Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Peripheral neuropathy causing hind leg weakness in older German
By Furuoka, H et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·1992·Department of Veterinary Pathology, Japan·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Peripheral neuropathy in German shepherd dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Three 10-year-old German Shepherds from the same litter were brought in for unsteady walking and weakness in their back legs. They all showed similar symptoms at nearly the same time, indicating a possible genetic issue. Tests revealed damage to their nerves and muscles, which was causing the weakness. Unfortunately, this condition, known as peripheral neuropathy, is progressive and there is no cure, so the dogs will need ongoing care to manage their symptoms.
People also search for: German Shepherd unsteady walking · dog weakness in back legs · peripheral neuropathy treatment for dogs
Abstract
Three aged (10-year-old) German Shepherd Dog litter mates, separately reared, were affected with familial and adult onset peripheral neuropathy. They developed clinical signs, unsteady gait of their hind legs with progressive muscular weakness at almost the same time. The main lesions were systemic neurogenic muscular atrophy, segmental demyelination and Wallerian degeneration of the peripheral nerve fibres. Histochemically, collateral ramification and multiple terminal arborization were observed in terminal axons of motor neurones in the muscles. These changes were attributed to a dying-back process.
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/1452810/