Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Brain and spinal bleeding in dogs from Angiostrongylus vasorum
By Wessmann, A et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2006·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Brain and spinal cord haemorrhages associated with Angiostrongylus vasorum infection in four dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Four dogs showed serious neurological symptoms like depression, seizures, spinal pain, and weakness due to an infection from a parasite called Angiostrongylus vasorum. Imaging tests revealed bleeding in their brains and spinal cords, and tests of their spinal fluid showed high protein levels and signs of bleeding. Unfortunately, two of the dogs did not survive, but the infection was confirmed in all four through tests on their feces. Treatment for this condition typically involves antiparasitic medications, but the severity of the symptoms can vary greatly.
People also search for: dog seizures and depression · Angiostrongylus vasorum treatment · dog spinal pain causes · dog brain hemorrhage symptoms
Abstract
Multifocal haemorrhages associated with Angiostrongylus vasorum infection were observed in the central nervous system of four dogs with neurological signs including depression, seizures, spinal pain and paresis. In magnetic resonance images the majority of the lesions were isointense or slightly hyperintense in T1-weighted images, hyperintense in T2-weighted images and hypointense in T2*-weighted (gradient echo) images, compatible with haemorrhages more than seven days old. Lesions were found in the brain of three of the dogs and in the spinal cord of two. The cerebrospinal fluid contained high concentrations of protein and evidence of erythrophagia. All the dogs had coagulopathy and pulmonary haemorrhage of varying severity. A vasorum larvae were detected in the faeces of each of the dogs. Neural A vasorum was confirmed at postmortem examination in two dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16798954/