Inflammatory Neuritis

Explanation

Neuritis is a medical term that means inflammation of the nerve. That inflammation can be due to a variety of causes including infections, autoimmune diseases, and genetic disorders. There are some types of neuritis that we have specific names for, and while others can fall into more general categories like inflammatory neuritis. In this type of neuritis, the body is attacking the nerves like they have an infection, however there is no infection present. Basically, the immune system has made a mistake, and now is attacking it’s own body.

Inflammatory neuritis, most often causes pain, but can also cause dysfunction of the nerves.

Diagnosis

Typically we see that nerves are inflamed on an MRI. The nerve might be thicker, and also may become brighter on the MRI when we give a contrast agent. A spinal tap and infectious disease testing is recommended to check for any other causes of nerve swelling. It takes a nerve biopsy to be 100% certain that a nerve has inflammation, and not a form of cancer. However, since many dogs will respond to medications alone, we will often start there before moving to an invasive procedure.

Treatment

Because the immune system is what is causing this condition, we will use drugs to suppress your pet’s immune system. We will start at a higher dose of medication, typically prednisone, and gradually wean these over time. Many dogs can come off medications in a period of 4 to 6 months. Some pets will require long term treatment, often a low dose of prednisone.

Medications commonly used

Prednisone
Mycophenolate
Leflunomide
Cyclosporin
Cytarabine

Prognosis

This disease is treatable if not curable in the majority of patients. As mentioned above, some dogs will require life long therapy. If your pet is not responding well to medications, we will recommend a biopsy.

Monitoring

Please monitor your pet for pain, weakness. You will see generalized muscle loss while on prednisone, but if a specific muscle seems to be smaller in comparison, please alert the neurology team. Often relapses look similar to the symptoms that brought you to the neurology service to begin with.