| dc.description.abstract | SUMMARY
Background: Steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis (SRMA) is a frequently occurring form of meningitis in dogs which manifests in vasculitis-arteritis of the meningeal vessels in the spinal cord and in the brain. The aetiology is presumably autoimmune but no definite background has been justified yet. The disease occurs mostly in younger dogs between 6-18 months, but middle-aged and older dogs also can be affected. It was described in medium to large breed dogs, most frequently in Beagles, Bernese Mountain Dogs, Boxers, German Shorthaired Pointers and Nova Scotia Duck Tolling Retrievers etc. Clinical signs of the disease include cervical pain, reluctance to move, fever, while neurologic deficits are uncommon. Objectives: The authors evaluate the clinical data of 29 dogs with steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis regarding age, gender, breed, symptoms, relapses, and laboratory findings. They discuss differential diagnostic respects along with the treatment regimes.The authors examine the clinical data of 29 dogs with steroid-responsive men-ingitis-arteritis. Materials and Methods: 29 SRMA patients were collected from the electronic data base of the University of Veterinary Medicine, Budapest, Hungary between 2004 and 2016. The available clinical data and laboratory findings of the dogs were evaluated. Results and Discussion: SRMA represented 0.045% (29/64087) of the admissions during the given period. 2.4% (25/1060) of the Beagles and Beagle mixes were presented to the clinic with the disease. No gender predisposition was found. Symptoms were: neck pain (29/29) 100%, stiff gait (24/29) 83%, fever (22/29) 76%, inappetence (18/29) 62%, pain at mouth opening (7/29) 24%, salivation (3/29) 10%. Relapses were recorded in (19/29) 65% of cases. Blood work showed elevated leukocyte count in (16/21) 76% with (8/21) 38% left shift. Cere-brospinal fluid analyzation (9 cases) showed elevated nucleated cell count with neutrophil pleocytosis in 5 cases (56%) and lymphocytic pleocytosis in 4 cases (44%). SRMA is a rather benign disease of the nervous system, but relapses are frequent, which can be in connection with inadequate treatment. The therapy is a 6-month long steroid treatment, therefore correct diagnosis is important before starting this regime. | en_US |
