Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Neurologic signs of trypanosomiasis in a Doberman dog
By Berger, S L et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1991·Department of Small Animal Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Neurologic manifestations of trypanosomiasis in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 13-month-old Doberman Pinscher was brought to the vet because it was having trouble walking and seemed depressed. The dog showed signs of muscle wasting, eye problems, and abnormal reflexes, along with other serious symptoms. Despite trying various medications, including antibiotics and corticosteroids, the dog did not improve and sadly passed away during surgery. A postmortem examination revealed that the dog had Chagas disease, caused by a parasite called Trypanosoma cruzi, which affected its brain and heart.
People also search for: dog walking problems · Doberman Pinscher depression · Chagas disease in dogs · dog muscle wasting treatment · canine neurological symptoms
Abstract
A 13-month-old Doberman Pinscher was evaluated because of slowly progressive paraparesis and signs of depression. The dog had temporal, supraspinatus, and infraspinatus muscle atrophy, bilateral enophthalmos, superficial inguinal lymphadenopathy, tachycardia with pulse deficits, and lesions of active and inactive chorioretinitis. Neurologic abnormalities included hyperreflexic patellar reflexes, lack of conscious proprioception, signs of superficial pain in the hind limbs, and depressed hopping reflexes in the forelimbs. Cranial nerve abnormalities included decreased sensation in the left nostril and a delayed gag reflex. Results of cerebrospinal fluid analysis were characteristic of nonsuppurative inflammation. A diagnosis of multifocal neurologic disease was made. The dog did not have serum titers for fungal diseases, canine distemper, Ehrlichia canis infection, borreliosis, Rocky Mountain spotted fever, or toxoplasmosis. The dog did not respond to various antimicrobial treatments, and only slightly responded to corticosteroid treatment. The dog died during an anesthetic procedure. The postmortem diagnosis of Trypanosoma cruzi infection (canine Chagas disease) was made on identification of the amastigote form of the organism in sections of brain, spinal cord, and myocardium.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/1899857/