Profile

Definition

Inflammatory central nervous system (CNS) diseases are a group of sporadic inflammatory diseases that affect the brain and/or spinal cord in the absence of an infectious cause (ie, pathogen-free).

• Based on histopathologic findings, 3 distinct forms of inflammatory CNS disease have been identified in dogs:

• Granulomatous meningoencephalomyelitis (GME): Canine GME is the current term for an idiopathic CNS disease (most likely first described in 1936). GME still attracts a confusing and lengthy number of synonyms reflecting changes only in immunologic terminology (eg, inflammatory reticulosis, lymphoreticulosis, neoplastic reticulosis).

• Necrotizing meningoencephalitis (NME): Canine NME was originally recognized in dogs in the U.S. in the 1970’s as a breed-specific disease of pug dogs (colloquially known as “pug dog encephalitis”). Since 1989, based on morphologically defined lesion patterns and histology, NME has been recognized in other small-breed dogs, including Maltese, Chihuahua, Pekinese, Boston terrier, Shih Tzu, Coton de Tulear, and papillon breeds.

• Necrotizing encephalitis (NE): Canine NE was first described in 1993 in Yorkshire terriers and has been reported in other breeds, including French bulldogs.

Signalment