MRI characteristics for “phantom” scratching in canine syringomyelia

Nalborczyk, Zoe R.; McFadyen, Angus; Jovanovik, Jelena; Tauro, Anna; Driver, Colin; Fitzpatrick, Noel; Knower, Susan P.; Rusbridge, Clare

doi:10.1186/s12917-017-1258-2

Cited by 20 publications

(38 citation statements)

References 40 publications

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“…Syringomyelia was first described in the cervical spinal cord and postulated to result from altered cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) flow dynamics at the craniocervical junction . Symptomatic dogs show signs of neuropathic pain and paresthesias, which often manifest as phantom scratch, focused on the head and neck region . However, in many dogs, SM also occurs in the thoracic and lumbar spinal cord and although thoracolumbar (TL) pain is frequently noted we also observed that many CKCS have lumbosacral (LS) pain .…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Morphometric analysis of spinal cord termination in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Sparks

Robertson

Olby

2019

Veterinary Internal Medicne

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Background There is an association between Chiari malformations, syringomyelia (CMSM) and tethered cord syndrome (TCS) in people, suggesting Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCS) with CMSM could also have TCS. Currently there are no data on the position of the caudal spinal cord structures in CKCS. Objective To describe and compare location of spinal cord termination in CKCS with weight‐matched controls and to examine the relationship between SM and spinal cord termination. Animals Thirty‐nine CKCS and 33 controls with thoracolumbar MRIs; 34 of 39 CKCS also had cervical MRIs. Methods Blinded retrospective study. Spinal cord and dural sac termination were determined from T2‐weighted sagittal and transverse images and half‐Fourier acquisition single‐shot turbo spin echo sequences. Intra‐observer reliability was determined using kappa analysis. Presence of SM was compared with location of spinal cord and dural sac termination. Results Intra‐observer reliability was moderate for identifying spinal cord termination (Kappa = 0.6) and good for dural sac termination (Kappa = 0.8). The spinal cord terminated at lumbar vertebra 6 (L6) in 1, 7 (L7) in 22, and sacrum in 16 CKCS versus 9 at L6, 23 at L7, 1 at sacrum in controls. Spinal cord (P < .001) and dural sac (P = .002) termination were significantly more caudal in CKCS compared to controls. The presence of thoracolumbar SM was associated with more caudal dural sac termination in CKCS (P = .03). Conclusions and Clinical Importance The relationship between TL SM and possible spinal cord tethering because of a more caudal dural sac termination should be investigated.

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Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 86%

Morphometric analysis of spinal cord termination in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Sparks

Robertson

Olby

2019

Veterinary Internal Medicne

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“…MM is indebted to Professor Sir Patrick Bateson FRS (1938-2017 for alerting him to the issue of syringomyelia in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels, putting him in touch with CF and hence precipitating this study, and especially for his mentorship and friendship across the years. Data supporting this study are available at: https://figshare.com/articles/Cockburn_et_al_-_Syringomyelia_data/5357668…”

Section: Acknowledgementsmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Reported clinical signs that may indicate pain include frequent scratching of the caudal head and neck area. However 'phantom scratching' towards one shoulder or neck region without skin contact is not necessarily associated with pain (Nalborczyk et al, 2017). Other signs include spinal hyperaesthesia (aversion to being touched especially in the cervical and thoracolumbar regions) and vocalisations resembling "screaming" after sudden head movements, when rising, and when the dogs is lifted under the sternum (Rusbridge and Knowler, 2004).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Evidence of negative affective state in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with syringomyelia

Cockburn

Smith

Rusbridge

et al. 2018

Applied Animal Behaviour Science

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Syringomyelia is a common and chronic neurological disorder affecting Cavalier King Charles Spaniels. The condition is putatively painful, but evaluating the affective component of chronic pain in non-human animals is challenging. Here we employed two methods designed to assess animal affect – the judgement bias and reward loss sensitivity tests – to investigate whether Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with syringomyelia (exhibiting a fluid filled cavity (syrinx) in the spinal cord of ≥2mm diameter) were in a more negative affective state than those without the condition. Dogs with syringomyelia did not differ in age from those without the condition, but owners reported that they scratched more (P<0.05), in line with previous findings. They also showed a more negative judgement of ambiguous locations in the judgement bias task (P<0.05), indicating a more negative affective state, but did not show a greater sensitivity to loss of food rewards. These measures were unaffected by whether the dog was or was not receiving pain-relieving medication. Across all subjects, dogs whose owners reported high levels of scratching showed a positive judgement bias (P<0.05), indicating that scratching was not directly associated with a negative affective state. Tests of spontaneous behaviour (latency to jump up to or down from a 30cm high platform) and physiology (thermography of the eye) did not detect any differences. These results provide initial evidence from the judgement bias task that syringomyelia may be associated with negative affect in dogs, and open the way for further and larger studies to confirm findings and investigate the effects of medication in more detail

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“…Asterisk in the above list represents clinical or behavioral signs of pain that are defined as vocalization (spontaneous, on picking up or after movement especially when recumbent and during the night), spinal pain, and changes in activity and behavior, which suggested avoidance or pain when jumping up or doing stairs, behavior change (aggression, withdrawn, anxious, described as more timid) and sleep disturbance …”

Section: Methodsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Facial changes related to brachycephaly in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with Chiari‐like malformation associated pain and secondary syringomyelia

Knowler¹,

Dumas²,

Spiteri

et al. 2019

Veterinary Internal Medicne

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Background: Recent studies including an innovative machine learning technique indicated Chiari-like malformation (CM) is influenced by brachycephalic features. Objectives: Morphometric analysis of facial anatomy and dysmorphia in CMassociated pain (CM-P) and syringomyelia (SM) in the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (CKCS). Animals: Sixty-six client-owned CKCS. Methods: Retrospective study of anonymized T2W sagittal magnetic resonance imaging of 3 clinical groups: (1) 11 without central canal dilation (ccd) or SM (CM-N), (2) 15 with CM-P with no SM or <2 mm ccd (CM-P), and (3) 40 with syrinx width ≥4 mm (SM-S). Morphometric analysis assessed rostral skull flattening and position of the hard and soft palate relative to the cranial base in each clinical group and compared CKCS with and without SM-S.Results: Sixteen of 28 measured variables were associated to SM-S compared to CM-N and CM-P. Of these 6 were common to both groups. Predictive variables determined by discriminant analysis were (1) the ratio of cranial height with cranial length (P < .001 between SM-S and CM-N) and (2) the distance between the cerebrum and the frontal bone (P < .001 between SM-S and CM-P). CM-P had the lowest mean height of the maxillary area. Conclusions and ClinicalImportance: CKCS with CM-P and SM-S have cranial brachycephaly with osseous insufficiency in the skull with rostral flattening and increased proximity of the hard and soft palate to the cranial base. Changes are greatest with CM-P. These findings have relevance for understanding disease pathogenesis and for selection of head conformation for breeding purposes. dogs without central canal dilation or syringomyelia with no clinical or behavioural signs of pain; CM-P, dogs with clinical and behavioral signs of pain with no syringomyelia or with a central canal dilation less than 2 mm wide; CSF, cerebrospinal fluid; DA, discriminant function analysis; DICOM, Digital Imaging and Communications in Medicine; FS, feature selection; ICC, intraclass correlation coefficient; ML, machine learning; MRI, magnetic resonance imaging; SM, syringomyelia; SM-S, dogs with syrinx width ≥4 mm and with SM specific signs of phantom scratching, scoliosis, paresis or proprioceptive deficits.

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MRI characteristics for “phantom” scratching in canine syringomyelia

Cited by 20 publications

References 40 publications

Morphometric analysis of spinal cord termination in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Morphometric analysis of spinal cord termination in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels

Evidence of negative affective state in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with syringomyelia

Facial changes related to brachycephaly in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels with Chiari‐like malformation associated pain and secondary syringomyelia

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