Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Immune-related nerve disease in 70 young European cats
By van Renen, Jana et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2022·Neurology Service, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Clinical Course and Diagnostic Findings of Biopsy Controlled Presumed Immune-Mediated Polyneuropathy in 70 European Cats.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of 70 young cats, mostly British Shorthairs, showed signs of weakness and trouble moving, which led to a diagnosis of inflammatory polyneuropathy. Many of these cats experienced sudden or gradual onset of symptoms, including decreased reflexes and occasional issues with urination or defecation. After undergoing various tests, including nerve biopsies, most cats had a favorable outcome, with about 79% recovering well. However, relapses were common, affecting over a third of the cats. Early diagnosis and sudden symptom onset were linked to better recovery rates.
People also search for: cat weakness treatment · inflammatory polyneuropathy in cats · British Shorthair cat symptoms · cat nerve biopsy results
Abstract
There is a paucity of information on the clinical course and outcome of young cats with polyneuropathy. The aim of the study was to describe the clinical features, diagnostic investigations, and outcome of a large cohort of cats with inflammatory polyneuropathy from several European countries. Seventy cats with inflammatory infiltrates in intramuscular nerves and/or peripheral nerve biopsies were retrospectively included. Information from medical records and follow up were acquired via questionnaires filled by veterinary neurologists who had submitted muscle and nerve biopsies (2011-2019). Median age at onset was 10 months (range: 4-120 months). The most common breed was British short hair (25.7%), followed by Domestic short hair (24.3%), Bengal cat (11.4%), Maine Coon (8.6%) and Persian cat (5.7%), and 14 other breeds. Male cats were predominantly affected (64.3%). Clinical signs were weakness (98.6%) and tetraparesis (75.7%) in association with decreased withdrawal reflexes (83.6%) and, less commonly, cranial nerve signs (17.1%), spinal pain/hyperesthesia (12.9%), and micturition/defecation problems (14.3%). Onset was sudden (30.1%) or insidious (69.1%), and an initial progressive phase was reported in 74.3%. Characteristic findings on electrodiagnostic examination were presence of generalized spontaneous electric muscle activity (89.6%), decreased motor nerve conduction velocity (52.3%), abnormal F-wave studies (72.4%), pattern of temporal dispersion (26.1%) and unremarkable sensory tests. The clinical course was mainly described as remittent (49.2%) or remittent-relapsing (34.9%), while stagnation, progressive course or waxing and waning were less frequently reported. Relapses were common and occurred in 35.7% of the cats' population. An overall favorable outcome was reported in 79.4% of patients. In conclusion, young age at the time of diagnosis and sudden onset of clinical signs were significantly associated with recovery (< 0.05). Clinical and electrodiagnostic features and the remittent-relapsing clinical course resembles juvenile chronic inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy (CIDP), as seen in human (children/adolescents), in many aspects.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35664840/