Serum Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein as a Diagnostic Biomarker in Dogs with Progressive Myelomalacia

Yasunori SATO; Shunsuke SHIMAMURA; Tadahisa MASHITA; Saori KOBAYASHI; Yasuhiko OKAMURA; Masaaki KATAYAMA; Hiroaki KAMISHINA; Reeko SATO; Yuji UZUKA; Jun YASUDA

doi:10.1292/jvms.12-0483

Internal Medicine

Serum Glial Fibrillary Acidic Protein as a Diagnostic Biomarker in Dogs with Progressive Myelomalacia

Yasunori SATO, Shunsuke SHIMAMURA, Tadahisa MASHITA, Saori KOBAYASHI, Yasuhiko OKAMURA, Masaaki KATAYAMA, Hiroaki KAMISHINA, Reeko SATO, Yuji UZUKA, Jun YASUDA

Author information

Yasunori SATO
Division of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka 020–8550, Japan
Shunsuke SHIMAMURA
Division of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka 020–8550, Japan
Tadahisa MASHITA
Division of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka 020–8550, Japan
Maizuru Animal Medical Center, Maizuru 625–0037, Japan
Saori KOBAYASHI
Division of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka 020–8550, Japan
Yasuhiko OKAMURA
Division of Small Animal Surgery, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka 020–8550, Japan
Masaaki KATAYAMA
Division of Small Animal Surgery, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka 020–8550, Japan
Hiroaki KAMISHINA
Division of Veterinary Clinical Radiology, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Applied Biological Sciences, Gifu University, Gifu 501–1193, Japan
Reeko SATO
Division of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka 020–8550, Japan
Yuji UZUKA
Division of Small Animal Surgery, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka 020–8550, Japan
Jun YASUDA
Division of Small Animal Internal Medicine, Department of Veterinary Medicine, Faculty of Agriculture, Iwate University, Morioka 020–8550, Japan

Keywords: canine, diagnosis, glia, neurology

JOURNAL FREE ACCESS

2013 Volume 75 Issue 7 Pages 949-953

DOI https://doi.org/10.1292/jvms.12-0483

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Abstract

In humans, increased levels of GFAP in the CSF and blood have been reported with various neural diseases. However, there has been no study describing the usefulness of GFAP in the blood for disease of the spinal cord in dogs. The aim of this study was to describe the utility of GFAP in serum for a diagnosis of progressive myelomalacia. Fifty-six dogs with acute thoracolumbar IVDD diagnosed by computed tomography with myelography or MRI were included. Serum specimens were collected at initial presentation from all cases and at follow-up examinations from some cases. Serum samples were assayed for GFAP concentrations using a commercially available GFAP ELISA Kit. Progressive myelomalacia was the final diagnosis in 8/51 cases (15.6%). Eight dogs had clinical signs suggestive of progressive myelomalacia, of which 6 were positive and 2 were negative by GFAP. Seven dogs had a detectable level of serum GFAP, of which 6 had the onset of progressive myelomalacia. The sensitivity and specificity of the GFAP to progressive myelomalacia were 75% and 97.7%, respectively. The results suggest the utility of GFAP in serum in the diagnosis of progressive myelomalacia.

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