The aetiology and outcome of dogs with juvenile-onset seizures were investigated. One hundred and thirty-six dogs whose first seizure occurred before the age of one year were investigated. One hundred and two dogs were diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy (IE), 23 with symptomatic epilepsy (SE), nine with reactive seizures (RS) and two with probable symptomatic epilepsy (pSE). The outcome was known in 114 dogs; 37 per cent died or were euthanased as a consequence of seizures. The mean survival time of this population of dogs was 7.1 years. Factors that were significantly associated with survival outcome included the diagnosis of SE and the number of antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) used before investigation. The use of one AED before investigation and a diagnosis of SE were associated with a negative outcome, whereas receiving no AED medications before referral was associated with a longer survival. For dogs with IE, survival time was shortened if the dog was a border collie or with a history of status epilepticus;receiving no AEDs before referral in the IE group was associated with a positive outcome. Seizure-free status was achieved in 22 per cent of dogs diagnosed with IE. While the survival times were longer than previously reported in canine epilepsy, similar remission rates to those reported in childhood epilepsy, where a 70 per cent remission rate is documented, were not seen in the canine juvenile population.
This paper documents the first reported case of fucosidosis in a cat. The cat presented with signs of forebrain and cerebellar dysfunction and a magnetic resonance imaging scan of the brain suggested a degenerative or metabolic disease process. A fine needle aspirate of grossly normal lymph nodes revealed vacuolated lymphocytes and a renal biopsy of an irregular shaped kidney identified vacuolated tubular epithelial cells. A white cell lysosomal enzyme screen revealed negligible α-fucosidase activity. Fucosidosis should be considered in the differential diagnosis of young cats with cerebellar dysfunction and must be added to the list of lysosomal storage diseases affecting the cat.
Background: Retrospective study to compare the classification, as normal, hypoplastic or aplastic, of thoracic (T10-T13) caudal articular process (CAP) morphology in Pug dogs with a thoracolumbar myelopathy as normal, hypoplastic or aplastic, between T2 weighted Turbo Spin Echo (T2W-TSE) and Volumetric Interpolated Breath-hold Examination (VIBE) Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) sequences, in comparison to Computed Tomography (CT). We hypothesised a stronger agreement for VIBE in comparison to T2W-TSE.
Results: Diagnostic accuracy of T2W-TSE was inferior to VIBE for aplastic (60%, 95% CI 0.561 – 0.639) versus 78%, 95%CI 0.744 - 0.815) hypoplastic (44%, 95%CI 0.427 – 0.452 versus 62.5%, 95%CI 0.595 - 0.655) and normal CAP (70%, 95%CI 0.655 – 0.744 versus 87% 95%CI 0.848- 0.892). Superior accuracy of classification using VIBE versus T2W-TSE sequences using the McNemar Chi squared test was significant for aplastic (p= 0.0002) and normal CAP (p=0.004). VIBE sequences had a sensitivity of 96% and specificity of 75% and with T2W-TSE imaging sensitivity 81% and specificity of 75%.
Conclusion: Three-dimensionally reconstructable VIBE sequences were significantly more accurate than traditional T2W-TSE MRI sequences in classifying CAP morphology, which should reduce the need for CT for pre-operative assessment.
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