Bilateral Oedema with Angiopathy in the Dorsointernal Area of the Cerebral Hemispheres of a Domestic Cat

Abstract

This report describes a feline case of oedema and angiopathy associated with the sudden onset of pyrexia and opisthotonus, followed by death one day later. Histologically, oedema and vascular lesions were found bilaterally in the dorso-internal area of the cerebral hemispheres. The vascular lesions consisted of perivascular exudation of periodic acid-Schiff-positive eosinophilic material and hyaline degeneration of the vascular walls. Immunohistochemically, the perivascular material reacted with anti-fibrinogen antibody; weak labelling for laminin was occasionally seen in the basement membranes of affected capillaries, arterioles and venules, in contrast to the strong labelling seen in the normal brain. Ultrastructurally, serum protein was observed in the space between the basement membranes of capillary endothelial cells and astrocytes, and vascular basement membranes were occasionally thickened. This is, to our knowledge, the first report of feline vasogenic oedema with a bilateral distribution in the cerebrum.