Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
How common are spine joint defects and disk hernias in pugs
By Nishida, Hidetaka et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2019·Joint Department of Veterinary Medicine, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Prevalence and pattern of thoracolumbar caudal articular process anomalies and intervertebral disk herniations in pugs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 57 Pugs was studied to understand how common back problems are in this breed, particularly intervertebral disk herniation (a condition where the disks in the spine bulge or rupture). It was found that a significant number of these dogs had abnormalities in their spine structure, which could be linked to the development of these herniations. Specifically, 91% of the Pugs had issues with their caudal articular processes, and those with these abnormalities were more likely to have herniated disks. While the study suggests a connection between these spine issues and back problems, more research is needed to confirm this link.
People also search for: Pug back problems · intervertebral disk herniation in Pugs · Pug spine abnormalities · dog back pain treatment
Abstract
Thoracolumbar intervertebral disk herniation (TL-IVDH) with caudal articular process anomalies has been reported in Pugs. It currently remains unclear whether congenital caudal articular process aplasia/hypoplasia predisposes to the development of TL-IVDH. However, there are difficulties in proving the causal relationship between caudal articular process anomalies and TL-IVDH. The aim of this study was to describe the prevalence of TL-IVDH at the vertebral space containing anomalous and normal caudal articular processes in Pugs. Fifty-seven pugs were eligible to be included in this study. Caudal articular process aplasia/hypoplasia affected 52/57 (91.2%) dogs. The caudal articular process anomalies were most frequently located between T10 and T13. Colocalization of caudal articular process aplasia/hypoplasia and TL-IVDH was detected in 11 dogs (19.3%). The prevalence of TL-IVDH at vertebral spaces containing abnormal caudal articular processes was 12.3%, whereas the prevalence of TL-IVDH at vertebral spaces containing normal articular processes was 2.4%. With the increase in the number of vertebrae with caudal articular process anomalies, the prevalence of TL-IVDH also increased. The results of this study suggested the prevalence of caudal articular process anomalies was high in Pugs. The caudal articular process anomalies could be associated with TL-IVDH. A large cohort is needed to prove the causal relationship between caudal articular process anomalies and TL-IVDH.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31092761/