Retrospective Analysis Of MRI Images Of 24 Cases Of Epilepsy In Dogs And Cats

Objective:Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological diseases in dogs and cats.It is characterized by paroxysmal and temporary abnormalities in consciousness,motor activity,autonomic nervous function,sensation or cognition.The precise localization of the lesion by MRI makes it an important technical means for the clinical diagnosis of epilepsy in dogs and cats.In this study,a retrospective analysis of MRI images of 24 cases of epilepsy in dogs and cats was conducted to explore the MRI imaging characteristics of epilepsy in dogs and cats,so as to provide help for the follow-up diagnosis and treatment of peers.Methods:In this 24 epilepsy cases,including 22 dogs cases and 2 cats cases,was collected from November 2018 to June 2020 in Xiehe Pet Hospital.A retrospective diagnostic analysis was performed based on the animal’s history,clinical presentation,laboratory tests,and MRI brain imaging findings.Results: The final diagnosis was idiopathic epilepsy in 10 cases(9 dogs and 1 cat),ventricular effusion in 5 cases(4 dogs and 1 cat),meningitis in 4 cases,brain tumor in 3 cases(suspected glioma in 2 cases,tumor in corpus callosum in 1 case),traumatic epilepsy in 1 case,and brain atrophy in 1 case.According to the results,15 epilepsy cases in dogs and cats were younger than 5 years old,including abnormal brain did not see the 7 cases(6 dogs and 1 cat),4 cases of ventricular effusion(3 dogs and 1 cat),3 cases of meningitis,1 cases of traumatic epilepsy.9 epilepsy cases in dogs and cats at the age of five or more,including 3 cases of idiopathic epilepsy,1 case of ventricle effusion,1 case of meningitis,3 cases of brain tumor,and 1 case of brain atrophy.As a result,MRI abnormal cases of epilepsy dog and cat were significantly more at age ≥5(67.7%)than < 5(44.3%),indicating that there was a significant correlation between the type of dog epilepsy,the results of MRI detection and the age of the sick dog,which was consistent with the results of previous studies,and provides important basis for when MRI is applicable.In this study,the incidence of epilepsy is higher in poodles aged 6 years or older,and MRI demonstrated abnormal signals.The reason may be that the possibility of significant brain injury increases with age.The dogs without abnormal MRI signals were corgi,husky,golden retriever,mixed race,bulldog,and Pomeranian that less than 5 years old.The cause of the disease may be idiopathic epilepsy caused by genetic factors.In this study,there were 11 male and 11 female dogs.There was no obvious sexual bias in canine epilepsy cases.There were only 2 cat epilepsy cases in this study,1 idiopathic epilepsy case and 1 ventricular effusion case.Two cases were all cases of cat with age < 5years old.One case was epilepsy caused by structural lesions,the other case without abnormal signal on MRI,which may be caused by idiopathic epilepsy.However,due to the small number of cat epilepsy cases collected in this study,it is not representative to further verify the characteristics of cat epilepsy.Conclusion :(1)The incidence of idiopathic epilepsy in dogs and cats is higher than ventricular effusion,meningitis,brain tumor,etc.(2)The incidence rate of brain tumor in epilepsy patients <5 years old was significantly lower than that in dogs and cats ≥5 years old.