title: [Cerebellar cortical abiotrophy in American Staffordshire terriers: clinical and pathological description of 3 cases].
abstract: Three American Staffordshire Terriers were presented with gait abnormalities and loss of balance at the age of 4.5 (female) and 6 years (2 males). The onset varied between 3 and 5 years of age and the clinical signs were slowly progressive. The neurological examination revealed symmetrical generalized cerebellar ataxia with hypermetria, stiffness, and loss of balance with no evidence of paresis. The menace reflex was decreased in one dog and absent in another. A positional nystagmus was found in two dogs. The dogs were euthanized and a histopathological examination of each brain was performed. Pathological changes were confined to the cerebellum. The main finding was loss of Purkinje cells, as well as depletion of granular cell bodies and shrinkage of the granular and molecular cell layer. These findings are consistent with cerebellar cortical abiotrophy. A genetic basis is supposed, but the mode of inheritance is not determined yet. In contrast to some spinocerebellar ataxias in humans, the cause of Purkinje cell degeneration in cerebellar cortical abiotrophy of dogs is not known.
authors.affiliation: Institut für Genetik und Ernährung, Universität Bern, Brno, CZ. david.hanzlicek@itz.unibe.ch
authors.forename: D
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Hanzlícek
authors.forename: I
authors.initials: I
authors.lastname: Kathmann
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bley
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Srenk
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Botteron
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Gaillard
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Jaggy
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D002524:Cerebellar Ataxia / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D002531:Cerebellum / Q000473:pathology; D003937:Diagnosis, Differential; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis* / Q000473:pathology; D004285:Dogs; D005260:Female; D008297:Male; D009460:Neurologic Examination / Q000662:veterinary; D011689:Purkinje Cells / Q000473:pathology
vernacular_title: Zerebelläre kortikale Abiotrophie beim American Staffordshire Terrier: Klinische und pathologische Beschreibung von drei Fällen.