Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with weakness and bladder issues diagnosed with myasthenia gravis
By Levine, Jonathan M et al.·Published in Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association·2005·Department of Small Animal Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Myasthenia gravis and hypothyroidism in a dog with meningomyelitis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 12-year-old spayed female miniature poodle was brought to the vet after showing signs of weakness in her back legs, difficulty urinating, and straining to defecate for four days. The vet found that she had issues with her nervous system and diagnosed her with myasthenia gravis (a condition that causes muscle weakness), hypothyroidism (low thyroid hormone), and meningomyelitis (inflammation of the spinal cord). This case is notable because it’s the first time these conditions have been reported together in a dog. Treatment details weren't specified, but addressing these conditions can help improve the dog's quality of life.
People also search for: dog weakness back legs · myasthenia gravis treatment in dogs · hypothyroidism in dogs symptoms
Abstract
A 12-year-old, spayed female miniature poodle was evaluated because of a 4-day history of paraparesis, dysuria, and tenesmus. Neurological assessment suggested peripheral nervous system dysfunction, predominantly pelvic limb weakness with a possible concurrent sixth lumbar (L(6)) to second sacral (S(2)) myelopathy. Further studies supported the diagnoses of myasthenia gravis, hypothyroidism, and meningomyelitis. To the authors' knowledge, this is the first reported case of concurrent myasthenia gravis and meningomyelitis in the dog. It was unclear whether the identified conditions evolved from a shared etiopathogenesis or were merely coincidental.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15995162/