greyhndz

Just bumping, Kristin, to see if you ever heard back from Dr. Couto? Any news?

Hi Kristin Any word from OSU? Just thinking about you, hoping reassuring news is coming...

Yikes - I've been attacked by HTML! I'd better just sum up what I found: In dogs, chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) appears to be primarily a T-cell disease although B-cell CLL has also been reported (3:1 ratio) B-cell CLL and T-cell CLL appear to have somewhat different patterns of disease progression. B-cell CLL affects the bone marrow early in disease and may be considered a primary bone marrow disease. T-cell CLL typically does not affect the bone marrow until late in the disease and may spread from the marrow after splenic involvement. Good article, but technical

Kristen, I'm sorry to hear about this, but here are a couple of articles (kind of technical) which do mention the good chance of chemo resulting in remission. Big hugs to both of you! WSAVA article The Immunophenotype and Hematology of Canine Leukemia William Vernau BSc, BVMS, DVSc, PhD, Diplomate ACVP Assistant Professor of Clinical Pathology, Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary Medicine, UC Davis, Davis, CA. USA Chronic Lymphocytic Leukemia (CLL) Canine CLL differs markedly from human CLL. In the largest canine study to date, canine chronic lymphocytic leukemia (CLL) occurred in older dogs (mean age 9.75 years; range 1.5 - 15 years; n=73 cases).1 Blood lymphocyte counts ranged from 15,000/ul to 1,600,000/ul. Surprisingly, 73% of CLL cases involved proliferation of T lymphocytes (CD3+), and 54% of CLL cases had granular lymphocyte (GL) morphology.1 GL CLL’s were almost exclusively proliferations of T cells that expressed CD8 and the leukointegrin CD11d and more frequently expressed T cell receptor (TCR)ab (69%) than TCRgd (31%). Canine GL CLL followed a typically indolent clinical course. The non-GL T cell CLL cases (19% of CLL) involved proliferation of TCRab T cells in which no consistent pattern of CD4 or CD8 expression was found. B cell CLL, based on expression of CD21 (and lack of T cell antigens) or CD79a, accounted for only 26% of canine CLL cases. No cases of canine B cell CLL expressed CD5. CD1c expression was present in 95% of canine B cell CLL. These results are in marked contrast to people where greater than 95% of CLL’s involve proliferation of CD5+ B lymphocytes.2 Anemia (< 0.37 L/L) is a common finding (58% of cases) in canine CLL. Of the cases with anemia, 58% were classified as mild (Hct 0.30-0.36, reference interval 0.37-0.55 L/L), 34% as moderate ( Hct 0.20-0.30 L/L) and 8% as severe (Hct <0.20 L/L).1 Almost all anemias were poorly responsive. Thrombocytopenia was present in 27% of cases and, in the majority of these cases (72%), it was relatively mild (120-200 x 109/L, reference interval 180-500 x 109/L). Absolute neutropenia (<3 x 109/L) was not observed in any case.1 Canine B cell CLL appears to be a primary bone marrow disease. However, bone marrow involvement in T cell CLL involving proliferation of GL’s appears to occur relatively late in the course of the disease.1 The neoplastic expansion in these instances appears to originate in the spleen. In several cases of GL CLL, concurrent aspirates of spleen and marrow were available for assessment.1 In most of these cases, there was marked splenic infiltration with GL’s but bone marrow involvement was either minimal or inapparent. Occasionally, there was significant marrow infiltration but this was accompanied by a greater degree of splenic involvement. Interestingly, CD11d expression is relatively constrained in tissue; the splenic red pulp is the dominant site of CD11d expression in the hematopoietic system in both dogs and cats.3 The different immunophenotypes observed in canine CLL do not appear to be associated with different clinical courses or confer different prognoses although long term follow up was not available for many of the cases in the above mentioned study.1 The disease runs a somewhat variable course, depending on how advanced it is at the time of initial diagnosis. Several very advanced cases with lymphocyte counts in excess of 500,000/ul (500 x 109/L), severe anemia and significant clinical signs achieved complete remissions with normalization of the lymphocyte counts.1 Many of the dogs were still alive, more than three years after the initial diagnosis, and this long term survival appeared to be independent of the different immunophenotypes present within this group.1 The immunophenotype of a given case did not change significantly over time or with disease progression in those instances where repeat immunophenotyping was performed.1 As with other types of canine CLL, canine GL CLL appears to respond favourably to standard prednisone and chlorambucil therapy.

It's just dominance. WARNING: Graphic (but hysterical) photo to follow: This was taken back in the mid 90's. The lady (well, maybe not a lady after all) on top is my Robyn. The gentleman with the mystified expression was foster Rico. Robbie was always the "bottom of the pack" girl, and this was the first time she discovered that someone was actually below her (literally ). So, no doggie nookie going on here -- just a little power trip.

I'm sorry to hear that your beautiful little boy is an Angel now. I know how deeply an iggy can burrow into your heart. Warmest hugs to you and to your very loving son.

Oh, the poor boy! But your description reminded me of a video I saw years ago on Amer. Funniest Home VIdeos -- a cat was sleeping on top of a radiator and just kind of plopped off to the side. Simple but hysterical. Ave will be fine. A few of my big boys had LP for the last few years of their lives, and besides making them roo silently (they just couldn't hit those upper ranges anymore) it made no difference in their quality of life. But Thunder needs a crash helmet.

Crazy minds think alike! That's one of my favorite websites.

ETA: this is a great example of stridor - check it out: Oh, Thunder... do you need to wear a seat belt when you're on the furniture? Melissa, this sounds like stridor, not a typical cough or respiratory infection. If it recurs, it might be a good idea to ask your vet (or one of the IM folks at Angell) if he should be scoped. Given his age, I'd think perhaps mild LP, but a fiberoptic scope would answer the question. The increased stridor when he's in certain positions makes sense - I'd bet it's more to do with whether or not his neck is flexed than whether he's upright or on his side. If his neck is flexed, it tends to "kink off" the airway. It's the same way in humans -- if you've ever taken a CPR class, you may recall that one of the first steps you take is to open the airway by very slightly hyperextending the neck. Watch Avalanche closely when he starts to "roar" and see if his neck is flexed. BTW - maybe Thunder would have been more appropriately named "Avalanche"...

My galgo, Dandi, has frequent flares of neck and back pain and has benefited tremendously from acupuncture. He's also on Chinese herbs, not only for his back but for his recurrent ear infections. I see a huge difference in Dandi's mood and comfort level within a few hours of his treatment. I do recall that when starting acupuncture, the dog (or human) can actually have increased symptoms for the first couple of sessions, but usually around the third session is when you should begin to see improvement. On days when Dandi is very owie, our acupuncture will target the bad areas and unfortunately Dandi isn't thrilled about this, but by the next day he's much happier. If you can possibly hang in there, it may just be a matter of 1-2 more sessions, and I'd really expect to see improvement at that point. I bring Dandi in every 2 weeks -- if we go longer than that, I can see the difference. But my experience with Dandi has made me a huge fan of acupuncture.

I just saw this, Melissa. I'm ashamed to say that it sounds something like me after I've gulped down half a can of soda. No, seriously... does this noise occur during inspiration or exhalation? It actually sounds like stridor to me, which could indicate some type of partial upper airway obstruction. Laryngeal paralysis can sound very similar, but is usually exacerbated by stress. Can you give any more details? Is it clearly happening during inspiration? Does his positioning make a difference (e.g., is he more likely to have noisy breathing when lying on his side vs. as he appears in the video?

For those who would like to have available the proper doses of medications for our dogs, this is a good resource: Veterinary Formulary This is NOT meant to question your vet's dosing instructions -- only to give you proper dosages of OTC or other meds you might keep on hand for urgent situations when your vet isn't available (benadryl, ranitidine, immodium, etc.). I hope this help!

Hopefully he improved with the benadryl on board, and you're getting him to the vet this morning. Many things can trigger this type of allergic reaction, and I'd be prepared with a list of everything he's been given or eaten (even the Baytril from a week ago) over the past few days. Did he recently get immunizations? Was he possibly stung by an insect? I'd continue giving him the benadryl (4mg/kg 3 times daily -- if he weighs about 15 lbs, he's around 7kg (1 kg = 2.2 lbs), which would put it at around 28mg (or 25mg) 3 times daily and keep that going for at least 3-4 days. If he rebounds, he might need steroids. Please do keep us posted. And remember that autoimmune animals may tend to have enhanced allergic reactions, as they already have an immune system in "overdrive".

Oh, no Beth... I just saw your posts about Smiley. I was just thinking about him, as I saw a photo of Smiley in a CG from 2002 and was saying what a beautiful boy he was. Deepest condolences... I don't think there are any words that will suffice. Godspeed, sweet boy:f_red:gh_run

Donna, I'm so sorry. My very deepest sympathy. And , too Jordan

Wonderful news!!! A great big for Smiley!

Oh, Beth! I just now found this thread about your sweetie. You must be SO relieved to have the surgery over with, and know that Smiley will be back home snuggling with you again very soon. There are definitely angels working at OSU, but there are also angels coming to stay with you and giving you endless support while you're waiting. I wish you were closer - I have a ramp I never use but it sounds as if your DH is going to be creating a ramp masterpiece as soon as weather allows. Big hugs to you and gentler hugs to Smiley so I don't knock him over. Jordan

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