Test Detail
Necrotizing meningoencephalitis (NME / PDE) — Pug
Neurological · Dog
An inflammatory brain disease specific to the Pug, formerly known as Pug dog encephalitis (PDE) and later renamed necrotizing meningoencephalitis (NME). It is an immune process, with lymphoplasmacytic infiltration, parenchymal necrosis and bilateral lesions predominantly in the brain. It produces progressive central neurological signs in the young adult, with a poor prognosis. The breed predisposition suggests a genetic basis, partly associated with the canine major histocompatibility complex (DLA).
Incidence
NME multifactorial without a causal variant: OMIA classifies it as non-monogenic. A susceptibility test exists (DLA-II region and marker CFA12:2605517delC) that informs of risk, not of diagnosis; described mainly in the Pug and other toy breeds.
Breeder management
- When a case is confirmed in a line, do not repeat the parental cross
- Avoid breeding with affected animals or those with a close family history of NME/PDE
- Consider the risk DLA haplotype test (if available) in affected lines
- Given the multifactorial nature, it is not appropriate to select solely on the haplotype without weighing the rest of the health and genealogical context
- Communicate the history to the buyer of offspring from affected lines
- Avoid breeding with affected animals or those with a close family history of NME/PDE
- Consider the risk DLA haplotype test (if available) in affected lines
- Given the multifactorial nature, it is not appropriate to select solely on the haplotype without weighing the rest of the health and genealogical context
- Communicate the history to the buyer of offspring from affected lines
Specialist notes
Differential diagnosis with the other non-infectious meningoencephalitides (GME, necrotizing leukoencephalitis of small breeds) and with infectious (distemper, protozoa, rickettsiae) and neoplastic (lymphoma/reticulosis) encephalitides. Cranial MRI with bilateral lesions and CSF with lymphocytic pleocytosis guide the diagnosis; definitive confirmation is histopathological. Immunosuppressive treatment (glucocorticoids, cytostatics) with partial response and guarded prognosis. The immunogenetic predisposition supports the role of the DLA system in the disease.
References
Greer et al. 2010 (PMID 20403140); Barber et al. 2011 (PMID 21846746); van Renen et al. 2024 (PMID 38840637); OMIA:001470-9615 (multifactorial, sin variante causal conocida).