Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Pembroke Welsh Corgi with tongue wasting from muscle inflammation
By Ito, Daisuke et al.·Published in The Journal of veterinary medical science·2009·Nihon University, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Symptomatic tongue atrophy due to atypical polymyositis in a Pembroke Welsh Corgi.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 3-year-old female Pembroke Welsh Corgi was brought in because her tongue was shrinking and crinkling, making it hard for her to swallow and causing excessive drooling. After tests, the vet diagnosed her with polymyositis, an inflammatory muscle disease, but she did not improve with treatment using prednisolone, a common steroid. Sadly, she passed away from aspiration pneumonia about 22 months later. A post-mortem examination revealed significant muscle damage in her tongue and other areas, which had not been reported in dogs before.
People also search for: dog tongue problems · Pembroke Welsh Corgi dysphagia · polymyositis treatment in dogs
Abstract
A three-year-old, 7.3-kg, female Pembroke Welsh Corgi exhibited symptomatic tongue atrophy, crinkling of the tip of the tongue, dysphagia and excessive salivation. Neurological examination suggested multiple cranial neuropathy, but polymyositis was diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging and muscle biopsy. The dog did not respond to prednisolone treatment and died from aspiration pneumonia 22 months after the first presentation. Post-mortem histopathological examination of the tongue revealed marked myofiber loss and fibrosis with multifocal infiltration of mixed mononuclear cells. Similar findings were also observed in the masticatory muscles and quadriceps without abnormality of peripheral nerves or evidence of infection. Symptomatic tongue atrophy occurring in the course of polymyositis has not been reported previously in dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19721359/