Dog hereditary diseases

Description
Approximately 1-2% of pugs die from necrotizing meningoencephalitis (NME), also known as pug encephalitis - the presence of a mutant form of leukocyte antigen leads to the development of a predisposition of the dog to the disease, which presents is a progressive inflammation of the central nervous system and is fatal. Symptoms include seizures, depression, ataxia, gait disturbances, and blindness. It has been noted that bitches with a fawn color under 7 years old are more prone to the development of hereditary encephalitis.

Treatment with prednisolone is paleative in nature, in some cases the onset of clinical signs is significant, but after their first manifestations, death often occurs after 2-12 months.

Symptoms
The clinical picture of meningoencephalitis is similar to the severe form of human atypical multiple sclerosis associated with the presence of a pathological class II leukocyte antigen genotype: DQB1 * 01501 / DQB1 * 01501.

- in acute form: from the onset of the first clinical signs to the development of a severe form, no more than 2 weeks pass
- in a chronic form: within 4-6 months, various clinical signs of progressive ataxia, mental inhibition, partial or complete convulsions appear, partial blindness, whirling, ataxia.

As a rule, a dog in the final stages of the disease leads a recumbent lifestyle, dementia develops. Ultimately, complex disorders of the central nervous system lead to death.

Diagnosis
Diagnosis is based on the analysis of clinical signs, histopathological confirmation of perivascular encephalitis, exclusion of other causes of encephalitis. Histopathological preparations in the affected areas reveal characteristic extensive fields of degenerated neurons with proliferation of glial cells around neurons, neuronophagy and perivascular lymphoid cell formations around blood vessels. Differential diagnostics for canine canine carnivore plague virus, canine herpes virus, rabies, tick-borne encephalitis and toxoplasmosis is carried out to exclude the infectious nature of the disease. DNA testing is done to establish a definitive diagnosis.