Evaluación de la neurodegeneración ocasionada por la infección natural con el virus del distemper canino mediante potenciales evocados visuales y somatosensitivos de miembro posterior

Abstract

Canine distemper is a deadly, multi-system infection, caused by a Morbillivirus. Frequently affecting the nervous system, demyelinating leukoencephalitis is the most frequent form of neurological Distemper. It has been linked to multiple sclerosis (MS) because of its similar injury mechanisms. Visual evoked potentials (VEP) and somatosensory potentials (SSEP) have been determined in MS to be very good markers of the course of the disease and allow early detection of clinically suspected lesions.The aim of this work was to determine if there is an alteration in the response of the VEP and SSEP of the tibial nerve in canines with Distemper.The VEP, ERG and SSEP of posterior limbs were recorded atboth the cranial and spinal levelsinbothcaninesnaturally infected with Distemper and in healthy canines.An increase in the latency of the N1, P1, N2, P2 and N3 waves of the VEP was demonstrated bilaterally, without alterations in their amplitudes. For the ERG, no differences were found between the two groups. Regarding the SSEP, an increase in the latency of the P1 and N1 waves was found in the cranial registry, without any changes in amplitude. The latencies at the spinal level were not altered; likewise, there was an increase in the N1-P1 amplitude;P1-N2 and N2-P2 in the spinal registers. The results obtained can provide an early diagnosis of Distemper neurological damage since, often, the neurological signs of patients with Distemper appear later than the digestive or respiratory signs. Therefore, performing these studies could become a tool to detect central nervous conduction disorders during still subclinical phases of the disease.