Immune-mediated polyneuropathy in cats: Clinical description, electrodiagnostic assessment, and treatment.
J Vet Intern Med
; 37(3): 1088-1099, 2023.
Article
in En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-37139643
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
Suspected immune-mediated polyneuropathy has been increasingly reported in cats, especially in the last decade, but the condition remains poorly understood.OBJECTIVES:
Refine the clinical description and review the classification of this condition based on electrodiagnostic investigation and evaluate the benefit of corticosteroid treatment and L-carnitine supplementation. ANIMALS Fifty-five cats presented with signs of muscular weakness and electrodiagnostic findings consistent with polyneuropathy of unknown origin.METHODS:
Retrospective, multicenter study. Data from the medical records were reviewed. The owners were contacted by phone for follow-up at the time of the study.RESULTS:
The male-to-female ratio was 2.2. The median age of onset was 10 months, with 91% of affected cats being <3 years of age. Fourteen breeds were represented in the study. The electrodiagnostic findings supported purely motor axonal polyneuropathy. Histological findings from nerve biopsies were consistent with immune-mediated neuropathy in 87% of the tested cats. The overall prognosis for recovery was good to excellent, as all but 1 cat achieved clinical recovery, with 12% having mild sequelae and 28% having multiple episodes during their lifetime. The outcome was similar in cats with no treatment when compared with cats receiving corticosteroids or L-carnitine supplementation. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE Immune-mediated motor axonal polyneuropathy should be considered in young cats with muscle weakness. This condition may be similar to acute motor axonal neuropathy in Guillain-Barré syndrome patients. Based on our results, diagnostic criteria have been proposed.Key words
Full text:
1
Collection:
01-internacional
Database:
MEDLINE
Main subject:
Polyneuropathies
/
Cat Diseases
/
Guillain-Barre Syndrome
Type of study:
Clinical_trials
/
Diagnostic_studies
/
Observational_studies
/
Prognostic_studies
Limits:
Animals
Language:
En
Journal:
J Vet Intern Med
Journal subject:
MEDICINA INTERNA
/
MEDICINA VETERINARIA
Year:
2023
Document type:
Article
Affiliation country:
Francia