Cranial Cervical Spinal Cord Research Articles

Double Cervical Adjacent Hydrated Nucleus Pulposus Extrusion (HNPE) in a Yorkshire Terrier

A 9-year-old Yorkshire terrier was brought to the emergency department for inability to maintain the correct station with acute onset. Neurological examination showed a non-ambulatory tetraparesis, spontaneous proprioceptive deficit in all limbs, and decreased flexor reflex in the forelimbs. The neurological symptoms suggested a cranial cervical spinal cord with suspicion of spinal shock. The clinical differential diagnoses included degenerative (intervertebral disc extrusion), vascular, inflammatory, or neoplastic disease. No pathological findings were evident in the hematobiochemical tests or in the radiograph examination. MRI examination of the cervical spine showed the presence of two adjacent hydrated nucleus pulposus extrusions at C3-C4 and C4-C5 tracts. Treatment included analgesic and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory therapy; movement restriction was initially necessary, followed by physiotherapy. Follow-up at 4 weeks showed complete recovery. A telephone follow-up after 3 months with the owner confirmed the absence of symptoms. This article reports the first double cervical HNPE case in a dog, adding the possibility that the disease may present in this form and the success of conservative treatment as described in the literature.

Clinical, magnetic resonance imaging and histopathological findings of a congenital hypomyelinating leukodystrophy in a Holstein Friesian calf

AbstractA 12‐day‐old, male Holstein Friesian calf was presented to the hospital due to progressive ataxia and tremors since birth. A diffuse central nervous system disorder primarily affecting white matter was suspected based on clinical neurological examination. Blood tests were unremarkable, except for positive serology for Schmallenberg virus. Magnetic resonance imaging of the brain demonstrated severe, diffuse abnormalities primarily affecting the white matter regions of the encephalon and cranial cervical spinal cord, consistent with leukoencephalomyelopathy. Euthanasia was performed at 8 weeks of age after no clinical improvement. A postmortem examination was performed. Histopathological examination of the central nervous system revealed changes compatible with hypomyelinating leukodystrophy, with no signs of infectious agents observed. The disorder was considered most likely to be hereditary, as Schmallenberg virus infections during pregnancy in cattle have not been reported to result in such clinical, magnetic resonance imaging or histopathological findings, and no viral genomic material was identified with polymerase chain reaction.

Anatomical description of a new ligamentous supporting structure of the canine cranial cervical spinal cord.

The cranial cervical vertebral column carries a unique range of mobility with the addition of dorsal and ventral flexion and rotation. The denticulate ligaments provides support and protection of the spinal cord, but little is known of the adaption of this apparatus at the cranial cervical portion of the spinal cord. We present in this publication a new pair of ligaments in dogs that supports the spinal cord inside the vertebral canal at the level of the C1-C2 spinal segments.

Papillary meningioma with multifocal leptomeningeal spread in a dog

AbstractAn 11‐year‐old, English cocker spaniel was presented with subacute progressive signs of vestibular ataxia, tetraparesis, left‐sided proprioceptive deficits, positional ventrolateral strabismus of the right eye and a right‐sided menace deficit. Magnetic resonance imaging of the cranium and cranial cervical spinal cord revealed multifocal T2 hyper‐/T1‐hypointense intradural lesions with dural tail signs and intra‐axial and intramedullary extension. Medical treatment resulted in initial improvement before deterioration was noticed. Cytological examination results of computed tomography‐guided fine‐needle aspiration biopsy of the C1–C2 lesion were consistent with mesenchymal neoplasia. Three days later, after progressive clinical deterioration, euthanasia was performed. Postmortem examination and subsequent histological examination of the brainstem and spinal cord revealed multifocal, strongly infiltrative growth of neoplastic cells with areas of pseudo‐rosette formation by cylindrical neoplastic cells with moderately large, oval nuclei in addition to areas of spindle‐shaped neoplastic cells with meningothelial whorls. The final diagnosis was a papillary (grade III) meningioma with multifocal leptomeningeal spread.

New considerations about Chiari-like malformation, syringomyelia and their management

Background: Chiari-like malformation (CM) is a developmental condition, characterised by a conformational change and overcrowding of the brain and cranial cervical spinal cord. CM-associated pain (CM-P) and syringomyelia are increasingly...

Nasal cryptococcoma causing severe meningitis in a dog in the UK

A five-year-old neutered male Staffordshire bull terrier was referred with a one-month history of lethargy and ataxia. Neurolocalisation was to the left forebrain with suspected increased intracranial pressure. MRI demonstrated...

Pattern of cerebrospinal immediate early gene c-fos expression in an ovine model of non-accidental head injury

Expression of the immediate early gene, c-fos, was examined in a large animal model of non-accidental head injury (“shaken baby syndrome”). Lambs were used because they have a relatively large gyrencephalic brain and weak neck muscles resembling a human infant. Neonatal lambs were manually shaken in a manner similar to that believed to occur with most abused human infants, but there was no head impact. The most striking c-fos expression was in meningothelial cells of the cranial cervical spinal cord and, to a lesser degree, in hemispheric, cerebellar, and brainstem meninges. Vascular endothelial cells also frequently showed c-fos immunopositivity in the meninges and hemispheric white matter. It was hypothesised that this c-fos immunoreactivity was due to mechanical stress induced by shaking, with differential movement of different craniospinal components.

Gliomatosis Cerebri in Two Dogs

A 3.5 yr old Saint Bernard was evaluated for nonambulatory tetraparesis and cranial nerve dysfunction, and a 7 yr old rottweiler was evaluated for progressive paraparesis. Clinical signs of left-sided vestibular and general proprioceptive ataxia and cranial nerve VII dysfunction in the Saint Bernard suggested a lesion affecting the brain stem. Signs in the rottweiler consisted of general proprioceptive/upper motor neuron paraparesis, suggesting a lesion involving the third thoracic (T3) to third lumbar (L3) spinal cord segments. MRI was normal in the Saint Bernard, but an intra-axial lesion involving the T13-L2 spinal cord segments was observed in the rottweiler. In both dogs, the central nervous system (CNS) contained neoplastic cells with features consistent with gliomatosis cerebri (GC). In the Saint Bernard, neoplastic cells were present in the medulla oblongata and cranial cervical spinal cord. In the rottweiler, neoplastic cells were only present in the spinal cord. Immunohistochemistry disclosed two distinct patterns of CD18, nestin, and vimentin staining. GC is a rarely reported tumor of the CNS. Although GC typically involves the cerebrum, clinical signs in these two dogs reflected caudal brainstem and spinal cord involvement.

Fatal Caprine arthritis encephalitis virus–like infection in 4 Rocky Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus)

Over a 3.5-year period, 4 Rocky Mountain goats (Oreamnos americanus), housed at a single facility, developed clinical disease attributed to infection by Caprine arthritis encephalitis virus (CAEV). Ages ranged from 1 to 10 years. Three of the goats, a 1-year-old female, a 2-year-old male, and a 5-year-old male, had been fed raw domestic goat milk from a single source that was later found to have CAEV on the premises. The fourth animal, a 10-year-old male, had not ingested domestic goat milk but had been housed with the other 3 Rocky Mountain goats. All 4 animals had clinical signs of pneumonia prior to death. At necropsy, findings in lungs included marked diffuse interstitial pneumonia characterized histologically by severe lymphoplasmacytic infiltrates with massive alveolar proteinosis, interstitial fibrosis, and type II pneumocyte hyperplasia. One animal also developed left-sided hemiparesis, and locally extensive lymphoplasmacytic myeloencephalitis was present in the cranial cervical spinal cord. Two animals had joint effusions, as well as severe lymphoplasmacytic and ulcerative synovitis. Immunohistochemical staining of fixed sections of lung tissue from all 4 goats, as well as spinal cord in 1 affected animal, and synovium from 2 affected animals were positive for CAEV antigen. Serology testing for anti-CAEV antibodies was positive in the 2 goats tested. The cases suggest that Rocky Mountain goats are susceptible to naturally occurring CAEV infection, that CAEV from domestic goats can be transmitted to this species through infected milk and by horizontal transmission, and that viral infection can result in clinically severe multisystemic disease.

Rhodococcus equi occipital bone osteomyelitis, septic arthritis and meningitis in a neurological foal

Summary This case report describes a 3-month-old female Thoroughbred foal that presented following the acute onset of apparent respiratory distress, abnormal head carriage and severe neurological deficits referable to the brainstem or cranial cervical spinal cord. Ultrasonography revealed an abscessing pneumonia. Radiographs did not show evidence of bony pathology at the atlanto-occipital region, an area consistent with the observed neurological deficits. With magnetic resonance imaging, atlantal and occipital osteomyelitis, atlanto-occipital septic arthritis, and atlanto-axial synovitis were diagnosed. Brainstem meningitis and extradural compression were also revealed. Culture of the right occipitoatlantal joint and cerebrospinal fluid yielded a pure culture of Rhodococcus equi. These findings and multifocal R. equi abscessation were confirmed at necropsy.

Canine meningioma: A case report of a rare subtype and novel atlanto basioccipital surgical approach

To describe a novel histological subtype of skull base and cranial cervical meningioma operated upon through an uncommon atlanto basioccipital approach. Clinical case report. A seven-year-old neutered female Boxer. The dog was presented due to lethargic behavior, signs of head and neck pain, and ongoing tetraparesis. Neurological examination and magnetic resonance imaging led to diagnosis of a ventral spinal canal mass causing severe cord and brainstem compression and which required surgical management. The mass was approached through a ventral craniectomy extending cranially on the basioccipital bone. Extemporaneous cytological examination of the mass led to confirmation of neoplastic nature of the abnormal tissue. Cytoreduction of the mass was performed using multiple cycles of curettage, lavage and suction. Histopathological examination of the tumour was consistent with a papillary variant of meningioma. Adjuvant therapy was declined by the owners. The dog improved considerably in the postoperative period, however three months after surgery signs of recurrence led to euthanasia. Basioccipital craniectomy allowed a limited but sufficient approach for cytoreduction of a compressive meningioma of the brainstem and cranial cervical spinal cord. Papillary meningiomas are locally infiltrative and postoperative recurrence is common. Basioccipital approach combined with cranial atlanto corpectomy can be performed to relieve compression of the caudal brainstem and cranial cervical cord.

C2 spinal cord stimulation induces dynorphin release from rat T4 spinal cord: potential modulation of myocardial ischemia-sensitive neurons

During myocardial ischemia, the cranial cervical spinal cord (C1-C2) modulates the central processing of the cardiac nociceptive signal. This study was done to determine 1) whether C2 SCS-induced release of an analgesic neuropeptide in the dorsal horn of the thoracic (T4) spinal cord; 2) if one of the sources of this analgesic peptide was cervical propriospinal neurons, and 3) if chemical inactivation of C2 neurons altered local T4 substance P (SP) release during concurrent C2 SCS and cardiac ischemia. Ischemia was induced by intermittent occlusion of the left anterior descending coronary artery (CoAO) in urethane-anesthetized Sprague-Dawley rats. Release of dynorphin A (1-13), (DYN) and SP was determined using antibody-coated microprobes inserted into T4. SCS alone induced DYN release from laminae I-V in T4, and this release was maintained during CoAO. C2 injection of the excitotoxin, ibotenic acid, prior to SCS, inhibited T4 DYN release during SCS and ischemia; it also reversed the inhibition of SP release from T4 dorsal laminae during C2 SCS and CoAO. Injection of the kappa-opioid antagonist, nor-binaltorphimine, into T4 also allowed an increased SP release during SCS and CoAO. CoAO increased the number of Fos-positive neurons in T4 dorsal horns but not in the intermediolateral columns (IML), while SCS (either alone or during CoAO) minimized this dorsal horn response to CoAO alone, while inducing T4 IML neuronal recruitment. These results suggest that activation of cervical propriospinal pathways induces DYN release in the thoracic spinal cord, thereby modulating nociceptive signals from the ischemic heart.

The origin of spinocerebellar pathways. I. The nucleus cervicalis centralis of the cranial cervical spinal cord

AbstractThe origin of spinocerebellar projections from the cranial cervi cal spinal cord was studied in neonatal dogs following cerebellar ablations or the injection of horseradish peroxidase (HRP) into the cerebellum. Cerebellar ablations produced distinct retrograde changes of three types: type I response or cen tral chromatolysis; type II response or ghost cells; and type 111 response or neu ronal loss and gliosis. These ablation‐induced changes were evident in the cells of the nucleus cervicalis centralis. The results of hemicerebellectomy, unilateral cer ebellar pedunculotomy, and cordotomy established that the cells of this nucleus project contralaterally to the cerebellum. Cytoarchitectonic study revealed that this nucleus is composed of clustered medium‐sized, multipolar, chromatophilic neurons located in the zona intermedia of the C1‐C4 segments. The retrograde la beling of central cervical neurons following cerebellar injections of HRP con firmed the results obtained with the axonal reaction.Anterograde fiber degeneration was present in the central cervical nucleus following dorsal rhizotomy in the dog and cat. These experiments demonstrated dorsal root fibers among the somata of central cervical neurons rendered chromatolytic following cerebellectomy in the dog. Electron microscopic evidence is presented for the presence of degenerated dorsal root terminals upon the dendrites and somata of central cervical neurons.The nucleus cervicalis centralis forms a direct link between neck afferents and the cerebellum by way of a crossed cervicospinocerebellar pathway. Evidence could not be found for the presence of a spinocerebellar projection originating in the nucleus ceruicalis lateralis.