Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cerebrospinal fluid findings in 10-year-old dog after one seizure
By Zimmerman, Kurt et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2006·Department of Biomedical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Cerebrospinal fluid from a 10-year-old dog with a single seizure episode.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old Shetland Sheepdog had a seizure and was taken to the vet, where a sample of cerebrospinal fluid was collected for testing. The analysis showed a high number of abnormal cells, indicating a serious issue. Despite treatment with anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsive medications, the dog did not improve. Sadly, a necropsy revealed a tumor in the brain, leading to a diagnosis of a rare type of cancer called primary CNS malignant histiocytosis. This case highlights the importance of thorough testing when a dog has seizures, as it can sometimes indicate a serious underlying condition.
People also search for: dog seizure causes · Shetland Sheepdog brain tumor · treatment for dog seizures · dog cerebrospinal fluid analysis · primary CNS histiocytic sarcoma in dogs
Abstract
A cerebrospinal fluid sample collected from the cerebellomedullary cistern of a 10-year-old Shetland Sheepdog with a recent history of seizures was submitted for fluid analysis and cytologic examination. Key findings included a total nucleated cell count of 520/microL (reference interval 0-5 cells/microL), with a predominance of mononuclear cells, a protein concentration of 51.8 mg/dL (reference interval 0-35 mg/dL), and a glucose concentration of 44.7 mg/dL (reference interval 52-105 mg/dL). There was marked atypia of the mononuclear cells, with abundant eosinophilic cytoplasm, marked anisocytosis and anisokaryosis, occasional binucleated cells, mitotic figures, and rare erythrophagia. The cytologic interpretation was marked, monocytoid-rich, mixed cell pleocytosis with cellular atypia worrisome for neoplasia. In addition to histiocytic neoplasia, differentials included granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis, necrotizing meningoencephalitis, and granulomatous inflammation. The dog did not respond to anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsive therapy. At necropsy, a mass involving the meninges and subtending the neuropil of the right temporal lobe of the cerebrum was found. Histologically, the mass was composed of large, bizarre histiocytic cells with multinucleated forms and numerous mitotic figures. Using immunochemistry on cytologic and histologic samples, the pleomorphic histiocytic cells were positive for CD1c, CD11ad, CD45, lysozyme, and vimentin, and were negative for CD3, CD4, CD79a, CD90, and pancytokeratin. These findings supported a diagnosis of primary CNS malignant histiocytosis of dendritic antigen-presenting cell (CD1c+) origin. To our knowledge, this is only the third reported case of primary CNS histiocytic sarcoma in dogs, and the first to demonstrate strong immunochemical evidence for dendritic antigen-presenting cell origin.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/16511805/