were hypoplastic. The large intestine was seen to have blind end (atresia recti), but anus was normal. Cerebrum and cerebellum were noticed as normal in sizes. Chromosome preparations from lymphocyte cultures of the foetus showed chromosomal aberrations including chromatid and chromosome breaks, exchange figures, non-homologous pairing, whereas no abnormalities were detected in the chromosome preparations from mother's cultures. This is probably the first case of SR in a cat, which was examined in detail from clinical, pathological, radiological and chromosomal angles.