Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dachshund with pituitary tumor causing sudden narcolepsy and cataplexy
By Schmid, S et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2017·Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pituitary Macrotumor Causing Narcolepsy-Cataplexy in a Dachshund.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 6-year-old male neutered Dachshund was brought in after suddenly collapsing while eating, a condition known as feeding-induced cataplexy. An MRI revealed a pituitary tumor, which was causing his unusual symptoms. The dog received stereotactic radiotherapy to shrink the tumor, and this treatment successfully stopped the cataplectic episodes. However, nine months later, he developed another health issue related to his adrenal glands, which was treated effectively with medication.
People also search for: Dachshund narcolepsy treatment · dog cataplexy causes · pituitary tumor in dogs · feeding-induced collapse in dogs
Abstract
Familial narcolepsy secondary to breed-specific mutations in the hypocretin receptor 2 gene and sporadic narcolepsy associated with hypocretin ligand deficiencies occur in dogs. In this report, a pituitary mass is described as a unique cause of narcolepsy-cataplexy in a dog. A 6-year-old male neutered Dachshund had presented for acute onset of feeding-induced cataplexy and was found to have a pituitary macrotumor on magnetic resonance imaging (MRI). Cerebral spinal fluid hypocretin-1 levels were normal, indicating that tumor effect on the ventral lateral nucleus of the hypothalamus was not the cause of the dog's narcolepsy-cataplexy. The dog was also negative for the hypocretin receptor 2 gene mutation associated with narcolepsy in Dachshunds, ruling out familial narcolepsy. The Dachshund underwent stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT), which resulted in reduction in the mass and coincident resolution of the cataplectic attacks. Nine months after SRT, the dog developed clinical hyperadrenocorticism, which was successfully managed with trilostane. These findings suggest that disruptions in downstream signaling of hypocretin secondary to an intracranial mass effect might result in narcolepsy-cataplexy in dogs and that brain MRI should be strongly considered in sporadic cases of narcolepsy-cataplexy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28090682/