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Background: Clinical signs and their progression in Beagles with Lafora disease are poorly described., Objectives: To describe clinical signs in Beagles with Lafora disease., Animals: Twenty-eight Beagles with Lafora disease confirmed by genetic testing or histopathology., Methods: Retrospective multicenter case series. Data regarding signalment, clinical signs, diagnostic tests and treatment were retrieved from hospital data files. A questionnaire was sent to owners asking about neurological deficits, changes in cognitive functions, behavioral changes, response to treatment and survival time., Results: Onset of clinical signs was 8.3 years (mean; range, 6.3-13.3). All dogs had myoclonic episodes as an initial clinical sign with tonic-clonic seizures in n = 11/28 (39%) and n = 12/28 (43%) later developing tonic-clonic seizures. Deficits of coordination (n = 21/25; 84%), impaired vision (n = 15/26; 58%), and impaired hearing (n = 13/26; 50%) developed later. Mental decline was observed as loss of house training (urination; n = 8/25; 32%), difficulties performing learned tasks (n = 9/25; 36%), and difficulties learning new tasks (n = 7/23; 30%). Common behavioral changes were: increased photosensitivity (n = 20/26; 77%), staring into space (n = 16/25; 64%), reduced stress resistance (n = 15/26; 58%), increased noise sensitivity (n = 14/26; 54%), and separation anxiety (n = 11/25; 44%). Twenty-one dogs were alive (median age 11.9 years; range, 9.8-18.6), and 7 dogs were dead (mean age 12.1 years; SD: 1.3; range, 10.5-12.6) at time of writing., Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Lafora disease in Beagles causes significant behavioral changes, and mental decline as well as neurological deficits in addition to myoclonic episodes and generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Nevertheless, a relatively normal life span can be expected., (© 2021 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)

Background: There is a successful outcome after surgical management of spinal arachnoid diverticula (SAD) in up to 82% of cases., Hypothesis/objectives: We hypothesized that Pugs have favorable short-term and poor long-term prognosis after surgical treatment of thoracolumbar SAD. The aim of the present investigation was to describe clinical findings, short- and long-term outcomes, and follow-up magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in Pugs with thoracolumbar SAD., Animals: Twenty-five client owned Pugs with 12-month follow-up information after surgical treatment of thoracolumbar SAD., Methods: Multicenter retrospective case series. All medical records were searched for Pugs diagnosed with SAD. Data regarding signalment, history, surgical procedure, outcome, histopathology, and follow-up MRI results were extracted., Results: Mean age at presentation was 7.32 (range 2-11) years, 80% were males. Short-term outcome was available in 25 dogs, and improvement was confirmed in 80% of dogs. Long-term outcome was available in 21 dogs, and deterioration was confirmed in 86% of cases, with late-onset recurrence of clinical signs after initial postsurgical improvement affecting 85% of Pugs. A moderate correlation (r = 0.50) was found between duration of clinical signs and outcome. In 8 dogs with deteriorating clinical signs, follow-up MRI revealed regrowth of the SAD in 2 cases, new SAD formation in 2 cases, and intramedullary T2W hyperintensity/syringomyelia in 6 cases., Conclusions and Clinical Importance: This study suggests that Pugs with thoracolumbar SAD do not have a favorable long-term prognosis after surgical treatment for reasons yet to be determined., (© 2019 The Authors. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals, Inc. on behalf of the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.)