Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Golden retriever with seizures caused by brain cortical malformation
By Casey, K M et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2014·Department of Pathology, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Bilaterally symmetric focal cortical dysplasia in a golden retriever dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old golden retriever was brought in after having generalized seizures for 24 hours. Despite an MRI showing no visible issues in the brain, the dog was later humanely euthanized due to the severity of the condition. A closer examination revealed a brain malformation called focal cortical dysplasia, which is known to cause seizures in humans but had not been previously reported in dogs. Unfortunately, the dog's condition was serious, and treatment options were not effective in this case.
People also search for: golden retriever seizures · dog brain problems · focal cortical dysplasia in dogs
Abstract
A 10-year-old golden retriever dog was referred with a 24-h history of generalized seizures. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain found no abnormalities on 3 mm transverse sections and the dog was subsequently humanely destroyed. Microscopically there was bilaterally symmetrical focal disorganization of cortical grey matter within the tips of the right and left suprasylvian gyri of the temporal cortex. The focal abnormal cortical lamination was characterized by loss of pyramidal neurons with abnormal, irregular, angular, remaining neurons occasionally forming clusters, surrounded by fibrillary astrogliosis and microgliosis and vascular proliferation. These histological findings are consistent with focal cortical dysplasia, a cerebral cortical malformation that causes seizures in people, but not reported previously in the dog.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25246180/