Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Lethal neurologic disease causing weakness in young Gordon Setter
By Yaeger, M J et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary diagnostic investigation : official publication of the American Association of Veterinary Laboratory Diagnosticians, Inc·2000·Department of Veterinary Diagnostic and Production Animal Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: An autosomal recessive, lethal, neurologic disease of Gordon Setter puppies.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of young Gordon Setter puppies developed a serious inherited neurological disease that caused them to show signs of weakness and difficulty moving by just 3 to 4 weeks old. Sadly, these puppies became unable to stand or walk by 5 to 6 weeks of age. The disease is caused by a genetic mutation that is passed down from their parents. Unfortunately, there is no treatment for this condition, and affected puppies typically do not survive past this early age.
People also search for: Gordon Setter puppy weakness · inherited neurological disease in puppies · puppy unable to walk · Gordon Setter health issues
Abstract
This report details clinical, necropsy, and pedigree data on an inherited, lethal, neurologic disease of young Gordon Setters. This disorder is characterized by an early age of onset, gait and postural abnormalities, progressive weakness, and recumbency by 5-6 weeks of age. Although clinically distinctive, postmortem changes in affected pups were minimal. Gross lesions were not observed. Microscopic changes were subtle and consisted of astrocyte swelling, primarily in the cerebrocortical and cerebellar white matter, and white matter tracts of the brainstem. Immunohistochemistry for glial fibrillary acidic protein revealed a marked increase in the number and staining intensity of astrocyte cytoplasmic processes in affected pups compared with age-matched controls. Neither cerebral inflammation nor neuronal necrosis was identified. Pedigree analysis of affected litters demonstrated an autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. A diagnosis of this heritable disease should be based on the early age of onset (3-4 weeks of age), characteristic clinical signs, rapid progression to recumbency by 5-6 weeks of age, identification of swollen astrocytes primarily in the cerebellar and cerebrocortical white matter and white matter tracts of the brainstem, and the exclusion of other disease processes.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11108461/