Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown cause in cats clinical signs
By Nessler, Jasmin et al.·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2020·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Meningoencephalomyelitis of Unknown Origin in Cats: A Case Series Describing Clinical and Pathological Findings.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
A group of four cats, aged between 1.7 and 17.8 years, showed signs of neurological problems like confusion and weakness, which led to a diagnosis of meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin (MUO). Symptoms included fever, weight loss, and decreased appetite in three of the cats. MRI scans revealed brain and spinal cord lesions, while tests on their spinal fluid were mostly normal. Further examination of brain tissue confirmed inflammation but ruled out common viral infections. Treatment details weren't specified, but understanding this condition can help guide future care for affected cats.
People also search for: cat neurological problems · meningoencephalitis in cats · cat weight loss and fever · cat spinal cord disease symptoms
Abstract
UNLABELLED: Meningoencephalomyelitis of unknown origin (MUO) is an umbrella term describing inflammatory changes of the central nervous system (CNS) with suspected non-infectious etiology. Diagnosis of MUO mostly remains presumed in a clinical setting. Histopathological and immunohistochemical examination of CNS tissue represent additional tools for detection of inflammation and the exclusion of specific infectious agents. While MUO is well-described in canine patients, only little is known about MUO in cats. Previous reports of feline MUO involve either clinical findings or histopathological examination but not both. The present case series is the first report describing both clinical and histopathological findings of feline MUO: Four cats (age: 1.7-17.8 years) showed acute to chronic progressive neurological signs of encephalopathy or myelopathy. Three cats had extraneural signs (hyperthermia, weight loss, hyporexia, leukocytosis). Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) showed multifocal intraparenchymal lesions in forebrain, brainstem or spinal cord with homogenous contrast enhancement (2/2). Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) examination was normal or displayed albuminocytologic dissociation. Histopathology revealed a multifocal, lympho-histiocytic meningoencephalitis in three cases and a lympho-histiocytic myelitis in one case. Immunohistochemistry for feline parvovirus, feline coronavirus, feline herpesvirus, tick borne encephalitis virus, Borna disease virus, morbillivirus, rabies virus, suid herpesvirus-1, andwere negative in all cases. ONE SENTENCE SUMMARY: This case series is the first one reporting both clinical and histopathological findings in cats with MUO. Feline MUO incorporates heterogeneous subtypes of sterile CNS inflammation.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32671104/