Canine bone marrow-derived mononuclear cells yielded an apparently homogeneous population of MSCs after expansion in culture. Expanded canine MSCs constitutively expressed neuron or astrocyte specific proteins. Furthermore, increases of intracellular cAMP concentrations induced increased expression of GFAP on canine MSCs, which suggests that these cells may have the capacity to respond to external signals. Canine MSCs may hold therapeutic potential for treatment of dogs with neurologic disorders.

The MBP ELISA has potential as a supplemental test of CSF to diagnose demyelinating disorders in dogs.

The results suggest that the detection of oligoclonal bands by IEF-immunofixation may have diagnostic value for GSDM, and support the idea that humoral immune responses may play a role in the pathogenesis of GSDM.

Canine distemper (CD) is a systemic infectious disease caused by the CD virus (CDV), a single negative-stranded RNA virus of the genus Morbillivirus (Greene and Appel 2006). This virus enters the body through the respiratory and digestive systems, then infects surrounding lymph tissues and spreads systemically to finally reach the CNS (Liu and Coffin 1957). Since local antibody responses to CDV occur in the CNS in persistent infection cases, detection of CDV antibodies in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) is a useful virological diagnostic method for CD encephalitis (CDE) (Greene and Appel 2006). Substances with a molecular weight smaller than 160,000, such as immunoglobulin G (IgG) antibodies and albumin, enter the brain relatively easily from circulating blood, and their levels reportedly range from 1/256 to 1/2048 of that in serum in subjects with a normal blood brain barrier (BBB) (Clarke and others 1965, Greene 1984, Tourtellotte 1970), though transfer of blood proteins and drugs into the brain is limited by the BBB to maintain homeostasis (Levin 1992). Thus, CDV antibody titres in serum and CSF should be simultaneously examined for accurate diagnosis of CDE. However, a CDV antibody titre derived from blood exceeding this ratio may be detected in CSF samples due to non-specific collapse of the BBB or excess blood mixed during sampling, even though the CNS is not infected with CDV (Greene and Appel 2006). It has been reported that the measurement of antibodies to other viruses, such as poliovirus and human coxsackievirus, that is, reference antibodies, and comparison of the serum antibody titre/CSF antibody titre (S/C) value between reference and target antibodies is useful as an index of CSF contamination with blood components for serological diagnosis of sub-acute chronic encephalitis caused by the herpes simplex virus, lymphocytic choriomeningitis virus, and measles virus in human beings (Clarke and others 1965, Connolly 1972, Deibel and Schryver 1976). Similarly, the possibility of diagnosis of CDE in dogs using antibodies to canine parvovirus (CPV) and canine adenovirus (CAdV), which do not normally cause sub-acute chronic encephalitis,

Case summaryTwo castrated male cats, aged 8 months old (case 1) and 10 months old (case 2), showed a history of progressive paraparesis, an over-reaching pelvic limb gait, urinary incontinence and a palpable dermoid fistula. In case 1, the fistula was connected to the dural sac on the conus medullaris, and the tethered spinal cord was retracted caudally. In case 2, the tubular structure was connected to the dural sac on the thoracic spinal cord, and the tethered spinal cord was retracted dorsally. Tethered cord syndrome secondary to spina bifida aperta was suspected in both cats. Excision of the fistula and release of the tethered spinal cord was performed. A histopathological examination confirmed the diagnosis of a meningomyelocele in case 1 and a meningocele in case 2. Paraparesis improved postoperatively in both cats. However, urinary incontinence in case 1 remained partially unresolved.Relevance and novel informationThis is the first report to describe the imaging characteristics, surgical treatments and outcomes of two different types of tethered cord syndrome with spina bifida aperta in cats. Tethered cord syndrome with spina bifida aperta needs to be included in the differential diagnosis of slowly progressive paraparesis in younger cats with or without vesicorectal failure and a palpable dermoid fistula.