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Peer-reviewed veterinary case report

MRI shows brain damage in Australian Cattle Dog with hereditary

By Harkin, K R et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1999·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed

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Original publication title: Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain of a dog with hereditary polioencephalomyelopathy.

Species:
dog

Plain-English summary

A young female Australian Cattle Dog was brought in for seizures, weakness, and trouble walking. An MRI of her brain showed abnormal areas that indicated damage, which was later confirmed during a post-mortem examination. Unfortunately, the findings were consistent with hereditary polioencephalomyelopathy, a genetic condition that affects the brain and spinal cord. This condition can lead to progressive neurological issues, and there is no known cure.

People also search for: Australian Cattle Dog seizures · hereditary polioencephalomyelopathy symptoms · dog brain MRI results

Abstract

Hereditary polioencephalomyelopathy was suspected in a young, female Australian Cattle Dog on the basis of clinical signs, including seizures, progressive ataxia, and weakness. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) of the brain revealed multiple ovoid, bilaterally symmetric signal abnormalities that were hypointense or isointense on T1-weighted images and hyperintense on T2-weighted images. On necropsy, these areas of signal abnormalities corresponded to areas of malacia in various brain and brain stem nuclei. In addition, poliomalacia was detected at the cervical intumescence of the spinal cord. Histologic examination revealed rarefaction of neuropil and vacuolation of glial cells in these areas, which are lesions consistent with hereditary polioencephalomyelopathy of Australian Cattle Dogs.

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Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10319175/