Magnetic Resonance Imaging Characteristics of Ascending Hemorrhagic Myelomalacia in a Dog

Abstract

A 4-year-old neutered female terrier-cross was evaluated for an acute onset of paraplegia. Utilizing magnetic resonance (MR) imaging, the cause of the neurologic deficits was determined to be a lumbar intervertebral disc extrusion. The MR study additionally demonstrated parenchymal hyperintensity on T2-weighted images and similarly located diffuse hypointensity on gradient echo images, cranial and caudal to the compressive extradural lesion. Hemorrhagic myelomalacia was suspected based on these MR characteristics, which was subsequently confirmed surgically and histopathologically.

Serum Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein as a Diagnostic Biomarker in Dogs with Progressive Myelomalacia

“…Progressive myelomalacia is thought to result in ischemic and hemorrhagic necrosis of the spinal cord, which can occur following acute spinal cord injury, and represents extensive damage of the intramedullary spinal vasculature [5,8,14]. Although the exact pathophysiological mechanism of myelomalacia is poorly understood, it seems to be the result of the concussive effects of trauma followed by ischemia, which results in release of vasoactive substances, oxygenfree radicals and cellular enzymes [14].…”

“…Although the exact pathophysiological mechanism of myelomalacia is poorly understood, it seems to be the result of the concussive effects of trauma followed by ischemia, which results in release of vasoactive substances, oxygenfree radicals and cellular enzymes [14]. Progressive myelomalacia frequently results from thoracolumbar intervertebral disc disease (IVDD) in dogs [4,6,12,15].…”

“…However, when the onset of progressive myelomalacia is suspected, it is necessary to suspend surgical treatment. Though the possibility of using the cutaneous trunci muscle reflex for diagnosing progressive myelomalacia was suggested in a previous report [10], clinical signs and abnormal findings in a neurological examination for progressive myelomalacia take several days to appear after the development of paraplegia [12,14]. There is currently no effective way to detect progressive myelomalacia at the early stage.…”

Haemorrhagic myelomalacia in a cat with extradural T-cell lymphoma

“…Diagnostic imaging techniques are not always effective in detecting myelomalacia, thus, this condition is often diagnosed based on the postmortem and histopathological examinations (PLATT et al, 2006;GIANOTTI et al, 2008). The gross and histological characteristics of myelomalacia described in this case study are similar to those previously described in the literature (MACEDO et al, 2013;DE LA FUENTE et al, 2013).…”

“…Myelomalacia is widely reported in dogs (LU et al, 2002;PLATT et al, 2006;GIANOTTI et al, 2008;MACEDO et al, 2013;ZILIO;BAHR ARIAS, 2013) with few cases described in cats (NORTHINGTON;JULIANA, 1978;GÓMEZ et al, 2011;DE LA FUENTE et al, 2013). This paper reports the clinical, pathological and immunohistochemical findings in a case of haemorrhagic myelomalacia associated with extradural T-cell lymphoma in a domestic cat.…”