Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cerebrospinal fluid tests for common dog brain and spinal diseases
By Smolek, Tomas et al.·Published in Scientific reports·2024·Institute of Neuroimmunology·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: On the utility of cerebrospinal fluid biomarkers in canine neurological disorders.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A dog with neurological issues was tested for three common brain problems: meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO), brain tumors, and certain spinal cord diseases. The tests showed that dogs with MUO had high levels of specific proteins in their cerebrospinal fluid, which indicated significant brain damage. In dogs with brain tumors, different proteins were elevated, while those with spinal cord diseases showed no changes in these biomarkers. This suggests that certain protein levels can help diagnose MUO and brain tumors, but not spinal cord issues.
People also search for: dog neurological symptoms · dog meningoencephalitis diagnosis · brain tumor in dogs signs
Abstract
The cerebral biomarkers, neurofilament light chain (NfL), amyloid-β, tau, and neuron specific enolase (NSE) reflect a wide spectrum of neurological damage in the brain and spinal cord. With this study, we aimed to assess whether these biomarkers hold any potential diagnostic value for the three most common canine neurological diseases. Canines suffering from meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO), brain tumors, and selected non-infectious myelopathies were included. For each diagnosis, we analyzed these biomarkers in the cerebrospinal fluid collected via cranial puncture from the cisterna magna. Elevated levels of CSF tau, NfL, and NSE were observed in MUO, with all three biomarkers being intercorrelated. Tau and NSE were increased while amyloid-β was decreased in dogs suffering from tumors. In contrast, no biomarker changes were observed in dogs with myelopathies. Covariates such as age, sex, or castration had minimal impact. CSF biomarkers may reflect molecular changes related to MUO and tumors, but not to non-infectious myelopathies. The combination of NfL, tau, and NSE may represent useful biomarkers for MUO as they reflect the same pathology and are not influenced by age.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39406773/