Compressive lesions in the central nervous system of buffaloes

Barbosa, José D.; Brito, Marilene F.; Bomjardim, Henrique A.; Duarte, Marcos D.; Barbosa, Camila C.; Silveira, Natalia S.S.; Oliveira, Carlos Magno C.; Salvarani, Felipe M.

doi:10.1590/1678-5150-PVB-7060

ABSTRACT:

This study describes, through a retrospective study, the epidemiological and clinical-pathological findings of compression in the central nervous system (CNS) of buffaloes. The study includes observations made in 15 animals from 1998 to 2021 by reviewing the clinical records of animals with compressive injuries of the CNS treated at the Veterinary Hospital of the Veterinary Medicine Institute of the Federal University of Pará. The animals treated with clinical signs compatible with CNS compressive lesions were subjected to general and specific clinical examinations of the nervous system. Blood samples were collected from four animals for complete blood counts, and cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were collected from three animals for physical evaluation. Thirteen animals were necropsied. The age range of the affected animals ranged from four months to 11 years of age, with a greater frequency over age 12 months (80%, 13/15). The most affected vertebral segment was between T₃ and L₃ (60%, 9/15), followed by brain injury (20%, 3/15), the L₄-S₂ segment (13.3%, 2/15) and the C₁-C₅ segment (6.7%, 1/15). The clinical findings varied according to the location of the lesion. The necropsy findings revealed paraypophyseal abscess in the brainstem and vertebral body, subarachnoid hematoma, lymphoma and vertebral fractures. The performance of a thorough clinical examination of the CNS combined with the necropsy findings was important to characterize the clinical picture and to locate the cause and the affected CNS segments in the buffaloes studied. It is important to include CNS compressive lesions among the neurological diseases of buffaloes.

INDEX TERMS:
Central nervous system; buffalo; compressive lesions; neurological clinical signs

[1] *Corresponding author: felipems@ufpa.br

Animal	Gender	Age	Breed	Injury site	Cause of CNS compression on clinical examination and necropsy
1	Female	4 months	Mestizo*	Brain	Submeningean hematoma in the brain
2	Male	10 years	Murrah	Brain	Brainstem abscess
3	Male	4 years	Murrah	Brain	Parahypophyseal abscess
4	Male	4 months	Murrah	C1-C5	Congenital alteration**
5	Female	3 years	Murrah	T3-L3	Fracture
6	Male	1 year	Murrah	T3-L3	Fracture
7	Male	2 years	Murrah	T3-L3	Spinal cord trauma during management
8	Female	10 years	Murrah	T3-L3	Fracture
9	Female	6 years	Murrah	T3-L3	Fracture
10	Male	2 years	Murrah	T3-L3	Fracture
11	Male	11 years	Mediterranean	T3-L3	Lymphoma
12	Male	2 years	Murrah	T3-L3	Fracture
13	Female	7 years	Murrah	T3-L3	Fracture
14	Male	10 years	Murrah	L4-S2	Ankylosis
15	Female	2 years	Murrah	L4-S2	Abscess in the vertebra body

Animal	Clinical pathology, microbiology and anatomo-histopathological findings
1	Submeningian hematoma located in the right hemisphere of the brain that pressured the cerebral circumvolutions and the cerebellum. Corneal opacity, a reddish area in the reticulum, was also observed.
2	Leukocytosis by neutrophilia. Brainstem abscess. Adjacent suppurative lesions present at the base of the horn. Lesion in the right horn, turbid cerebrospinal fluid with flocculent deposit, which coagulated after a few seconds of collection.
3	Leukocytosis by neutrophilia. Parahypophyseal abscess with asymmetric distribution protruding into the medullary canal. Streptococcus spp. adjacent suppurative lesions present at the base of the horn.
7	Leukocytosis by neutrophilia
5,6,8,9, 10,12,13	Fracture of the thoracic vertebra body and bone fragility. In buffaloes 6 and 9, the cerebrospinal fluid did not change.
11	Mass of 2 cm in diameter with epi and subdural location involving the root of the peripheral nerves and compressing the spinal cord at the level of the 8th thoracic vertebra. Histopathological findings revealed malignant neoplastic proliferation of round cells forming a dense mantle surrounding the nerve fibers adjacent to the meninges. The cells had moderate pleomorphism, round to oval shape, large round to oval nucleus with dense and basophilic chromatin, scarce eosinophilic cytoplasm and sometimes evident nucleolus. The mitotic rate is moderate, with typical figures. There was also a slight amount of eosinophilic fibrillar material (fibrin) and homogeneous light multifocal eosinophilic amorphous material (edema).
14	Ankylosis
15	Leukocytosis by neutrophilia. Abscess in the vertebra body.

Brasil

Brasil

Compressive lesions in the central nervous system of buffaloes

Lesões compressivas no sistema nervoso central de bubalinos

ABSTRACT: