摘要

Introduction
4 cases of Alexander's disease including 2 Bernese mountain dogs, 1 Bernese mountain crossbred dog and 1 Chihuahua are reported. This rare disorder of the central nervous system, which has not been described in the Chihuahua so far, is a primary astrocytic disease that induces secondary dysfunction of oligodendrocytes. Alexander's disease is defined by widespread and abundant presence of protein aggregates in astrocytes called Rosenthal fibers.
Methods and results
2 Bernese mountain dogs, 1 Bernese mountain crossbred dog and 1 Chihuahua were euthanized because of progressive neurological signs at the age of 13, 15, 18 and 9 weeks, respectively. Necropsy and pathohistological examination were performed and revealed a morphological picture resembling Alexander's disease. In 2 of these cases immunostaining of the astrocyte marker glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP) was performed and showed strongly immunopositive signals of Rosenthal fibers which appeared as granular aggregates ultrastructurally. These results are consistent with other cases of Alexander's disease reported in the literature.
Conclusion
This is the first report of Alexander's disease in the Chihuahua. An increased incidence in the Bernese mountain dog points to a genetic disposition of this breed. Molecular genetic examinations should be attempted to examine the importance of mutations in the GFAP gene in dogs.

  • 出版日期2010