Intracerebral haemorrhage in a dog with steroid-responsive meningitis arteritis

A one-year and six-month-old female neutered Boxer dog was presented with a four-day history of pyrexia, lethargy and neck pain. An intracerebral haemorrhage and a mediastinal mass were identified. Cerebrospinal fluid analysis revealed severe neutrophilic pleocytosis, and steroid-responsive meningitis arteritis (SRMA) was suspected. A significant improvement was observed with immunosuppressive steroid therapy and subsequent imaging revealed a reduction in size of the intracerebral haemorrhage and disappearance of the mediastinal mass. SRMA is a systemic disease with potential involvement of multiple organs. Intracerebral haemorrhage can occur secondary to SRMA and can have a successful outcome

The value of a head turn in neurolocalization

BACKGROUND: A head turn is a clinically relevant abnormality identified on neurological examination and historically has been an isolated or concomitant sign of ipsilateral forebrain dysfunction. Experimental studies in quadrupedal mammals suggest that changes in head posture may be identified as originating in other parts of the central nervous system (CNS).OBJECTIVES: To identify whether other locations within the CNS could give rise to a head turn and whether the head turn identified is isolated or concomitant with other deviations in head and body posture.ANIMALS: Forty-nine client-owned dogs with a presentation of a head turn, from 6 veterinary referral centers.METHODS: Multicenter observational prospective study including dogs with photographic evidence of a head turn, full neurological examination, and advanced imaging.RESULTS: Of the population, 15/49 had head turn only, 9/49 had head turn and head tilt only, 12/49 had head turn and body turn only, and 13/49 had head turn, head tilt, and body turn. Nearly all dogs with forebrain disease (23/24), and, all with brainstem and cerebellar disease, had an ipsilateral head turn and body turn (if present). In the cerebellar group, all head tilts were contralateral to the lesion location. In the cervical spinal cord group, all head turns, body turns and head tilts were contralateral to the lesion location.CONCLUSION: A head turn, although most likely associated with, is not exclusively seen with forebrain disease. Certain combinations of head turn, head tilt and body turn suggest a neurolocalization other than the forebrain, with appropriate classification needed.</p

Intracranial meningioma in two coeval adult cats from the same litter

In this report we describe the occurrence of intracranial meningioma in two adult cats from the same litter. The location of the meningioma varied: one tumour was at the level of the brainstem, and the other was affecting the temporal and piriform lobes. The cat with the brainstem meningioma was treated with radiotherapy and the littermate had a rostrotentorial craniectomy for tumour removal. Both cats had a histopathological diagnosis of grade I meningioma of a predominantly fibrous subtype. Cases of familial meningioma in cats have not previously been described in the veterinary literature. However, familial meningioma is well described in humans and it is possible that cases are underestimated in animals. We discuss the possible genetic background and other causes, as well as challenges we may face in veterinary medicine in identifying these associations

Clinical signs, MRI findings and outcome in dogs with peripheral vestibular disease: a retrospective study

Background: Vestibular dysfunction is relatively common in dogs, with a prevalence of 0.08% reported in primary veterinary care in the UK. There are several studies investigating how to differentiate between peripheral and central vestibular disease but only limited information regarding the possible underlying causes for peripheral vestibular dysfunction in dogs. This study therefore aimed to describe the clinical signs, magnetic resonance imaging findings (MRI), underlying causes and outcome in a large population of dogs diagnosed with peripheral vestibular disease. Results: One hundred eighty-eight patients were included in the study with a median age of 6.9 years (range 3 months to 14.6 years). Neurological abnormalities included head tilt (n = 185), ataxia (n = 123), facial paralysis (n = 103), nystagmus (n = 97), positional strabismus (n = 93) and Horner syndrome (n = 7). The most prevalent diagnosis was idiopathic vestibular disease (n = 128), followed by otitis media and/or interna (n = 49), hypothyroidism (n = 7), suspected congenital vestibular disease (n = 2), neoplasia (n = 1) and cholesteatoma (n = 1). Long-term follow-up revealed persistence of head tilt (n = 50), facial paresis (n = 41) and ataxia (n = 6) in some cases. Recurrence of clinical signs was observed in 26 dogs. Increasing age was associated with a mild increased chance of diagnosis of idiopathic vestibular syndrome rather than otitis media and/or interna (P = 0.022, OR = 0.866; CI 0.765–0.980). History of previous vestibular episodes (P = 0.017, OR = 3.533; CI 1.251–9.981) was associated with an increased likelihood of resolution of the clinical signs whilst contrast enhancement of cranial nerves VII and/or VIII on MRI (P = 0.018, OR = 0.432; CI 0.251–0.868) was associated with a decreased chance of resolution of the clinical signs. Conclusions: Idiopathic vestibular disease is the most common cause of peripheral vestibular dysfunction in dogs and it is associated with advanced age. Incomplete recovery from peripheral vestibular disease is common, especially in dogs presenting with cranial nerve enhancement on MRI but less so if there is previous history of vestibular episodes

Signalment and C-reactive protein values in dogs with immune-mediated polyarthritis and steroid responsive meningitis arteritis

Introduction: This retrospective multicentric study aims to evaluate the ability of CRP concentration to differentiate between dogs diagnosed with IMPA and SRMA. C-reactive protein (CRP) is a marker of inflammation widely used in two of the most commonly diagnosed immune-mediated diseases in dogs—Immune-mediated polyarthritis (IMPA) and steroid responsive meningitis arteritis (SRMA). Materials and methods: Data collected from medical records of 167 client-owned dogs included age, breed, gender, neuter status, body weight, body temperature, CRP concentration, month and season of diagnosis. CRP was measured quantitatively in 142 dogs (84%) and semi-quantitatively in 27 dogs (16%). Results: SRMA was diagnosed significantly more often in dogs &lt; 12 months old and IMPA in dogs ≥12 months old (P &lt; 0.001). Dogs diagnosed with SRMA had higher CRP concentration than dogs diagnosed with IMPA (P = 0.02). This difference was influenced by the dog's age–when a dog was &lt;12 months old, a higher CRP concentration indicated IMPA (P = 0.02), whereas when a dog was ≥12 months old, a higher CRP concentration indicated SRMA (P = 0.02). Discussion: CRP concentration as a sole diagnostic modality showed only fair discriminatory potential to differentiate between SRMA and IMPA (area under ROC curve close to 0.7). CRP concentration varied depending on patient age and definitive diagnosis. It may play some role in differentiating between SRMA and IMPA but should not be used as the sole diagnostic modality, given it has been demonstrated to only have fair discriminatory potential

Epileptic seizures triggered by eating in dogs.

BackgroundSeizures triggered by eating (STE) behavior are very rare in humans and have not been documented previously in dogs.ObjectivesTo document the occurrence of STE in dogs and describe their clinical features.AnimalsTen client-owned dogs with STE diagnosed at 5 European referral centers.MethodsA call for suspected cases of STE was made online. This call was followed by a retrospective review of medical records, combined with a questionnaire to be completed by both the owner and the board-certified neurologist who made the diagnosis. Cases were included if >50% of the seizures that occurred were related to eating and if a minimum diagnostic evaluation for seizures had been performed.ResultsFour cases only had STE and 6 cases had both STE and spontaneous seizures. Four of the dogs were retrievers. The most common seizure type was focal epileptic seizures evolving to become generalized. Nine dogs were diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy. One dog had a presumptive diagnosis of glioma involving the margins of the parietal, temporal, and frontal cortex (the perisylvian region), an area known to have a key role in eating-associated epilepsy in people. Treatment strategies included a combination of pharmacological management and eating habit changes.Conclusions and clinical importanceWe have identified a form of reflex epilepsy in dogs, with STE behavior. Further studies are warranted to improve the characterization and management of STE

Presence of Blastocystis in the gut microbiota is associated with cognitive traits and decreased executive function

Growing evidence implicates the gut microbiome in cognition. Blastocystis is a common gut single-cell eukaryote parasite frequently detected in humans but its potential involvement in human pathophysiology has been poorly characterized. Here we describe how the presence of Blastocystis in the gut microbiome was associated with deficits in executive function and altered gut bacterial composition in a discovery (n = 114) and replication cohorts (n = 942). We also found that Blastocystis was linked to bacterial functions related to aromatic amino acids metabolism and folate-mediated pyrimidine and one-carbon metabolism. Blastocystis-associated shifts in bacterial functionality translated into the circulating metabolome. Finally, we evaluated the effects of microbiota transplantation. Donor's Blastocystis subtypes led to altered recipient's mice cognitive function and prefrontal cortex gene expression. In summary, Blastocystis warrant further consideration as a novel actor in the gut microbiome-brain axis

Obesity status and obesity-associated gut dysbiosis effects on hypothalamic structural covariance

Background: Functional connectivity alterations in the lateral and medial hypothalamic networks have been associated with the development and maintenance of obesity, but the possible impact on the structural properties of these networks remains largely unexplored. Also, obesity-related gut dysbiosis may delineate specific hypothalamic alterations within obese conditions. We aim to assess the effects of obesity, and obesity and gut-dysbiosis on the structural covariance differences in hypothalamic networks, executive functioning, and depressive symptoms. Methods: Medial (MH) and lateral (LH) hypothalamic structural covariance alterations were identified in 57 subjects with obesity compared to 47 subjects without obesity. Gut dysbiosis in the subjects with obesity was defined by the presence of high (n = 28) and low (n = 29) values in a BMI-associated microbial signature, and posthoc comparisons between these groups were used as a proxy to explore the role of obesity-related gut dysbiosis on the hypothalamic measurements, executive function, and depressive symptoms. Results: Structural covariance alterations between the MH and the striatum, lateral prefrontal, cingulate, insula, and temporal cortices are congruent with previously functional connectivity disruptions in obesity conditions. MH structural covariance decreases encompassed postcentral parietal cortices in the subjects with obesity and gut-dysbiosis, but increases with subcortical nuclei involved in the coding food-related hedonic information in the subjects with obesity without gut-dysbiosis. Alterations for the structural covariance of the LH in the subjects with obesity and gut-dysbiosis encompassed increases with frontolimbic networks, but decreases with the lateral orbitofrontal cortex in the subjects with obesity without gut-dysbiosis. Subjects with obesity and gut dysbiosis showed higher executive dysfunction and depressive symptoms. Conclusions: Obesity-related gut dysbiosis is linked to specific structural covariance alterations in hypothalamic networks relevant to the integration of somatic-visceral information, and emotion regulation

Microbiota alterations in proline metabolism impact depression

The microbiota-gut-brain axis has emerged as a novel target in depression, a disorder with low treatment efficacy. However, the field is dominated by underpowered studies focusing on major depression not ad- dressing microbiome functionality, compositional nature, or confounding factors. We applied a multi-omics approach combining pre-clinical models with three human cohorts including patients with mild depression. Microbial functions and metabolites converging onto glutamate/GABA metabolism, particularly proline, were linked to depression. High proline consumption was the dietary factor with the strongest impact on depression. Whole-brain dynamics revealed rich club network disruptions associated with depression and circulating proline. Proline supplementation in mice exacerbated depression along with microbial translocation. Human microbiota transplantation induced an emotionally impaired phenotype in mice and alterations in GABA-, proline-, and extracellular matrix-related prefrontal cortex genes. RNAi-mediated knockdown of pro-line and GABA transporters in Drosophila and mono-association with L. plantarum, a high GABA producer, conferred protection against depression-like states. Targeting the microbiome and dietary proline may open new windows for efficient depression treatment

Primary orthostatic tremor and orthostatic tremor-plus in dogs: 60 cases (2003-2020).

BACKGROUND: Orthostatic tremor (OT) is a rare movement disorder characterized by high-frequency (>12 Hz) involuntary, rhythmic, sinusoidal movements affecting predominantly the limbs while standing. OBJECTIVE: To describe the signalment, presenting complaints, phenotype, diagnostic findings, treatment, and outcome of a large sample of dogs with OT. ANIMALS: Sixty dogs diagnosed with OT based on conscious electromyography. METHODS: Multicenter retrospective case series study. Dogs were included if they had a conscious electromyography consistent with muscle discharge frequency >12 Hz while standing. RESULTS: Fifty-three cases were diagnosed with primary OT (POT). Giant breed dogs represented most cases (83%; 44/53). Most dogs (79%; 42/53) were younger than 2 years of age at onset of signs, except for Retrievers which were all older than 3.5 years of age. The most common presenting complaints were pelvic limb tremors while standing (85%; 45/53) and difficulty when rising or sitting down (45%; 24/53). Improvement of clinical signs occurred in most dogs (85%; 45/53) treated medically with phenobarbital, primidone, gabapentin, pregabalin or clonazepam, but it was mostly partial rather than complete. Orthostatic tremor-plus was seen in 7 dogs that had concurrent neurological diseases. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Primary OT is a progressive disease of young, purebred, giant/large-breed dogs, which appears to begin later in life in Retrievers. Primary OT apparently responds partially to medications. Orthostatic tremor-plus exists in dogs and can be concomitant or associated with other neurological diseases