| The present study correlated neuroimaging, clinical, cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) findings, and outcome from dogs with idiopathic central nervous system (CNS) inflammatory diseases (ID). Among the parameters evaluated, the neurological examination was the most valuable prognostic indicator (p-value of 0.002; odds ratio 1.88) of the final outcome (dead or alive). Analysis of CSF and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) are advocated in every patient with suspected CNS ID. In 8 patients, the lesion localization was different when comparing neurological examination and MRI findings. Five cases revealed more extensive lesions on the neurological examination. In 3 of the 5 cases, a post-mortem examination was available demonstrating that the clinical assessment was more precise than MRI findings. In 3 dogs, MRI lesions were detected in anatomical locations that were not predicted by the neurological exam. A substantial percentage (61.2%) of our patients survived with treatment. The follow-up period for surviving dogs ranged from 223 to 756 days (mean of 521 days, standard deviation of 158 days). Paired CSF and serum samples were evaluated with degenerate primers on a nested polymerase chain reaction (PCR) for detection of herpes virus deoxyribonucleic acid (DNA). Herpes viral DNA was identified in CSF from 6 cases while a positive PCR result in serum and CSF was detected only in 1 dog. Sequencing of the isolated virus was achieved in 2 cases. Since positive PCR results were not limited to dogs with CNS ID, the significance of PCR results is currently unknown. The ability of herpes viruses to produce latent infections should be taken into consideration when interpreting positive PCR results. |
