Wobblers Disease

Wobblers disease is a neurological problem involving the cervical spinal cord and has been referred to by various names such as cervical stenotic myelopathy, cervical spondylomyelopathy, and malarticulation/malformation syndrome. All of these terms describe a progressive neurologic disease that can be painful and debilitating due to spinal cord and nerve compression as well as inflammation. The cause of wobblers is not fully understood and likely involves many factors including genetics, nutrition, conformation, and growth-rate. Wobblers is divided into different forms depending on the nature of neural element compression. There is a "young dog" form that often affects Great Danes, Mastiffs, and other giant breeds; and a "middle age" form that affects breeds such as the Doberman and Bernese Mountain dog. Each form has specific defining features apparent on diagnostic imaging such as MRI. Diagnosis is based on clinical features and spinal cord imaging. There is currently not a consensus among veterinarians regarding the optimal treatment for dogs with wobblers. Generally, treatment goals include controlling pain, reducing inflammation, and ameliorating neural element compression. For mildly affected dogs and dogs unable to undergo surgery, medical treatment is instituted. This may include pain medication, reduced activity, and anti-inflammatory medication. Dogs with more severe signs or that have signs unresponsive to medical therapy are surgical candidates. Surgical goals include spinal cord and nerve root decompression and, in some cases, distraction and fusion of the affected vertebrae. Cases are evaluated on an individual basis to determine an appropriate treatment plan. Research on this topic is currently underway at TAMU in hopes of further refining disease features and determining better treatments.

The dog in this figure was diagnosed with disk-associated cervical stenotic myelopathy (wobblers) causing severe difficulty walking. After removing the portion of the intervertebral disk that was compressing the spinal cord the vertebrae were distracted and fused using a spinal implant.

Cross sectional MRI demonstrating spinal cord compression (arrow) in a dog diagnosed with wobblers.