No abstract

Vertebral fractures and luxations are common causes of neurological emergencies in small-animal patients. The objective of this study was to evaluate the impact of three-dimensional printing (3Dp) models on how veterinary students understand and learn to identify canine spinal fractures and to compare 3Dp models to computed tomography (CT) images and three-dimensional CT (3D-CT) reconstructions. Three spinal fracture models were generated by 3Dp. Sixty first-year veterinary students were randomized into three teaching module groups (CT, 3D-CT, or 3Dp) and asked to answer a multiple-choice questionnaire with 12 questions that covered normal spinal anatomy and the identification of vertebral fractures. We used four additional questions to evaluate the overall learning experience and knowledge acquisition. Results showed that students in the 3Dp group performed significantly better than those in the CT ( p < .001) and the 3D-CT ( p < .001) groups. Students in the 3Dp and 3D-CT groups answered all questions more quickly than the CT group (3Dp versus CT, p < .001; 3D-CTversus CT, p < .001), with no significant differences between the 3Dp and 3D-CT groups ( p = .051). Only the degree of knowledge acquisition that the students considered they had acquired during the session showed significant differences between groups ( p = .01). In conclusion, across first-year veterinary students, 3Dp models facilitated learning about normal canine vertebral anatomy and markedly improved the identification of canine spinal fractures. Three-dimensional printing models are an easy and inexpensive teaching method that could be incorporated into veterinary neuroanatomy classes to improve learning in undergraduate students.

Intracranial neoplasia is frequently encountered in dogs. After a presumptive diagnosis of intracranial neoplasia is established based on history, clinical signs and advanced imaging characteristics, the decision to treat and which treatment to choose must be considered. The objective of this study is to report survival times (ST) for dogs with intracranial meningiomas and gliomas treated with surgical resection alone (SRA), to identify potential prognostic factors affecting survival, and to compare the results with the available literature. Medical records of 29 dogs with histopathologic confirmation of intracranial meningiomas and gliomas treated with SRA were retrospectively reviewed. For each dog, signalment, clinical signs, imaging findings, type of surgery, treatment, histological evaluation, and ST were obtained. Twenty-nine dogs with a histological diagnosis who survived >7 days after surgery were included. There were 15 (52%) meningiomas and 14 (48%) gliomas. All tumors had a rostrotentorial location. At the time of the statistical analysis, only two dogs were alive. Median ST for meningiomas was 422 days (mean, 731 days; range, 10-2735 days). Median ST for gliomas was 66 days (mean, 117 days; range, 10-730 days). KaplanMeier analysis indicated that ST was significantly longer for meningiomas than for gliomas (P<0.05). A negative correlation between the presence of a midline shift and ST (P=0.037) and ventricular compression and ST (P=0.038) was observed for meningiomas. For gliomas, there were no significant associations between ST and any of the variables evaluated. In conclusion, the results of this study suggest that, for dogs that survived >7 days postoperatively, SRA might be an appropriate treatment, particularly for meningiomas, when radiation therapy is not readily available. Also, the presence of midline shift and ventricular compression might be negative prognostic factors for dogs with meningiomas.

Neuropathies in cats are mostly acquired. In comparison to the dog, only very few inherited forms have been described. This case report describes the clinical and diagnostic findings of a suspected inherited feline axonal neuropathy with a very unique clinical course. Two young related male Snowshoe cats were presented with an initially progressive history of recurrent pelvic limb weakness. Electrodiagnostic investigations suggested an axonopathy and muscle-nerve biopsies confirmed axonal degeneration. Over the following 2 years both cats stabilised without any specific treatment, and repeat electrodiagnostic investigations and muscle biopsy in one cat confirmed the tendency for remission.

Cerebrospinal fluid collection is fundamental to the investigation of central nervous system disorders although it carries potential risks. Herein we report the clinical signs and magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings associated with needle injury to the brainstem during cerebellomedullary cistern puncture in four dogs. Three dogs were nonambulatory tetraparetic with cranial nerve deficits and one dog had unexplained left thoracic limb paresis. In MR images, there were conspicuous T2 hyperintensities in the myelencephalon in all dogs. In T2* gradient echo images, the lesions were hypointense in two dogs with multiple cranial nerve deficits, and hyperintense in another dog. One dog was euthanized due to sudden neurologic deterioration 12 days later, one died shortly after MR imaging, and a third was euthanized due to concurrent cervical spondylomyelopathy. The fourth dog recovered gradually. Diagnosis was confirmed histopathologically in one dog and was presumptive based on clinical signs and MR findings in three dogs. None of the dogs with cranial nerve deficits recovered, only the one dog with left thoracic limb paresis and concurrent syringomyelia.