Histological and immunohistochemical characteristics of cerebral amyloid angiopathy in elderly dogs

Figures & data

Table 1 Age, sex and breed of examined dogs (nos. 1–6 group of young dogs and nos. 7–36 group of elderly dogs).

Group	No.	Breed	Sex	Age (years)	Died or euthanized	Reason of death or euthanasia
Group A (young dogs)	1	Mixed	M	8 months	D	Hemorrhagic enteritis
	2	Boxer	F	2	D	Traumatic bleeding
	3	American Staford Terrier	M	2,5	D	Pneumonia
	4	West Highland White Terrrier	M	1,9	D	Hemorrhagic enteritis
	5	Mixed	F	5	E	Pulmonary embolism
	6	Chau chau	F	4,5	D	Heart failure
Group B (elderly dogs)	7	Pekingeze	F	12	D	Mammary carcinoma
	8	Irish Setter	F	13	D	Mammary carcinoma
	9	Mixed	M	15	E	Liver neoplasia, pneumonia
	10	English Cocker Spaniel	F	12	E	Mammary carcinoma
	11	Mixed	M	17	E	Cirrhosis of kidney
	12	Sarplaninac	F	15	E	Cirrhosis of liver and kidney
	13	Pekingeze	F	14	E	Cirrhosis of liver and kidney
	14	Mixed	M	18	E	Neoplasia in the abdominal cavity
	15	Mixed	F	12	E	Lymphoma
	16	Medium Poodle	M	14	D	Heart failure
	17	Mixed	F	14,5	E	Neoplasia in the neck
	18	Rottweiler	M	13	D	Dilatation and torsion of the stomach
	19	Mixed	M	15	E	Renal infarction
	20	Mixed	F	12	E	Liver necrosis, cirrhosis of kidney and pyometra
	21	American Staford Terrier	F	12	E	Neoplasia in the spleen
	22	Mixed	F	18	E	Lung atelectasis Heart failure, cirrhosis of liver and kidney
	23	English Cocker Spaniel	F	10	E	Neoplasia in the pancreas with metastasis in the body
	24	Irish Setter	F	14	E	Cirrhosis of liver and kidney
	25	Mixed	F	15	E	Neoplasia, heart failure, pancreatic necrosis
	26	Labrador	M	13	E	Neoplasia in the lung
	27	Bull Terrier	M	12	E	Megacolon, cirrhosis of liver
	28	Mixed	F	16	E	Cirrhosis of liver and kidney calcification heart valvule
	29	German Shepherd Dog	M	13	D	Heart failure. gastritis, enteritis
	30	Mixed	F	14	E	Cirrhosis of kidney, necrosis and hemorrhages in the pancreas
	31	Maltese	F	13	E	Hydrometra, cirrhosis of liver and kidney
	32	Medium Poodle	M	16	E	Endocardiosis, Cirrhosis of liver and kidney
	33	Mixed	M	16,5	E	Mucometra, ovarian and kidney cysts, hydrothorax and hydroperitoneum
	34	Mixed	M	16	E	Cirrhosis of liver
	35	Mixed	F	12	E	Neoplasia in the urinary bladder, cirrhosis of liver
	36	Mixed	M	17	D	Rib fractures

Figure 1 Congo red staining (semi-quantitative evaluation), magnification 100x: (A) grade + (low number of the positive blood vessels of Congo red positive vessels in the total number of vessels in field), (B) grade ++ (moderate number of Congo red positive vessels in the total number of vessels in field).

Figure 2 Congo red staining of the brain of aged dogs: (A) amyloid in the wall of meningeal blood vessel (arrow), frontal section; (B) amyloid in the wall of meningeal blood vessel (arrow), frontal section, under the polarized light; (C) amyloid in the wall of meningeal blood vessels of cerebellum (arrow), under polarized light.

Table 2 Semi-quantitive evaluation of the cerebral amyloid angiopathy in different tissue sections (Congo red staining).

	Frontal section (%)	Parietal section (%)	Hippocampus (%)	Cerebellum (%)
−	37	60	60	83
+	23	13	17	4
++	27	20	17	13
+++	13	7	6	0

Note: Degree of CAA: −, no positive blood vessels; + low number of the positive blood vessels; ++, moderate number of the positive blood vessels; +++ numerous positive blood vessels).

Figure 3 (A) β-amyloid deposits in the wall of meningeal blood vessels (arrow), anti-Aβ1-42, frontal section; (B) β-amyloid deposits in the wall of parenchymal blood vessels (arrow – severe type of the Vonsattel scale and score 4 of the Mountjoy scale, arrowhead – mild type of the Vonsattel scale and score 1 of the Mountjoy scale), anti-Aβ 1-14, frontal section; (C) diffuse plaque (arrow), anti-Aβ 1-42 parietal section; (D) intracellular β-amyloid deposits (arrow), anti-Aβ 1-14, parietal section.