Corpus callosum abnormality in a puppy with hypernatraemia

Abstract

A 3‐month‐old, female, entire, mixed breed dog presented for a 1‐day history of ataxia and a 7‐day history of gastrointestinal upset. Neurologic examination revealed dull mentation, head pressing and bruxism. The dog had generalised coarse tremors during ambulation and cervical ventroflexion. Cranial nerve examination, postural reactions and myotatic reflexes were normal. The dog was markedly hypernatraemic at 202 mmol/L (139–151 mmol/L) and was assessed to be non‐hypervolaemic. The dog received custom fluids, and once stabilised, underwent magnetic resonance imaging. Magnetic resonance imaging revealed agenesis of the rostral portion and hypoplasia of the caudal portion of the corpus callosum. Absence of the septum pellucidum and a cortical development abnormality were noted with fusion of the ventral portion of the frontal lobes and malformation of the cingulate gyrus. Cerebrospinal fluid revealed an elevated total protein with a mild lymphocytic and macrophagic pleocytosis. The dog responded well to increased dietary moisture.

Bruxism in awake dogs as a clinical sign of forebrain disease: 4 cases

“…No AB was observed in the largest study of CCA in dogs 26 . Bruxism in the awake state has been described in a dog with CCA and in a horse with semilobar holoprosencephaly, both of which had concurrent hypernatremia, as reported in our case 30,34 . In humans, AB is a neurological sign of genetic diseases associated with CCA such as Rett syndrome 35‐38 .…”

“…[35][36][37][38] In a recent case report of a dog with CCA, AB and other neurological signs were attributed to severe hypernatremia. 30 The dog's MRI identified patchy FLAIR hyperintensities in the thalamus, a transient MRI finding previously reported in children with severe hypernatremia. 39 In the dog reported here, given the necropsy findings of holoprosencephaly and concurrent meningoencephalitis, AB could be the result of the congenital anomaly complex, chronic meningoencephalitis affecting the forebrain including the thalamus or severe hypernatremia and transient thalamic changes, or a combination of factors.…”

“…In humans, AB is a neurological sign of genetic diseases associated with CCA such as Rett syndrome 35‐38 . In a recent case report of a dog with CCA, AB and other neurological signs were attributed to severe hypernatremia 30 . The dog's MRI identified patchy FLAIR hyperintensities in the thalamus, a transient MRI finding previously reported in children with severe hypernatremia 39 .…”

“…2 In veterinary medicine, terminology describing teeth and jaw movements has been used inconsistently. The term bruxism has been used accurately to describe teeth grinding in case reports of dogs with neuronal ceroid lipofuscinosis (NCL), [15][16][17] globoid cell leukodystrophy, 18 corpus callosum abnormality with hypernatremia 30 and carbofuran intoxication. 11 Teeth grinding 13 or jaw chattering 14 have been reported in idiopathic hypersialosis.…”

“…26 Bruxism in the awake state has been described in a dog with CCA and in a horse with semilobar holoprosencephaly, both of which had concurrent hypernatremia, as reported in our case. 30,34 In humans, AB is a neurological sign of genetic diseases associated with CCA such as Rett syndrome. [35][36][37][38] In a recent case report of a dog with CCA, AB and other neurological signs were attributed to severe hypernatremia.…”