Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
X-rays show muscle disease signs in Golden Retrievers with muscular
By Brumitt, Jason W et al.Ā·Published in Veterinary radiology & ultrasound : the official journal of the American College of Veterinary Radiology and the International Veterinary Radiology AssociationĀ·2006Ā·Department of Veterinary Medicine and Surgery, United StatesĀ·View original on PubMed ā
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Original publication title: Radiographic features of Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of Golden Retrievers with muscular dystrophy showed specific changes in their bodies that can be seen on X-rays. Many of these dogs had issues like uneven diaphragm movement, which can lead to breathing problems, and some had hernias. The X-rays also revealed changes in their pelvic bones, which were likely caused by the muscle weakness associated with the disease. Recognizing these signs can help veterinarians diagnose muscular dystrophy in affected dogs. Unfortunately, this condition is progressive and currently has no cure, but understanding it can help manage the symptoms.
People also search for: Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy symptoms Ā· dog breathing problems Ā· X-ray findings in dogs Ā· treatment for dog muscular dystrophy
Abstract
Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy is an inherited, degenerative myopathy due to the absence of dystrophin and is used as a model of Duchenne muscular dystrophy of young boys. This report describes the radiographic abnormalities of Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy in 26 dogs. The thoracic abnormalities included diaphragmatic asymmetry (18/26), diaphragmatic undulation (18/26), and gastro-esophageal hiatal hernia (6/26). Pelvic abnormalities included narrowing of the body of the ilia (14/19), ventral deviation and curvature of the tuber ischii (14/19), elongation of the obturator foramen with a decrease in opacity of the surrounding bone (12/19), and lateral flaring of the wings of the ilia (12/19). Abdominal abnormalities consisted of hepatomegaly (14/22) and poor serosal detail (12/22). The unique thoracic abnormalities were a consistent finding in affected Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy dogs. The diagnosis of muscular dystrophy should be included in the differential list if the combination of diaphragm undulation and asymmetry, and gastro-esophageal hiatal hernia are identified. These diaphragmatic abnormalities are related to hypertrophy and hyperplasia of the diaphragm. Additionally, the skeletal changes of pelvic tilt, elongation of the pelvis, widening of the obturator foramina and thinning of the ischiatic tables appear to be specific to Golden Retriever muscular dystrophy in dogs. These pelvic abnormalities are most likely secondary to bone remodeling associated with the progressive skeletal myopathy and subsequent contracture/fibrosis.
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Search related cases āOriginal publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17153067/