Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Severe brain inflammation and damage in a 10-year-old Yorkshire
By Lezmi, S et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary medicine. A, Physiology, pathology, clinical medicine·2007·Ecole Nationale Vé, France·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 We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above.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: Severe necrotizing encephalitis in a Yorkshire terrier: topographic and immunohistochemical study.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 10-year-old female Yorkshire terrier was diagnosed with severe brain inflammation after showing signs of neurological issues. The vet found significant damage in her brain, particularly in areas responsible for movement and coordination. Tests ruled out infections like distemper and other pathogens, suggesting that her condition was likely due to an immune response attacking her brain tissue. Unfortunately, the specific treatment for this type of brain inflammation is not well established, and the prognosis can be poor.
People also search for: Yorkshire terrier brain inflammation symptoms · dog neurological issues treatment · what causes encephalitis in dogs
Abstract
Necrotizing encephalitis of the Yorkshire terrier is a chronic non-suppurative encephalitis that was reported in approximately 15 cases worldwide. We report the case of a 10-year-old female Yorkshire terrier with gross evidence of severe cortical degeneration and necrosis. Microscopically, affected areas were mainly located in the cortical white matter and in the mesencephalon without implication of the cerebellum. Cavitation necrosis, demyelination, gemistocytic astrocytosis, marked perivascular lymphocytic cuffing with a diffuse lymphocytic/histiocytic/gitter cell infiltration characterized the lesions. Immunohistochemical analysis identified the major infiltration of T lymphocytes and macrophages with implication of some cytotoxic lymphocytes and IgG-producing plasma cells; depositions of IgG in the affected white matter were also observed. Specific stains did not reveal fungal, protozoal or bacterial organisms and reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction analysis for distemper virus was also negative. The lympho-histiocytic inflammation suggests a T-cell-mediated and a delayed-type immune reaction as a possible pathogenic mechanism for this brain disorder.
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/17493164/