Research Communications of the 24th ECVIM-CA Congress

Twenty dogs with a presumptive diagnosis of HE were enrolled. Inclusion criteria were: a clinical examination, a blood cell count and biochemical panel, at least one plasmatic ammonia determination higher than 100 lmol/L, optional hystopatology of the liver, requirement of Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) investigation by the clinician. Even though MRS represents a non-invasive procedure, informed consent was obtained from dogs'owners. HE diagnosis was confirmed in 20/20: 16/20 had a PSS, 3/20 showed hepatic microvascular dysplasia and 1/20 had hepatic cirrhosis histologically confirmed. The control-group was made of 23 patients retrieved from our database that underwent MRI without showing any abnormalities on brain scans. The MR protocol included T2-weighted fast spin-echo, T1-weighted sequences, Proton Density, and Radio-frequency pulses Gradient-Echo. On MRI examination cerebral atrophy was evident in all the patients (20/20), ranged from mild to severe. In 17/20 patients symmetrical bilateral hyperintensities in the globus pallidus on T1-weighted images were evident. MRS was performed using a short TE (30 ms) and it was defined a volume of interest in the parieto-occipital region by 10-mm side cube (1 cc of volume). Glutamine-glutamate (Gln), N-acetylaspartate and N-acetyl aspartyl glutamate (NAA), Choline derivatives (Cho), and Myo-Inositol (Ins) were analyzed.