Anencephaly in a German Shepherd Dog

Abstract

Anencephaly results from defects in neural tube closure early in gestation and, to the authors' knowledge, has not been reported in dogs. In this case, the canine fetus was stillborn at the 62nd day of gestation and had a hypoplastic calvarium, with flattened base of the skull and shallow orbits, causing protrusion of the eyes. Macroscopically, the brain was completely missing. Histologically, well-differentiated nerve fibers, fragments of cerebellar folia, and ganglia with large neurons and glial cells were detected in a loose stroma in sections through the cranial bone and adjacent soft tissue in the rudimentary cranial cavity. Immunohistochemically, single cells within the stroma expressed NeuN, consistent with mature neurons, whereas intracranial ganglion cells and nerves had mild expression of doublecortin. The presence of many immature, and only a few mature, neurons in the rudimentary nerve tissue in this case indicates a failure of physiological brain development and differentiation.

Anencephaly associated with cleft palate in a Bull Terrier litter: case report

“…New ultrasound was taken and wasfound fetal distress.The cesareansectionwasperformedand it wasobservedthatthesevenpuppies (femaleand male) had no skullandbrainmasswasexposed (Fig. 1), and each one of thefetuseswasalsosufferingfromcleft palate and hiperglossia (Fig.2) as reported by Berghe et al [9], Huisinga et al [5], Lahunta, Glass, Kent [6] and Dewey, Costa [8].The ultrasound was a good method of assessing gestational age, to identify the number of fetuses, as well as determination of the malformation, anencephaly, as described by Jarreta (10).…”

“…According to Dias et al [2] and Saraiva [3], the nervous system isoften affected with generally arising defects during morphogenesis, as well as resulting from exposure during the prenatal and perinatal period, teratogenic agents and sometimes can be hereditary.Anencephaly can be defined as a complete or partial absence of the brain and skull bone, which develops a defect in the cranial portion of the neural tube [4,5,6,7,8].…”

Cephalothoracopagus (monocephalic dithoracic) conjoined twins in a pig (Sus scrofa f. domestica): a case report

“…The literature on ancephaly in animals is very limited. Willhite et al (1985) described this defect in the hamster, Huisinga et al (2010) in the dog and Greene and Copp (2005) in the mouse. Cleft palate is a type of orofacial cleft and is a fissure or longitudinal opening occurring during embryonic development.…”

Neural tube defects in four Shetland sheepdog puppies: clinical characterisation and computed tomography investigation

“…The abnormalities observed in puppy 3, including a flattened skull and smaller brain, may be similar to the report by Huisinga et al on a German Shepherd Dog with anencephaly, hypoplastic calvarium and flattened base of the skull. 8 Puppies 1 and 3 were also reported to have incomplete ossification of the vertebral arches on CT, with suspected sacral malformations and atresia ani in puppy 3. As ossification of the vertebral arches is not complete at birth, 20 the significance of this morphological finding is unclear in puppies of this age (stillborn and 2 days old).…”

“…7 Only a small number of studies has described NTDs in dogs. Of these, there have been reports of cases of anencephaly, 8 dermoid sinus, 9 myelomeningocele 10 and spinal dysraphism 11 (OMIA: 000044, 000272-9615, 000938-9615, respectively). 12 The occurrence of NTDs in Australian dogs goes largely unreported, with only one report on scattered NTD cases in several breeds identified.…”