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Neuropathological findings in cats with clinically suspect but histologically unconfirmed feline spongiform encephalopathy
Author(s) -
Kelly D. F.,
Wells G. A. H.,
Haritani M.,
Higgins R. J.,
Jeffrey M.
Publication year - 2005
Publication title -
veterinary record
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.261
H-Index - 99
eISSN - 2042-7670
pISSN - 0042-4900
DOI - 10.1136/vr.156.15.472
Subject(s) - cats , bovine spongiform encephalopathy , pathology , ataxia , medicine , immunohistochemistry , creutzfeldt jakob syndrome , abnormality , encephalopathy , disease , prion protein , psychiatry
Central nervous system ( CNS ) tissues from 192 cats with neurological signs were examined histologically, and tissues from 173 of them were later examined immunohistochemically as part of a survey to determine the prevalence of feline spongiform encephalopathy ( FSE ). One of the cats was from Norway and the others were from Great Britain. The most commonly recorded clinical signs were ataxia, behavioural changes and epilepsy, but none of the cats had histopathological evidence of FSE . The most common organic CNS lesions were non‐suppurative encephalomyelitis in 28 per cent, neoplasia in 15 per cent and a heterogeneous group of degenerative encephalopathies in 9 per cent of the cats. A range of minor histological lesions of uncertain significance was also observed. No histological lesions were observed in the tissues of 63 (33 per cent) of the cats. Disease‐specific prion protein (PrP Sc ) was observed in only one of the 173 cats examined by immunohistochemistry.