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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

Dog with hypothyroidism and brain artery disease causing worsening

By Blois, Shauna L et al.·Published in The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne·2008·Department of Clinical Studies, Canada·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: A case of primary hypothyroidism causing central nervous system atherosclerosis in a dog.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A 2-year-old male Australian shepherd was brought to the vet because he was unsteady on his feet, overweight, and seemed very tired. The vet diagnosed him with hypothyroidism (an underactive thyroid) and started treatment with levothyroxine, but unfortunately, his condition got worse, and he developed issues with his cranial nerves. Sadly, the dog was euthanized, and a postmortem exam showed significant damage to his thyroid gland and severe hardening of the arteries in his brain.

People also search for: dog ataxia symptoms · Australian shepherd hypothyroidism treatment · why is my dog lethargic and overweight

Abstract

A 2-year-old, castrated male, Australian shepherd was presented with a history of chronic mild ataxia, obesity, and lethargy. The dog was treated with levothyroxine, but the ataxia worsened. Cranial nerve abnormalities developed and the dog was euthanized. Postmortem examination revealed marked thyroid gland atrophy and widespread, severe central nervous system atherosclerosis.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18978973/