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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article

Front. Vet. Sci.
Sec. Veterinary Neurology and Neurosurgery
Volume 11 - 2024 | doi: 10.3389/fvets.2024.1514441

Holocord syringomyelia in 18 dogs

Provisionally accepted
Despoina Douralidou Despoina Douralidou 1Lorenzo Mari Lorenzo Mari 1Sophie Wyatt Sophie Wyatt 2Juan Jose Minguez Juan Jose Minguez 3Patricia Alvarez Fernandez Patricia Alvarez Fernandez 3Carlo Anselmi Carlo Anselmi 4Christoforos Posporis Christoforos Posporis 3*
  • 1 The Ralph Veterinary Referral Centre, Marlow, United Kingdom
  • 2 Royal Veterinary College (RVC), London, United Kingdom
  • 3 Pride Veterinary Referrals, IVC Evidensia group., Derby, United Kingdom
  • 4 Blaise Referrals Veterinary Hospital, Birmingham, England, United Kingdom

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Holocord syringomyelia (HSM) is characterized by a continuous spinal cord cavitation along its entire length and is currently poorly documented in dogs. This retrospective multicentric case series investigates the clinical and MRI findings in 18 dogs with HSM. The median age at presentation was 82 months (range 9-108 months) and French Bulldogs were overrepresented (50%). Signs of myelopathy attributed to HSM were detected in 12 dogs (67%), spinal pain/paresthesia/allodynia in eight (44%), and four dogs (22%) had no HSM-associated signs. The most common neuroanatomical localization was C1-C5 spinal cord segments. On MRI, the cranial limit of HSM was at C1 vertebra in seven (39%) and at C2 in 11 dogs (61%). The caudal limit extended to L3 in four dogs (22%), L4 or L5 in six dogs (33%) each, and L6 in two dogs (11%). The conus medullaris terminated at L5 in one dog (6%), L6 in 11 (61%), and L7 in six dogs (33%). Seventeen dogs (94%) exhibited MRI features of Chiari-like and/or other intracranial/cranio-cervical junction malformations. One dog (6%) was treated surgically, 11 (61%) medically, and six (33%) received no treatment. Over a median follow-up of 12 months (range 2-65 months) in 16 dogs, one dog (6%) improved, nine (56%) deteriorated, four (25%) were static, and two (13%) remained free of HSM-associated signs. This is the first study to describe canine HSM, highlighting a possible breed predisposition in French Bulldogs. The frequent occurrence of myelopathy and disease progression underscores the need for further research into the underlying etiopathogenesis, natural disease evolution, and response to therapeutic interventions.

    Keywords: Myelopathy, Chiari-like, Malformation, French Bulldog, tetraparesis

    Received: 20 Oct 2024; Accepted: 18 Dec 2024.

    Copyright: © 2024 Douralidou, Mari, Wyatt, Minguez, Alvarez Fernandez, Anselmi and Posporis. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence: Christoforos Posporis, Pride Veterinary Referrals, IVC Evidensia group., Derby, United Kingdom

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