A study to determine the prevalence and predisposition of dog breeds to develop diskospondylitis (DS) was carried out on a population of 5,497 animals submitted to computed tomography or digital radiography of the spine between 2009 and 2018. Variables such as breed, gender, age, vertebral segment and total number of vertebrae affected were collected and submitted to the prevalence tests, chi-square and odds ratio. A total of 181 dogs presented DS, a prevalence of 3.4%. Of these, 65% were males with a probability 1.6x greater than females (CI 1.17-2.17). Dogs more than 10 years old have a 1.5x higher probability (CI 1.10-2.05), while those between 2-5 years the probability decreases 51% (CI 0.34-0.77). Large dogs (>30 kg; 45%) showed a 3.8x greater chance to develop DS (CI 2.56-5.33) than small dogs (<15 kg; 28%), although the small dogs showed a 34% lower probability (CI 0.24-0.47). The Labrador Retriever breed was 3.7x more likely to develop DS than all the other breeds studied ) and the French Bulldog, among the small breeds, was 2.8x more susceptible (CI 1.51-5.06). In conclusion older dogs, large dogs, especially Labrador Retrievers, are more likely to develop DS. The French bulldog should be studied further.

Corticosteroids are drugs widely used in veterinary neurology due to their recognized anti-inflammatory, immunosuppressive and analgesic effects. However, their use in high doses and for long term may result in undesirable side effects. This study describes the prevalence of dogs with neurologic diseases referred to a veterinary neurology service with previous prescriptions for corticosteroids. In this retrospective study 284 medical records of dogs were evaluated in the period between August 2017 and April 2019. Of these, 194 (68%) dogs had already received medical care from a clinician and 100 (52%) had previously been prescribed corticosteroids. After diagnosis at the reference service, the corticosteroid dose was suspended in 28% of the cases, adjusted in 41% and maintained in 31%. Dogs receiving immunosuppressive doses were the most affected and in 71% and 21% of the cases, their medication was adjusted or suspended, respectively. In conclusion, the therapy for neurological diseases is still strongly associated with the indiscriminate use of corticosteroids, without the dosage correlated to the desired effect.

2021). Congenital dynamic cervical instability in a dog: the role of computed tomography and 3D printing to plan and optimize the surgical approach.

Neurological disorders are frequent in small animal veterinary clinics and studies giving regional justification for such disorders are essential so that veterinarians can be better prepared. The objective of this retrospective study was to describe the clinical and epidemiological aspects of dogs with neurological disorders treated at the Veterinary Hospital of Federal Rural University of Rio de Janeiro, between August 2017 and April 2018. The study describes the location of the lesions and their etiology according to the acronym VITAMIN-D, as well as the distribution of cases according to sex, breed and age. One hundred and twenty-two (122) dogs were included, of which 58% (n=71) were males and 42% (n=51) females. The age distribution ranged from two months to 18 years old; 16% were less than two years old, 50% between two and seven years old and 34% were more than seven years old. The most affected breeds were Mixed Breed dogs (43%), Poodles (9%) and Dachshunds (7%). The diagnoses were confirmed in 54 animals (44%) and in 68 (56%) remained presumptive. The most common location was the spinal cord (61%), where the T3-L3 region was the most affected (35%), followed by multifocal (20%) and forebrain (10%). The most frequent categories were degenerative (24%), inflammatory/infectious (23%) and traumatic (20%) diseases. Intervertebral disc disease was the most observed, corresponding to 21.3% of all cases. The results showed that the neurological diseases in this Veterinary Hospital were more prevalent in young male adults with spinal cord diseases of degenerative nature.

Neuromuscular diseases are not common in clinical routine of dogs and cats and their diagnosis is a challenge for the veterinarian. This paper reports the clinical diagnosis and the therapy given to a four-year-old mixed-breed female dog with a history of claudication and intermittent paresis, initially in the pelvic limbs and then evolving to the thoracic limbs. Furthermore, there were clinical signs of ataxia and tetraparesis, especially after exercise. Due to the history and clinical signs presented, acquired myasthenia gravis was suspected and the therapeutic diagnosis using anticholinesterase neostigmine was chosen, as it is simple, fast and accessible. The dog presented a significant improvement in clinical status after intramuscular administration of the above mentioned anticholinesterase, and returned to normal ambulatory activity after administration of the drug intravenously, thus enabling the diagnosis of the disease. Treatment was introduced using pyridostigmine bromide (2.5mg/Kg, twice a day) associated with corticosteroid in an immunosuppressive dose (0.5mg/Kg, twice a day). Both drugs were administered orally for a period of six months, after which there was a complete remission of the clinical signs and there have been no recurrences until now.