• DVM360_Conference_Charlotte,NC_banner
  • ACVCACVC
  • DVM 360
  • Fetch DVM 360Fetch DVM 360
DVM 360
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care
By Role
AssociatesOwnersPractice ManagerStudentsTechnicians
Subscriptions
dvm360 Newsletterdvm360 Magazine
News
All News
Association
Breaking News
Conference Coverage
Education
Equine
FDA
Law & Ethics
Market Trends
Medical
Politics
Products
Recalls
Regulatory
Digital Media
dvm360 LIVE!™
Expert Interviews
The Vet Blast Podcast
Medical World News
Pet Connections
The Dilemma Live
Vet Perspectives™
Weekly Newscast
dvm360 Insights™
Publications
All Publications
dvm360
Firstline
Supplements
Vetted
Clinical
All Clinical
Anesthesia
Animal Welfare
Behavior
Cardiology
CBD in Pets
Dentistry
Dermatology
Diabetes
Emergency & Critical Care
Endocrinology
Equine Medicine
Exotic Animal Medicine
Feline Medicine
Gastroenterology
Imaging
Infectious Diseases
Integrative Medicine
Nutrition
Oncology
Ophthalmology
Orthopedics
Pain Management
Parasitology
Pharmacy
Surgery
Toxicology
Urology & Nephrology
Virtual Care
Business
All Business
Business & Personal Finance
Hospital Design
Personnel Management
Practice Finances
Practice Operations
Wellbeing & Lifestyle
Continuing Education
Conferences
Conference Listing
Conference Proceedings
Resources
CBD in Pets
CE Requirements by State
Contests
Veterinary Heroes
Partners
Spotlight Series
Team Meeting in a Box
Toolkit
Top Recommended Veterinary Products
Vet to Vet
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Advertisement
By Role
  • Associates
  • Owners
  • Practice Manager
  • Students
  • Technicians
Subscriptions
  • dvm360 Newsletter
  • dvm360 Magazine
  • Contact Us
  • Fetch DVM360 Conference
  • Terms and Conditions
  • Privacy
  • Do Not Sell My Information
  • About Us
  • MJHLS Brand Logo

© 2023 MJH Life Sciences™ and dvm360 | Veterinary News, Veterinarian Insights, Medicine, Pet Care. All rights reserved.

Brain infarction in canine patients

April 1, 2007

Although brain infarction is the third leading cause of death in humans, cerebrovascular accidents are rarely reported in veterinary literature.

Although brain infarction is the third leading cause of death in humans, cerebrovascular accidents are rarely reported in veterinary literature.

More recently, with the increasing availability of advanced diagnostic modalities such as MRI, brain infarction is more readily diagnosed ante-mortem.

It is well understood that the brain is dependent on a sufficient blood flow for its high metabolic demand. If cerebral blood flow (CBF) decreases below a certain threshold, electrical disturbances, rapidly followed by cellular homeostasis problems, develop in the central nervous system (CNS), leading to cell death.

Short (less than 24 hours in humans) episodes of focal insufficient blood flow lead to transient ischemic attacks (TIA). If this short-lasting episode diffusely affects the entire brain, the term syncopy is used.

Severe, prolonged (more than 24 hours in humans) focal insufficient blood flow constitutes "stroke" in humans. If the long-lasting reduction in CBF extends to the entire brain, the term global ischemia is applied (Table 1).

Table 1

Advertisement

In clinical practice, the veterinarian often faces the above-mentioned vascular CNS disturbances. Syncopy commonly results from cardiac disorders, and global ischemia may be secondary to CPA during anesthesia. This review focuses on TIA and the long-lasting focal brain infarction, stroke.

Transient ischemic attacks in humans are short neurological disturbances, characterized by dizziness, nystagmus and ataxia. In a veterinary literature reviewing of 12 dogs with presumed cerebellar vascular accidents, five dogs had episodes of acute neurological signs lasting less than 10 minutes. Several of these patients were described to have experienced seizures by referring veterinarians, although the signs resembled acute vestibular episodes.

Long-lasting focal cerebrovascular disturbances (stroke, infarction) are now well described in veterinary medicine. The pathogenesis of stroke in dogs remains an area of research.

A major category of diseases affecting the blood vessels in humans leading to stroke is atherosclerosis. There was no dog diagnosed with atherosclerosis among the 33 dogs in one study with brain infarction.

Hypertensive encephalopathy is another leading cause of stroke in humans. In dogs, chronic hypertension may develop secondary to glomerular disease. Chronic kidney disease was diagnosed in eight out of the 33 dogs with stroke.

Furthermore, three dogs with hyperadrenocorticism, and one dog with pheochromocytoma exhibited hypertension among the dogs with stroke. There was no link identified in dogs between heart disease and brain infarction (unlike the case in humans). In the same study, a hypercoagulable state was found in nine dogs. Underlying diseases included hyperadrenocorticism, protein-losing nephropathy and neoplasia.

The primary treatment of cerebrovascular disease is to deliver adequate tissue oxygenation. In some countries, hyperbaric oxygen therapy (HBOT) for cerebrovascular disease is part of the accepted treatment protocol. HBOT is now being described in veterinary practice.

Beatrix Nanai

In summary, dogs with a sudden onset of non-progressive CNS signs may be experiencing a cerebrovascular accident, and patients with underlying diseases such as kidney disease and hyperadrenocorticism may be at increased risk of cerebrovascular disease.

Ronald Lyman

Dr. Nanai is a resident of the European College of Veterinary Neurology/Neurosurgery at the Animal Emergency and Referral Center in Fort Pierce, Fla.

Dr. Lyman is a graduate of The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. He completed a formal internship at the Animal Medical Center in New York City. Lyman is a co-author of chapters in the 2000 editions of Kirk's Current Veterinary Therapy XIII and Quick Reference to Veterinary Medicine.

Related Content:

Neurology
Top dvm360 articles of 2022: #6
Top dvm360 articles of 2022: #6
Top dvm360 articles of 2022: #12
Top dvm360 articles of 2022: #12
Working between the brain and the mind
Working between the brain and the mind

Advertisement

Latest News

This week on dvm360.com: Merck Animal Health and The Foundation of the Horse renew scholarship, and other veterinary news

An update on copper concerns in pet foods

Dental hacks to make every case more manageable

Q&A with a keynote: Walter Brown, RVTg, VTS, ECC

View More Latest News
Advertisement