Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cerebrospinal fluid and blood lactate concentrations as prognostic biomarkers in dogs with meningoencephalitis of unknown origin.
- Journal:
- Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)
- Year:
- 2019
- Authors:
- Portero, M et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery · Spain
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
This study looked at dogs with a serious brain condition called meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO), which causes inflammation in the central nervous system. Researchers measured levels of lactate in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid (the fluid surrounding the brain and spinal cord) to see if they could predict how well the dogs would do with treatment. They found that dogs who responded better to treatment had lower levels of lactate, while those with higher levels tended to have worse outcomes and more severe symptoms. The results suggest that checking lactate levels could help veterinarians understand the prognosis for dogs with this condition.
Abstract
Meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO) is a common inflammatory disease of the central nervous system. Several studies investigated finding prognostic factors, but results are contradictory. The aim of this study was to determine the concentrations of blood lactate (Blood-L) and cerebrospinal fluid lactate (CSF-L) in dogs with MUO for prognostic purposes. A total of 45 dogs with MUO (MUO group) and 11 with idiopathic epilepsy (IE group) were included. In the MUO group, 22 dogs were treated with prednisolone + cytosine arabinoside, 17 with prednisolone ± cyclosporine, and six received no treatment. In the MUO group, there was a strong-moderate positive correlation between Blood-L and CSF-L (ρ = 0.63557; P < 0.0001), a strong-moderate negative correlation between survival and CSF-L (ρ= -0.50210; P < 0.0004), and a weak negative correlation between survival and Blood-L (ρ= -0.35685; P < 0.0220). Dogs with a favourable response to treatment at 1 month had lower initial concentrations of Blood-L and CSF-L (P < 0.0010; P < 0.0037), and those with a worse response had higher values (P < 0.0497; P < 0.0004). Dogs that remained stable with treatment showed lower CSF-L concentrations (P < 0.0013). Dogs with Blood-L>4 mmol/L (P < 0.03) and/or CSF-L> 4 mmol/L (P < 0.009) had lower survival rates with the latter also showing more severe signs, probably indicating severe neuronal damage. These findings suggest that concentrations of CSF-L and Blood-L in dogs with MUO could be used as prognostic indicators.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31836169/