Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dog with spinal cord tumor causing sudden paralysis and weakness
By Junginger, J et al.·Published in Journal of comparative pathology·2013·Department of Pathology, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumour in a dog.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 1-year-old German shepherd was brought in because he was having trouble using his back legs, which quickly got worse until he couldn't walk at all. An MRI showed a large tumor pressing on his spinal cord, causing severe damage. The tumor was identified as a rare type called a peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumor, which can develop from nerve tissues. Unfortunately, due to the aggressive nature of this tumor, treatment options are limited, and the prognosis is often poor.
People also search for: dog back leg weakness · German shepherd tumor treatment · dog spinal cord compression symptoms
Abstract
A 1-year-old German shepherd dog was presented with paraparesis quickly progressing to paraplegia. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed a large mass beneath the thoracolumbar vertebral column infiltrating the spinal canal and resulting in severe extradural compression of the spinal cord. Microscopically, this comprised a cell-rich unencapsulated tumour supported by fine bands of a fibrovascular stroma and occasionally forming primitive rosettes. Immunohistochemistry showed the tumour cells to express synaptophysin and neuron-specific enolase. Ultrastructurally, the neoplastic cells had low to moderate numbers of intracytoplasmic neurosecretory granules. A peripheral primitive neuroectodermal tumour was diagnosed. This is a rare embryonal tumour of neural origin that may have arisen from adrenal medulla, autonomic ganglia or peripheral nerves.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23714380/