Pug issues....Poss seizures?

Question
Hello,

I am a Certified Veterinary Technician, and have been working in a practice for over 8 years.  I am owned by 4 beautiful dogs, one being a 3 year old spayed female pug.

Wednesday she went through something that I do not quite understand.  And the doctor I work for brought up the possibility for pug dog encephalitis.

Daisy is usually a CRAZY pug.  We literally have to separate her from our other dogs to rest.  She is go go go non- stop.  Wednesday we noticed she was down.  Not wanting to be near anyone, dogs or human.  She just laid down, and kept her head up.  She didn't sleep.  Just looked around strangely.  As the night went on she started having a few head twitches.  And she was very head shy, which isn't her.  I called my doctor and he said it sounded like she may have a seizure, and to keep her calm, and bring her into work the following day which is today. (Thursday). During the night I was keeping a close eye on her.  Her pupils became very dilated, and then when I took her pulse it was down to 48.  Her color was pink, not pale, CRT 1.5 seconds.  The hair on her back seemed to be standing up.  We drew blood and sent it out to the lab, a full panel, general health, with thyroid, urine and BM.  Results will be in tomorrow.  We also did rads lateral/VD of the whole dog.  Her heart has an enlargement on the right side, but she has had this for a couple years.  (rads were taken in 2007 looking for possible foreign body :)
So today, she woke up like nothing what so ever happened....She never went into a full seizure.  
Doc brought up a couple problems, one being PDE.  Also mentioned possible underlying heart issue, adrenal problem, or epilepsy.   I have never heard of anything like this, and never saw a pug with PDE.  I guess I just wondered what you thought.  Here I am up late searching the Internet!  I should know better!

Thanks so much for your time....Any ideas or suggestions would be great!

Sonya Schuler CVT  

Answer
Pug meningoencephalitis is a breed specific form of GME (granulomatous meningoencephalitis).  GME is an noninfectious, inflammatory disease of the nervous system that affects the meninges and spinal cord.  The cause is unknown. Pug meningoencephalitis usually affects dogs from 9 months to 7 years of age.  Symptoms include seizures, circling, dementia, depression, blindness,head pressing, cervical pain, and ataxia.  Signs are usually rapid (as in disseminated disease that affects the brain stem, cervical spinal cord, and meninges) or may be slow over several months (as in focal disease that involves only one area).  Diagnostic tests include a full neuro work-up including a spinal tap (for cerebrospinal fluid), MRI, or CT, which are performed at a specialty practice or university.  Currently, there is no effective treatment.  Symptoms may improve with corticosteroid therapy.  

The bloodwork is certainly a good place to start.  Liver disease and metabolic diseases are just a few causes of seizures, and bloodwork can help rule this out.  Irregardless, I would still have her examined by a veterinary neurologist (hope there is one in your area).  Hope this helps!