Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with sudden blindness and high blood pressure
By Mari, L et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2018·Neurology/Neurosurgery Service, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ischemic Optic Neuropathy in a Dog with Acute Bilateral Blindness and Primary Systemic Hypertension.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old female Jack Russell terrier suddenly lost her vision in both eyes and showed signs of circling to the left and reduced feeling in her right back leg. After tests, including an MRI, the vet found she had ischemic optic neuropathy, which is damage to the optic nerve due to poor blood flow, and high blood pressure. She was treated with a steroid (prednisolone) for 10 days and a long-term blood pressure medication (amlodipine). Unfortunately, her vision did not improve after 7 months, and follow-up imaging showed further brain damage.
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Abstract
A 6-year-old neutered female Jack Russell terrier was investigated for sudden onset prechiasmatic bilateral blindness, left circling, reduced proprioception in the right pelvic limb and right facial allodynia. Electroretinography was normal. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination revealed that the right optic nerve and the optic chiasm were hyperintense on diffusion weighted imaging and hypointense on apparent diffusion coefficient map consistent with ischemic optic neuropathy. A concurrent lacunar infarct was detected in the left rostral colliculus. Primary systemic hypertension was diagnosed based on blood pressure measurement and no detectable abnormalities on hematology, comprehensive serum biochemistry, urinalysis including protein/creatinine and cortisol/creatinine ratios and thoracic/abdominal imaging. Prednisolone for 10 days and amlodipine long-term were administered. Vision was not recovered after 7 months. Repeat MRI supported the diagnosis of ischemic lesions and revealed a recent striatocapsular infarct. Ischemic optic neuropathy is a well-recognized cause of blindness in humans and should be included as a differential diagnosis for acute prechiasmatic blindness in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29130572/