Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cat with sudden weakness in all four legs caused by nerve lymphoma
By Hsueh, C-S et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2019·Graduate Institute of Molecular and Comparative Pathobiology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: CD56B-cell Neurolymphomatosis in a Cat.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A 16-year-old male Russian Blue cat suddenly developed weakness in all four legs, making it unable to walk. A vet found swelling in the nerves of the neck area through imaging tests, and a biopsy revealed a rare type of cancer called B-cell neurolymphomatosis, which affects the nerves. This condition is unusual in cats, and the cancer cells showed a specific marker that may have contributed to their growth in the nervous system. Unfortunately, the prognosis for this type of cancer can be serious, and treatment options would need to be discussed with a veterinarian.
People also search for: cat weakness in legs · Russian Blue cat cancer symptoms · B-cell lymphoma in cats · cat nerve problems treatment
Abstract
A 16-year-old male Russian blue cat was presented with acute onset of paraparesis of the forelimbs that progressed to tetraparesis. Neurological examination revealed non-ambulatory tetraparesis with decreased postural reactions in all four limbs. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed multifocal nerve root swelling on the right at C6/C7 and C7/T1, while ultrasonography demonstrated swelling of the right brachial plexus. To understand the cause of the nerve swelling, the right musculocutaneous nerve arising from the brachial plexus and the pectoralis muscle were biopsied. Histologically, there was evidence of neurolymphomatosis (neurotropic lymphoma) with Wallerian degeneration and denervation atrophy of myofibres. The neoplastic lymphoid cells expressed CD79a, CD20 and CD56. Based on these findings, a diagnosis of B-cell neurolymphomatosis was made. Expression of CD56, synonymous with neural cell adhesion molecule, is rare in B-cell lymphomas and has not been reported in feline B-cell lymphomas or feline neurolymphomatosis. CD56 expression was suspected to have played an important role in neurotropism of the neoplastic cells in this case.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31159947/