Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Testing for parvovirus in dogs and cats with cerebellar hypoplasia
By Schatzberg, Scott J et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2003·Department of Clinical Sciences, United States·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification of parvoviral DNA from the brains of dogs and cats with cerebellar hypoplasia.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Two dogs with cerebellar hypoplasia, a condition that affects balance and coordination, were found to have parvoviral DNA in their brain tissue. This suggests that their symptoms may have been caused by an infection with the parvovirus during pregnancy. In contrast, other dogs with similar brain defects did not show any signs of parvovirus. While the study confirmed the presence of the virus in these two dogs, it did not find any viral proteins that would indicate an active infection. This research highlights a possible link between parvovirus and cerebellar hypoplasia in dogs, but more studies are needed to understand the full implications.
People also search for: dog cerebellar hypoplasia symptoms · parvovirus in dogs · dog balance problems treatment
Abstract
Cerebellar hypoplasia in cats is caused most commonly by an in utero or perinatal infection with feline panleukopenia virus (parvovirus). Cerebellar hypoplasia has been reported infrequently in dogs, but no viral etiology has been identified to date. DNA was extracted from archival, paraffin-embedded, cerebellar tissue from 8 cats and from 2 canine littermates with cerebellar hypoplasia, 2 canine littermates with cerebellar cortical abiotrophy, 6 dogs with congenital cerebellar vermal defects, 1 dog with congenital hydranencephaly, and 15 dogs and cats with various encephalitdes. The DNA extracted from each cerebellum was subject to polymerase chain reaction (PCR) amplification by 3 primer pairs specific for parvovirus DNA. Sequence analysis of PCR products from each of the 8 cats and 2 dogs with cerebellar hypoplasia confirmed their identity with parvoviral DNA. The 6 dogs with cerebellar vermal defects, 2 dogs with cortical abiotrophy, 1 dog with congenital hydranencephaly, and all control samples were PCR negative for parvovirus. Parvoviral structural proteins were not identified by immunohistochemistry in either dog with cerebellar hypoplasia. This study shows that parvoviral DNA can be amplified from feline and canine archival brain tissue and that cerebellar hypoplasia in dogs might be associated with in utero parvovirus infection.
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/12892305/