Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Changes in spinal fluid chemicals in dogs with spinal cord injury
By Russell, Rae L et al.·Published in BMC neuroscience·2016·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Arachidonic acid pathway alterations in cerebrospinal fluid of dogs with naturally occurring spinal cord injury.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with a spinal cord injury from a herniated disc was studied to understand changes in certain chemicals in their cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). The results showed that levels of specific substances were higher in dogs with spinal injuries compared to healthy dogs, indicating a connection between these chemicals and the severity of the injury. Notably, higher levels of a substance called Prostaglandin E2 were linked to more severe injuries and better recovery after 42 days. This research suggests that monitoring these chemicals could help assess injury severity and recovery in dogs with spinal cord injuries.
People also search for: dog spinal cord injury treatment · herniated disc in dogs · Prostaglandin E2 levels in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Canine intervertebral disc πherniation causes a naturally-occurring spinal cord injury (SCI) that bears critical similarities to human SCI with respect to both injury pathomechanisms and treatment. As such, it has tremendous potential to enhance our understanding of injury biology and the preclinical evaluation of novel therapies. Currently, there is limited understanding of the role of arachidonic acid metabolites in canine SCI. RESULTS: The CSF concentrations of PLA2 and PGE2 were higher in SCI dogs compared to control dogs (p = 0.0370 and 0.0273, respectively), but CSF LCT4 concentration in SCI dogs was significantly lower than that in control dogs (p < 0.0001). Prostaglandin E2 concentration in the CSF was significantly and positively associated with increased severity of SCI at the time of sampling (p = 0.041) and recovery 42 days post-injury (p = 0.006), as measured by ordinal behavioral scores. CONCLUSION: Arachidonic acid metabolism is altered in dogs with SCI, and these data suggest that these AA metabolites reflect injury severity and recovery, paralleling data from other model systems.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27287721/