Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Rottweiler with progressive weakness and MRI brain and spine changes
By Eagleson, Joseph S et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2013·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: MRI findings in a rottweiler with leukoencephalomyelopathy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 22-month-old male Rottweiler was brought to the vet because he had been having trouble with coordination and weakness in all four legs for about a month. An MRI showed changes in his brain and spinal cord that indicated a serious condition called leukoencephalomyelopathy (LEM), which is known to occur in Rottweilers. Unfortunately, despite the diagnosis, the dog's condition worsened, and he was euthanized 50 days later due to the progression of the disease. This case highlights how MRI can help vets diagnose LEM in dogs before they pass away.
People also search for: Rottweiler weakness in legs · dog MRI brain results · leukoencephalomyelopathy in dogs
Abstract
A 22 mo old male rottweiler presented with a 1 mo progressive history of general proprioceptive ataxia and upper motor neuron tetraparesis. Neurologic examination was consistent with a lesion affecting the first through fifth cervical spinal cord segments. MRI disclosed bilaterally symmetric hyperintensities on T2-weighted (T2W) images in the crus cerebri and pyramidal tracts of the brain and the dorsal portion of the lateral funiculi of the cervical spinal cord. Fifty days after initial presentation, the dog was euthanized due to disease progression. Pathologic examination of the central nervous system (CNS) revealed a bilaterally symmetric chronic leukoencephalomyelopathy (LEM) consistent with previous reports of LEM in rottweilers. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report to describe the MRI characteristics of LEM in the rottweiler. The topography of the changes observed with MRI paralleled the pathologic changes, which were widespread loss of myelin, decreased axon numbers, and astroglial proliferation. Consequently, MRI of the CNS of affected rottweilers may aid in establishing a presumptive antemortem diagnosis of LEM.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23690496/