Clinical signs with degenerative disease of interconnective discs in dogs

Abstract

With chondroid degeneration, which occurs predominantly in chondrodystrophic dogs (in the genome of which the chondrodystrophy gene is present, which provides such phenotype features as short legs (due to dysplasia of the tubular bones), for example, dachshund, French bulldog, Pekingese, etc.) the nucleus, its cells degenerate, and the whole structure becomes dystrophic calcified. This degeneration alters the distribution of intradiscal pressure, causing foci of mechanical pressure on the fibrous ring. Over time, this anomalous pressure can lead to the rupture of individual collagen filaments of the ring before the final mechanical damage, which can lead to migration of the degenerated nucleus. In this study the diversity of clinical symptoms in 60 dogs of various breeds with intervertebral disc degenerative disease was considered. The examination included consideration of the duration of clinical signs (from 120 minutes to 9 months), data of neurological examination and computed tomography. Of the 60% of dogs with spinal cord lesions on the background of degeneration of the intervertebral disc of chondrodystrophic breeds (38 dogs) and nonchondrodystrophic breeds (22 dogs). The clinical signs of non-chondrodystrophic breeds mainly included impaired proprioception, unlike chondrodystrophics, among which all degrees of neurological deficit were presented.