Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Head tilting when turning in dogs with cerebellar hypoplasia
By Tamura, Shinji et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2016·Tamura Animal Clinic, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Head Tilting Elicited by Head Turning in Three Dogs with Hypoplastic Cerebellar Nodulus and Ventral Uvula.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Three dogs were brought to the vet with unusual head tilting when they turned their heads, a sign of a possible brain issue. One was an adult dog with a neck disk problem, while the other two were younger dogs showing signs of central vestibular disease, which affects balance. Despite the head tilt during turns, the dogs could move freely and keep their heads level when walking straight. This condition, related to underdevelopment of a part of the brain called the nodulus and ventral uvula, is not commonly recognized, but it’s important for vets to know about it for proper diagnosis and treatment.
People also search for: dog head tilt when turning · dog vestibular disease symptoms · cervical disk disease in dogs
Abstract
The nodulus and ventral uvula (NU) of the cerebellum play a major role in vestibular function in humans and experimental animals; however, there is almost no information about NU function in the veterinary clinical literature. In this report, we describe three canine cases diagnosed with presumptive NU hypoplasia. Of them, one adult dog presented with cervical intervertebral disk disease, and two juvenile dogs presented with signs of central vestibular disease. Interestingly, an unusual and possibly overlooked neurological sign that we called "positioning head tilt" was observed in these dogs. The dogs were able to turn freely in any direction at will. The head was in a level position when static or when the dog walked in a straight line. However, the head was tilted to the opposite side when the dog turned. Veterinary clinicians should be aware of this neurological sign that has not been reported previously, and its application in lesion localization in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27933300/