Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Brain cell growth in a 16-week-old epileptic German Shepherd dog
By Borschensky, C M et al.·Published in Veterinary pathology·2012·Institut fü, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Neurogenesis in a young dog with epileptic seizures.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 16-week-old German Shepherd puppy was diagnosed with spontaneous epileptic seizures, which are sudden bursts of electrical activity in the brain. Researchers found that the puppy's brain showed signs of increased cell growth in a specific area called the dentate gyrus, which is linked to learning and memory. This growth included immature neurons and activation of supportive brain cells. Unlike healthy puppies of the same age, this puppy had a significant increase in these new brain cells, suggesting that young dogs with seizures may respond differently in their brains compared to those without seizures. Further research is needed to understand if this is a common reaction in young dogs with epilepsy.
People also search for: puppy seizures treatment · German Shepherd epilepsy symptoms · brain changes in dogs with seizures
Abstract
Epileptic seizures can lead to various reactions in the brain, ranging from neuronal necrosis and glial cell activation to focal structural disorganization. Furthermore, increased hippocampal neurogenesis has been documented in rodent models of acute convulsions. This is a report of hippocampal neurogenesis in a dog with spontaneous epileptic seizures. A 16-week-old epileptic German Shepherd Dog had marked neuronal cell proliferation (up to 5 mitotic figures per high-power field and increased immunohistochemical expression of proliferative cell nuclear antigen) in the dentate gyrus accompanied by microglial and astroglial activation. Some granule cells expressed doublecortin, a marker of immature neurons; mitotically active cells expressed neuronal nuclear antigen. No mitotic figures were found in the brain of age-matched control dogs. Whether increased neurogenesis represents a general reaction pattern of young epileptic dogs should be investigated.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22194355/