Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Blood test for diagnosing progressive spinal cord disease in dogs
By Sato, Yasunori et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2013·Department of Veterinary Medicine, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Serum glial fibrillary acidic protein as a diagnostic biomarker in dogs with progressive myelomalacia.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with back problems caused by intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) were tested for a protein called GFAP in their blood to see if it could help diagnose a serious condition called progressive myelomalacia, which affects the spinal cord. Out of 51 dogs, 8 were diagnosed with progressive myelomalacia, and the GFAP test was able to correctly identify most of them. The test showed a high level of accuracy, suggesting it could be a useful tool for veterinarians when diagnosing this condition. Early detection can be crucial for managing the health of affected dogs.
People also search for: dog back problems IVDD · progressive myelomalacia diagnosis · GFAP test for dogs · spinal cord disease in dogs · dog spinal injury treatment
Abstract
In humans, increased levels of GFAP in the CSF and blood have been reported with various neural diseases. However, there has been no study describing the usefulness of GFAP in the blood for disease of the spinal cord in dogs. The aim of this study was to describe the utility of GFAP in serum for a diagnosis of progressive myelomalacia. Fifty-six dogs with acute thoracolumbar IVDD diagnosed by computed tomography with myelography or MRI were included. Serum specimens were collected at initial presentation from all cases and at follow-up examinations from some cases. Serum samples were assayed for GFAP concentrations using a commercially available GFAP ELISA Kit. Progressive myelomalacia was the final diagnosis in 8/51 cases (15.6%). Eight dogs had clinical signs suggestive of progressive myelomalacia, of which 6 were positive and 2 were negative by GFAP. Seven dogs had a detectable level of serum GFAP, of which 6 had the onset of progressive myelomalacia. The sensitivity and specificity of the GFAP to progressive myelomalacia were 75% and 97.7%, respectively. The results suggest the utility of GFAP in serum in the diagnosis of progressive myelomalacia.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23470323/