A Retrospective Study of Intervertebral Disc Herniation in Dogs in Japan: 297 Cases

Abstract

ABSTRACT. We investigated the epidemiological characteristics of intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH) in Japan in a large population using a retrospective study. The sample population was dogs (n=297) with IVDH in Japan. Medical records were reviewed for breed, sex, age, affected interspace and neurological severity. The dogs were comprised of 132 cases of cervical IVDH (C-IVDH) and 165 cases of thoracolumbar IVDH (TL-IVDH). In Japan, the Dachshund, Beagle and Shih Tzu tended to suffer from both C-IVDH and TL-IVDH. The Shiba Inu, a characteristic Japanese dog breed, suffered from both C-IVDH and TL-IVDH, although there was little data relating to the whole breed. Male dogs tended to suffer from C-IVDH and TL-IVDH at a rate almost twice that of females in Japan. Among the three predominant dog breeds, the Dachshund, Beagle and Shih Tzu, the Dachshund tended to suffer from both C-IVDH and TL-IVDH at an earlier age than the Beagle, and the Beagle tended to suffer from both C-IVDH and TL-IVDH earlier than the Shih Tzu. Among the three predominant breeds, the Shih Tzu, in particular, tended to suffer from both C-IVDH and TL-IVDH at multiple sites. Our data from Japan were in partial agreement with previous data from the U.S.A., and epidemiological characteristics of IVDH peculiar to Japan were also identified. KEY WORDS: age at admission, canine, chondrodystrophoid dog, epidemiological study, intervertebral disc disease.J. Vet. Med. Sci. 70 (7): [701][702][703][704][705][706] 2008 Cervical and thoracolumbar intervertebral disc herniation (IVDH) is a common cause of spinal cord dysfunction in dogs seen in small animal practice [1]. Herniation of the disc causes various grades of myelopathy, including pain, paresis and sometimes permanent paralysis. The epidemiology of IVDH in dogs has been widely studied in the U.S.A., with studies investigating a variety of epidemiological factors including breed, sex, age, location of affected interspace, the time between onset of clinical signs to having a medical examination and the severity of the clinical signs. In particular, many reports have suggested that chondrodystrophoid dog breeds tend to suffer from IVDH, with a mean age at admission that differs significantly from other breeds [6,12,13,18,22]. Epidemiological data provide clinical veterinarians with an advantage prior to diagnosis or medical treatment of IVDH. However, in Japan, the epidemiological characteristics of IVDH in dogs have not been studied sufficiently [20]. Differences in the epidemiological characteristics of IVDH in dogs between the U.S.A. and Japan might exist because the characteristics of the disease may depend in part on the canine population or the living environment of the country. To establish whether this is the case, it is necessary to examine original Japanese epidemiological data for IVDH in dogs. Therefore, we investigated the epidemiological characteristics of IVDH in Japan in a large population using a retrospective study, and in particular, evaluated the association between specific br...

Doença do disco intervertebral cervical em cães: 28 casos (2003-2008)

“…Já Dallman et al (1992) ções de Funkquist & Svalastoga (1979), Swaim & Hyam (1982), Dallman et al (1992), Gill et al (1996), Fitch et al (2000) e Cherrone et al (2004). Por outro lado, Itoh et al (2008) verificaram o Beagle e justificaram a maior incidên-cia devido à preferência dessa raça no Japão, quando comparado a outros países. Mesmo havendo maior predisposição em raças condrodistróficas, verificou-se, neste estudo, que a DDIV cervical pode acometer cães de diferentes raças consideradas ou não condrodistróficas.…”

“…O disco intervertebral mais acometido foi entre C3-C4 (Fig.1), ao contrário do observado por Dalmann et al (1992), Toombs (1992), Sharp & Wheeler (2005) e Itoh et al (2008) que verificaram maior incidência entre C2-C3. Adicionalmente, a mielografia revelou, em todos os cães, o envolvimento de um único disco intervertebral, ao contrário dos estudos de Fitch et al (2000) e Tanaka et al (2005) que observaram o envolvimento de mais de um disco intervertebral ocasionando sinais clínicos da doença.…”

“…Essa alteração ocorre em raças condrodistróficas e não condrodistróficas (Toombs 1992, De Lahunta & Glass 2009), ocasionando extrusão (Hansen tipo I) ou protrusão (Hansen tipo II) do disco degenerado no interior do canal vertebral (Toombs & Bauer 1998, Sharp & Wheeler 2005. O disco entre as vértebras cervicais C2/C3 é o de maior ocorrência da DDIV e essa prevalência diminui caudalmente (Dalmann et al 1992, Toombs 1992, Sharp & Wheeler 2005, Itoh et al 2008. O segmento C6/C7 é raramente afetado, com exceção de cães de raças de grande porte, como parte da espondilomielopatia cervical caudal (Sharp & Wheeler 2005).…”

“…O diagnóstico da DDIV cervical baseia-se na resenha, no histórico clínico, no exame neurológico (Toombs & Waters 2007), na radiografia simples e contrastada (mielografia), na tomografia computadorizada, na mielotomografia (Itoh et al 2008) e na ressonância magnética nuclear (Sharp & Wheeler 2005). A principal confirmação da doença ocorre durante a cirurgia descompressiva (Toombs & Waters 2007), quando é observado o conteúdo do disco no interior do canal vertebral (extrusão) ou a projeção do anel fibroso (protrusão) ocasionando compressão da medula espinal (Braund 1996, Sharp & Wheeler 2005.…”

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“…1 This problem is increasing in frequency because the number of miniature dachshunds has increased in Japan. Surgical intervention is performed for dogs that have paraplegia and analgesia caused by Hansen type I disk herniation.…”