CASE OVERVIEW #2

My fourteen month old beagle female walked with her head down as if she had a headache. If she was close to my leg as I moved and she turned to get out of the way, or to go around a door, or if a littermate bumped her; she would cry out in pain. I took her to my vet and she was started on meds for a cervical disc disorder. Over the next few days she improved and all signs of pain were gone. She would on occasions, sometimes months apart, become painful again and I would automatically start her on her meds. My vet is a long term friend and I would call him and let him know her status and her bouts of neck pain were managed well.

When she was seven years old she started with the same usual symptoms; crying out in pain, hunched back, and stiff neck. She did NOT have a fever. This time the usual meds did not help. She progressed to muscle spasms in front legs, and she was obviously in severe pain. She would squint her eyes, reminding me of someone with a migraine. She also developed shaking in rear legs...I felt this was secondary to pain. Lab work and x-rays were unremarkable. She was started on antibiotics, pain med, muscle relaxers and a higher dose of dexamethasone. She gradually improved. But this episode was longer and more severe.

At the age of 8 1/2 she again demonstrated pain when turning head, muscle spasms in front and the pain progressed to the point where all she could do was lie on couch. I had to keep her sedated with valium for muscle spasms as well as flexaril. She was on dexamethasone , rimadyl and antibiotics. She did not have a fever at this time either. Labs test were unremarkable and x-rays showed possible narrowing of disc mid-back. This would not explain the chest and neck pain. She became so bad that my only option was to transport her to a vet school 3 hours away for a MRI and possible surgery for disc disease. I decided that I would not put her through this and would PTS if no improvement in 48 hours. We had been working on her for almost two weeks and she was not improving. She would eat when she was hand fed. Everytime you moved her she would scream in pain.

I was researching cervical pain when I found an article about beagle pain syndrome. A lightbulb went off...she fit the description. As a last ditch effort, my vet agreed to start her on high dose steroid treatment. Within 24 hours I could see a marked improvement in her and in 48 hours she was off all meds other than the prednisone. Her recovery was short of a miracle. She was maintained on the high dose for 14 days and then gradually weaned off all prednisone. She never had another severe episode but at the first sign of her "headache look" I would start her on prednisone for one week. She lived to be 16 and ultimately died of cancer.

A family that had obtained a littermate to this beagle contacted me years later for another beagle puppy.  They said they had to PTS their beagle at the age of 12 due to ongoing chronic neck problems that started when she was less than 2 years of age.  When they came to get their new puppy we discussed the previous beagle and her problems.  The owners and I both agreed that the two littersisters had almost identical problems and that probably what their beagle had was also SRM.  If they had only known or if their vet had more information they might have had more years with their beloved pet.

This experience with BPS or Steroid Responsive Meningitis is one of the factors that encouraged me to be an advocate for health and genetic education.

Ruth Darlene Stewart, Chairperson

National Beagle Club Health and Genetics Committee