Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with tick borne brain inflammation causing paralysis seen on MRI
By Beckmann et al.·Published in Schweizer Archiv fur Tierheilkunde·2014·Department of Small Animals·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: MRI findings in a case of canine tick born meningoencephalomyelitis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog in Switzerland developed severe weakness in all four legs and eventually had trouble breathing due to tick-borne meningoencephalitis, an infection caused by a virus from ticks. An MRI showed specific brain lesions that matched those seen in similar human infections. Unfortunately, despite the findings, the dog's condition worsened, leading to respiratory failure. This case highlights the importance of recognizing symptoms and MRI findings in dogs that may indicate tick-borne infections, especially in areas where these ticks are common.
People also search for: dog weakness all legs · tick-borne disease in dogs · canine meningoencephalitis symptoms · dog breathing problems tick infection
Abstract
Tick borne encephalitis virus (TBE) is an endemic infectious agent in northeastern Switzerland causing mainly meningoencephalomyelitis in dogs. We report a canine case of tick born meningoencephalomyelitis resulting in flaccid tetraplegia and, subsequently, fatal respiratory failure. Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) demonstrated intra-axial bilateral, symmetric, and hyperintense lesions in T2-weighted and Fluid Attenuated Inversion Recovery (FLAIR) sequences affecting thalamus, basal nuclei, cerebral white matter and ventral horns of the caudal cervical spine. These radiological findings overlap those described during flavivirus encephalitis affecting human beings. These lesions in MRI and diffusion weighted images correlated with areas of vasogenic edema detected histopathologically. In endemic regions, clinicians should be aware that bilateral, symmetrical hyperintense thalamic lesions in T2WI can be suggestive of flavivirus infection in dogs with encephalitis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25082637/