Acquired myasthenia gravis in a dog a case report

Abstract

Neuromuscular diseases are not common in clinical routine of dogs and cats and their diagnosis is a challenge for the veterinarian. This paper reports the clinical diagnosis and the therapy given to a four-year-old mixed-breed female dog with a history of claudication and intermittent paresis, initially in the pelvic limbs and then evolving to the thoracic limbs. Furthermore, there were clinical signs of ataxia and tetraparesis, especially after exercise. Due to the history and clinical signs presented, acquired myasthenia gravis was suspected and the therapeutic diagnosis using anticholinesterase neostigmine was chosen, as it is simple, fast and accessible. The dog presented a significant improvement in clinical status after intramuscular administration of the above mentioned anticholinesterase, and returned to normal ambulatory activity after administration of the drug intravenously, thus enabling the diagnosis of the disease. Treatment was introduced using pyridostigmine bromide (2.5mg/Kg, twice a day) associated with corticosteroid in an immunosuppressive dose (0.5mg/Kg, twice a day). Both drugs were administered orally for a period of six months, after which there was a complete remission of the clinical signs and there have been no recurrences until now.