Cytosine arabinoside therapy for meningoencephalitis of unknown etiology in seven dogs
Loading...
No Access Until
Permanent Link(s)
Collections
Other Titles
Authors
Abstract
Granulomatous meningoencephalitis (GME) is a sporadic, rapidly progressive disease of unknown
etiology. Clinical signs can be quite variable and prognosis is dependent upon the morphologic form of GME
and severity of the underlying lesion. Definitive diagnosis necessitates histopathological examination of
neuronal tissues and this is often impractical antemortem. Granulomatous meningoencephalitis is likely to
be overdiagnosed in patients with encephalitis of unknown etiology. As such, we propose the terminology of
meningoencephalitis of unknown etiology (MUE) when clinical signs are consistent with GME but CNS
tissues are unavailable for histopathologic studies.
Although immunosuppression has formed the cornerstone of MUE therapy, corticosteroids
typically are ineffective as a sole therapy for long-term disease control. To date, the use of cytosine
arabinoside as a therapeutic agent for the treatment of MUE has received little attention in the veterinary
literature. Here, we report the use of a cytosine arabinoside-prednisone therapy protocol for the treatment of
MUE in 7 dogs. The 7 patients were included based upon history, clinical signs, CT analysis, CSF analysis,
and negative diagnostic investigations for infectious encephalitis. The treatment protocol consisted of
administering cytosine arabinoside (Cytosar) at a dose of 50 mg/m2 SQ BID q3 weeks for a duration of 4
months, along with a tapering dose of prednisone. The mean survival time for the 7 dogs in this study was
291 days, with 6 of the 7 dogs alive. Six dogs were categorized as in clinical remission and 1 dog died after
101 days. In a retrospective study, dogs with focal GME that were treated with sole corticosteroid therapy
had a mean survival time of 41 days (Munana and Luttgen 1998) suggesting that treatment with
corticosteroids alone is unsatisfactory. While preliminary in nature, the case series presented in this report
suggest a potentially important role for cytosine arabinoside in the treatment of dogs with MUE.
Journal / Series
Senior seminar paper
Seminar SF610.1 2003 V46
Seminar SF610.1 2003 V46
Volume & Issue
Description
Senior seminar (D.V.M.) -- Cornell University, 2003.
Includes bibliographical references (leaf 11).
Sponsorship
Scott Schatzberg, DVM, PhD
Date Issued
2003-04-30
Publisher
Keywords
Dogs -- Diseases -- Treatment -- Case studies
Location
Effective Date
Expiration Date
Sector
Employer
Union
Union Local
NAICS
Number of Workers
Committee Chair
Committee Co-Chair
Committee Member
Degree Discipline
Degree Name
Degree Level
Related Version
Related DOI
Related To
Related Part
Based on Related Item
Has Other Format(s)
Part of Related Item
Related To
Related Publication(s)
Link(s) to Related Publication(s)
References
Link(s) to Reference(s)
Previously Published As
Government Document
ISBN
ISMN
ISSN
Other Identifiers
Rights
Rights URI
Types
term paper