Freeman Paul M, Harcourt-Brown Thomas R, Jeffery Nick D, Granger Nicolas
Department of Veterinary Medicine, University of Cambridge, Madingley Rd, Cambridge, CB3 0ES, England.
J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2009 Jan 15;234(2):240-4. doi: 10.2460/javma.234.2.240.
A 2-year-old spayed female domestic shorthair cat was examined because of bilateral thoracic limb weakness of acute onset.
Clinical signs included muscle atrophy, paresis, depressed spinal reflexes, hyperesthesia of the thoracic limbs, and reduced jaw muscle tone. Pelvic limb reflexes were normal. Results of a neurologic examination were suggestive of multifocal lesions involving both brachial plexuses and the trigeminal nerves. Abnormal nerve conduction across the brachial plexus and delayed late potentials were found on electrodiagnostic testing, and diffuse subclinical involvement of other regions of the peripheral nervous system was confirmed on the basis of abnormal electromyographic findings for the masticatory muscles and conduction block of the peroneal nerve.
No specific treatments were given, and neurologic signs resolved within a month. A relapse occurred 2 months after the first episode, with clinical signs affecting both the pelvic and the thoracic limbs on this occasion. Again, the condition resolved without specific treatment, and 13 months after the initial episode, the cat reportedly was normal.
Findings suggested that brachial plexus neuropathy can be a multifocal disease in cats, even if clinically apparent neurologic deficits are initially subtle or absent, and that electrodiagnostic techniques can be used to identify subclinical involvement of the peripheral nerves.
一只2岁已绝育的雌性家养短毛猫因急性发作的双侧胸肢无力接受检查。
临床症状包括肌肉萎缩、轻瘫、脊髓反射减弱、胸肢感觉过敏以及下颌肌张力降低。盆腔肢体反射正常。神经学检查结果提示多灶性病变累及双侧臂丛神经和三叉神经。电诊断测试发现臂丛神经的神经传导异常和延迟的晚期电位，并且根据咀嚼肌的异常肌电图表现和腓总神经传导阻滞，证实了外周神经系统其他区域存在弥漫性亚临床受累。
未给予特殊治疗，神经学症状在一个月内消失。首次发作2个月后复发，此次临床症状累及盆腔和胸肢。同样，未进行特殊治疗病情即缓解，据报道在首次发作13个月后，这只猫恢复正常。
研究结果表明，臂丛神经病变在猫中可能是一种多灶性疾病，即使最初临床上明显的神经功能缺损不明显或不存在，并且电诊断技术可用于识别外周神经的亚临床受累情况。
