Clinical, electrophysiological, and biochemical markers of peripheral and central nervous system disease in canine globoid cell leukodystrophy (Krabbe's disease).

Globoid cell leukodystrophy (GLD), or Krabbe's disease, is a debilitating and always fatal pediatric neurodegenerative disease caused by a mutation in the gene encoding the hydrolytic enzyme galactosylceramidase (GALC). In the absence of GALC, progressive loss of myelin and accumulation of a neurotoxic substrate lead to incapacitating loss of motor and cognitive function and death, typically by 2 years of age. Currently, there is no cure.

Laryngeal paralysis-polyneuropathy complex in young related Pyrenean mountain dogs.

Objectives: To characterise clinical, electrophysiological and histopathological findings. To analyse pedigree information in six young related Pyrenean mountain dogs with laryngeal paralysis-polyneuropathy complex (LP-PNC).

Methods: A retrospective study of clinical records and pedigrees of six young related Pyrenean mountain dogs with LP-PNC was carried out.

Sensory neuropathy in two Border collie puppies.

A peripheral sensory neuropathy was diagnosed in two Border collie puppies. Neurological, electrophysiological and histopathological examinations suggested a purely sensory neuropathy with mainly distal involvement. Urinary incontinence was observed in one of the puppies and histological examination of the vagus nerve revealed degenerative changes.

'Continuous muscle fibre activity' in six dogs with episodic myokymia, stiffness and collapse.

Continuous muscle fibre activity was observed in a crossbred dog, a Yorkshire terrier, a border collie and three Jack Russell terriers. The clinical signs consisted of episodes of generalised myokymia which developed into muscle stiffness and delayed muscle relaxation and generally led to the dogs collapsing into lateral recumbency. These episodes were preceded by intense facial rubbing in three of the dogs, and were associated with severe hyperthermia in five of them.

Genetic aspects of Labrador Retriever myopathy.

Labrador Retriever myopathy (LRM) has become a relatively common muscular disease. The objective of our prospective study was to determine by segregation analyses a plausible mode of inheritance within a Labrador Retriever population. Therefore we performed neurological examinations, as well as electromyographic and histopathological evaluations of 58 closely related dogs.