Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Young Rottweiler dogs with hind limb weakness and brain cell damage
By Pumarola, M et al.·Published in Acta neuropathologica·1999·Departament de Patolò, Spain·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Neuronal vacuolation in young Rottweiler dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two young Rottweiler dogs were brought to the vet because they were experiencing weakness in their back legs, trouble with coordination, shaking when trying to move, and difficulty swallowing and barking. Upon examination, the vets found signs of brain and spinal cord damage, but tests showed that the usual cell death processes weren't involved. Unfortunately, the exact cause of these symptoms remains unclear, and there is no established treatment for this new type of neurodegenerative disorder.
People also search for: Rottweiler hind leg weakness · dog ataxia treatment · puppy difficulty swallowing · Rottweiler neurological symptoms
Abstract
Neuronal vacuolation, involving the cerebellar roof nuclei, Purkinje cells, selected nuclei of the brain stem, thalamus, Clarke's column, anterior and posterior horns of the spinal cord, visceral autonomic ganglia and myenteric plexus, as well as axonal degeneration of the white matter of the brain stem, cerebellar pedunculi, dorsolateral columns of the spinal cord and ventral roots of the spinal cord, were observed in two young Rottweiler dogs which were clinically afflicted with hind limb weakness progressing to paraparesia, ataxia, intention tremor, and difficulty in swallowing and barking. The absence of modifications in Bcl-2 and Bax immunoreactivity, a lack of strong c-Jun/AP-1 (N) immunoreactivity in vacuolated cells, and the absence of DNA breaks, as seen with the method of in situ end-labeling of nuclear DNA fragmentation, all suggest that there is no involvement of the apoptotic pathway in vacuolated cells in this new neurodegenerative disorder.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9928831/