Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dachshund-cross puppy with hind limb ataxia from neuroaxonal dystrophy
By Pintus, Davide et al.·Published in Acta veterinaria Scandinavica·2016·Istituto Zooprofilattico Sperimentale della Sardegna "G.Pegreffi", Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pathological findings in a Dachshund-cross dog with neuroaxonal dystrophy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A Dachshund-cross puppy was brought in because it was having trouble with coordination and was unable to position its limbs properly. Unfortunately, the puppy was diagnosed with neuroaxonal dystrophy, a serious brain condition that affects movement, and it was euthanized due to the irreversible nature of its symptoms. This case highlights a specific type of neurodegeneration that impacts the puppy's ability to sense its body position. Sadly, there was no treatment available to reverse the condition or improve the puppy's quality of life.
People also search for: Dachshund puppy coordination problems · neuroaxonal dystrophy in dogs · dog euthanasia due to brain disease
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Neuroaxonal dystrophy (NAD) is a neurodegenerative condition affecting humans and animals characterized by the widespread presence of swollen axons (spheroids). CASE PRESENTATION: Herein, we report the pathological findings in a case of neuroaxonal dystrophy in a Dachshund-cross puppy, which was euthanized because of a proprioceptive positioning deficits and irreversible ataxia of the hind limbs. Histologically, there was a bilaterally symmetric neuroaxonal dystrophy with eosinophilic axonal spheroids exclusively localized at the level of the ventral posterior lateral nucleus of the thalamus, medial lemniscus, gracilis nucleus, medial cuneatus nucleus in the brain as well as the gracilis and cuneatus fasciculi throughout the spinal cord. CONCLUSION: To the authors' knowledge, this is the first report of canine neuroaxonal dystrophy with this exclusive and specific localization only in the neuronal circuit implicated in the transmission of conscious proprioceptive information.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27267214/