AN INTRODUCTION TO ENCEPHALITIS AND COMMON …
AN INTRODUCTION TO ENCEPHALITIS AND COMMON NAMES THAT MAY BE MORE FAMILIAR TO PET OWNERS
Chelle Zulick: Owner of a Maltese with GME
“STORMY”
Encaphalitis is a disease of the neurological system. Affecting the brain and or the spinal cord. One of the most common names that people hear is GME or Granulomatous Meningoencephalitis…Much easier to say GME. However, this is not the only type of encephalitis out there. As medicine has improved and diagnostic techniques have become exceptionally precise veterinarians have been able to break this disease down into specific types of Encephalitis: Here are a few:
1. NME (Necrotizing Meningoencephalitis)
2. NLE (Necrotizing Leukoencephalitis)
This disease has not been given the attention it deserves partly because of the difficulty in diagnoses, limited diagnostic techniques in the past and the overall cost of both diagnosing and treating this disease. Other reasons may include people not wanting to really say the words out-loud much less deal with it. Even for the best neurologists out there diagnosing and treating GME is a “ HUGE CHALLENGE”. There are no easy answers or quick fixes. This disease requires time, effort and dedication by the owners, and the Veterinarian.
In most cases clinical signs come on rather quickly in a matter of days. Signs and symptoms can be rubbing the face against your hand the wall, on the floor, scratching at the face, jaw area or head, changes in balance or how they walk, circling, especially when they have to use the bathroom, tremors in the legs, the dog may want to walk but is not able to coordinate the legs to actually walk so you may see some lethargy and they may want to eat but are unable to stand properly and therefore they forego eating, also there is the head tilt.
Currently there is not a definitive test for GME (except through necropsy) and therefore a combination of blood test, MRI or CT, X-Ray, utrasound and spinal tap are used to rule out other diseases or infections. These tests are imperative to make sure the disease is of “UNKNOWN ORGIN” and not from a bacterial infection. When you hear the term Idiopathic-meaning unknown origin, all this really means is yes the animal has the disease, however, they are not able to tell where the disease came from or WHY? What they can tell you is that there are results in the tests that lead the vet to determine that this is GME. Not easy for anyone because there are no clear cut answers and like me most people I wanted answers.
Treating GME can have very positive results. Some animals go into remission after taking medication, usually high dose therapy of steroids and in severe cases immunosuppressive chemo drugs are used. In many cases dogs relapse and will need more and stronger medication. There is no cure!!!!! In many cases dogs are able to live a pretty normal life, running, playing, getting into things, and just doing what they do best, love their owners, however, they will always be sick and each day is a blessing because in a mere second the disease can take over and there is very little hope at that point. Usually when this occurs that means that the disease has crossed over into the brainstem.
North Carolina State University Teaching Hospital has been dedicated to treating Stormy and others with GME. We are very blessed to have such a wonderful Veterinarian (Dr. Ed MacKillop). The university has graciously agreed to start the CREAT E FUND to help fund diagnoses, and treatment for dogs with GME. The diagnostic process alone can be very expensive plus the medications and continuing tests and treatment. This fund will help offset some of those costs for dog owners. The more dogs the university is able to treat, the better their chance of finding better diagnostic techniques and treatment and therefore better survival rates. The fund is not breed specific and is available to those that need financial assistance. If the University is able to treat any dog that comes in with GME then that treatment will help with treatment of others. Example: The treatment for a yorkie may also be the best treatment for a pug or maltese. Without treating all dogs no answers can be found. Maybe as time goes on and research in this area moves forward universities may break this down further into breed specific. For now the idea and process of just starting the fund is a step in the right direction for finding a cause, treatment and maybe someday even a cure. As with any disease research is the key to finding answers.
The Stormy Story is listed on the website. It will probably make you cry but know she had a great life and she will forever live on in our hearts and through the “CREATE FUND”.
Thank you….Chelle Zulick
................
................
In order to avoid copyright disputes, this page is only a partial summary.
To fulfill the demand for quickly locating and searching documents.
It is intelligent file search solution for home and business.