| Hi All, Please find below a selection of useful articles and remember the site itself is always updating so do check for more papers that might interest you. The neurology page filters for neurology/neurosurgery topics to help you find the most relevant ones. |
| Firstly, two recent studies that evaluate aspects of caregiver burden for owners of dogs with chronic diseases: Shared struggles: Parallels in caregiver burden between canine and paediatric epilepsy.Vet Record. Open access.https://bvajournals. There is increasing recognition of the extent of the impact of epilepsy on both the affected dog and the owner(s). The authors of this study have modified a caregiver impact assessment tool developed for use in caregivers of children and young people with severe epilepsy. It considers physical health, mental health, relationships and work/finances. Four aspects of caregivers’ lives were negatively impacted for the majority of the 590 respondents with epileptic dogs; anxiety/worry levels, sleep quality, tiredness and finances. Owners reported anxiety over not being present if their dog seizures and over the possibility of their dog dying during a seizure. These seem like very feasible areas in which we could provide clearer guidance and better support to owners, and flag areas for future research focus (including tools to predict when a dog might seizure such as wearable technology). Sleep–wake disturbance in canine cognitive dysfunction: Guardian-reported patterns and a practical screening tool.Veterinary Journal. Open access.https://www.sciencedirect.com/ Sleep disruption is often one of the earliest signs of Alzheimer’s disease. Despite our recognition of altered sleep-wake cycles as a feature of cognitive dysfunction in dogs and cats, the specific nature and severity of sleep disturbance have not been extensively characterised in veterinary patients. This study aimed to evaluate sleep disturbance in dogs at least 8 years of age using a 90 item online survey, alongside the Sleep and Nighttime Restlessness Evaluation (“SNoRE 3.0”). Dogs were categorised as normal ageing, mild, moderate or severe canine cognitive dysfunction (CCD) using the Canine Dementia Scale (CADES). Poorer sleep quality significantly increased with CCD severity, including reduced ability to fall asleep, to stay asleep throughout the night and increased nocturnal elimination. More than half of respondents reported that their dogs were most unsettled in the very early morning (2am to 5am). Considerable individual variation was evident across the cohort; some dogs showed marked sleep disruption at mild levels of cognitive impairment while others were comparatively unaffected in advanced disease. I hadn’t really considered the implications of disturbed sleep on the owners of affected dogs, but this study found that respondents were mostly woken 1–3 times per night, while 20% of dogs with severe CCD woke their guardians four or more times per night, and some were woken six times or more….! The authors discuss that more targeted questions about sleep quality, timing of restlessness, night-time awakenings, and sensory changes (particularly hearing and vision) may help vets identify cognitive change earlier and support more meaningful discussions with caregivers. Evaluation of the clinical course of immune-mediated polyneuropathy in cats following treatment with human intravenous immunoglobulins.JFMS. Open access.https://journals.sagepub.com/ Intravenous immunoglobulins (IV Ig) are commonly used in the treatment of immune mediated polyneuropathies in people. In this study, nine cats with polyneuropathy received human IV Ig. It was well tolerated with a median time to complete recovery of 20 days. Four cats relapsed. As is typical with this disease, the cats had highly variable duration and severity of neurological deficits at the time of receiving IV Ig, and so making definitive conclusions about treatment efficacy is not possible, but IV Ig certainly warrants further investigation. Clinical and imaging findings after antiviral treatment in cats with presumptive neurologic feline infectious peritonitis: 9 cases (2020-2024).JVIM. Open access.https://academic.oup.com/jvim/ This study reports 9 cats with neurological FIP treated with remdesivir and/or GS-441524 that underwent repeat advanced imaging during or after treatment. Interestingly, all 9 cats had obstructive hydrocephalus documented both pre- and post-treatment. Of the five cats that achieved complete clinical recovery, one showed imaging improvement (mild reduction of obstructive hydrocephalus), two had static hydrocephalus and two showed progression of the obstructive hydrocephalus (these two had a recurrences of neurological signs 1 or 1.5 years after treatment). Thus, clinical recovery does not necessarily mean resolution of hydrocephalus, and determining which cases have or will develop a clinically relevant hypertensive hydrocephalus post-FIP is still unknown. We previously looked at a case series that described 3 cats with neurological deterioration ~1 year post FIP treatment that responded well to VPS placement. Owner reported prevalence of autonomic signs in epileptic dogs.Frontiers in Veterinary Science. Open access.https://www.frontiersin.org/ The presence of autonomic signs can assist in differentiating epileptic seizures from other paroxysmal events and can precede the motor components of a seizure, providing an opportunity for earlier recognition. In people, cardiovascular, respiratory, gastrointestinal, cutaneous, ocular, sexual and urinary manifestations are documented. In this study of >700 questionnaire respondents, 99% reported autonomic signs associated with their dog’s seizures. Lots of different signs reported, with the most common being ptyalism, urination, polydipsia and mydriasis. Less common signs included anisocoria, apnoea, cyanosis, gagging and coughing. Suspected hereditary sensory and autonomic neuropathies: clinical signs and electrodiagnostic findings in eleven dogs.JVIM. Open access.https://academic.oup.com/jvim/ A good refresher on electrodiagnostics here – this study reports the findings of electrodiagnostic testing (including electromyography, motor and sensory nerve conduction studies, F waves and, impressively, cord dorsum potentials) in 11 dogs with early onset distal limb sensory loss. They were able to split the dogs into 2 groups according to clinical presentation, electrodiagnostic findings and longer term outcome. Genetic testing was only performed in 1 dog (tested positive for the RETREG1 gene variant reported in Border Collies and Border Collie crossbreeds) and so systematic genetic investigations remain a goal for future studies. Presumed cervical subperiosteal vertebral hemorrhage in nine greyhounds.JVIM. Open access.https://academic.oup.com/jvim/ This case series describes 9 adult greyhounds with peracute or acute onset cervical myelopathy secondary to suspected subperiosteal vertebral haemorrhage. The imaging characteristics are distinctive, and all 9 dogs did well with conservative management (median time to ambulation in 8 non-ambulatory tetraparetic/tetraplegic dogs was 2 days). Potential contributing factors might include hyperfibrinolysis and/or hypertension. Dachshund spinal health by coat and size type.JVIM. Open access.https://academic.oup.com/jvim/ Not the best news for those of us with little smooth-haired dachshunds…… A color-coded atlas of the cortical surface anatomy of the equine brain.Frontiers in Veterinary Science. Open access.https://www.frontiersin.org/ Finally, for those that enjoy anatomy, there are some lovely figures and detailed descriptions of the anatomy of the equine brain here. |
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 All the best,AbbeAbbe Crawford BVM&S BSc MVetMed PhD DipECVN FHEA MRCVSRCVS and EBVS recognised specialist in veterinary neurologyThis is a free newsletter from vetlit.org, where you’ll also find the ECC, medicine, surgery and cardiology sign-ups. |