How to treat myositis in dogs
Myositis means inflammation of the muscles.Myopathy is a group of diseases that all share the same feature of inflammatory cells within the muscle.
The muscles affected by Myositis can cause different signs in dogs.Masticatory Muscle Myositis causes swelling on the top of the head and eventually leads to the loss of muscles.The dog has trouble moving its jaw, which makes it difficult to pick up food or drink.
Masticatory Muscle Myositis causes the muscles to become fixed so that the dog can't open its mouth.As muscles behind the eye shrink, the eyes may appear sunken.The eyeball is caused by myositis in the muscles around it.There could be swelling around the eye due to the deviation of the eyeball.
An animal with a generalised Myositis has a stiff'stilted' gait, muscle pain, weakness and cannot exercise normally.The muscles are wasted in the early stages of the disease.There are other signs associated with Polymyositis.Rough coated collies, Shetland sheepdogs, Australian cattle dogs have a condition called Dermatomyositis in which skin lesions develop associated with muscle atrophy, pain or abnormal gait.
A sample of muscle tissue can be used to confirm myositis in dogs.The inflammatory cells will be shown.Masticatory Muscle Myositis can be diagnosed with a simple blood test.The presence of a cancer in the body can be ruled out with other tests, such as chest and abdominal X-rays.
The aim of treatment for Myositis in dogs is to suppress the immune system by giving drugs.Steroids are the main treatment.Steroids and other immunosuppressive drugs can be used together.The aim of the treatment is to get the animal back to normal.The quantity of drugs is reduced when the disease is controlled.The long-term aim is to take the animal off any drugs, but usually this is not possible and a continued low dose of medication is needed to keep symptoms at bay.
All drugs can have side-effects.The main risk of using these drugs is that the immune system will be shut down too much, making the dog or the cat more prone to infections.
If cancer is found to be the underlying cause of Myositis, treatment should be directed against it.These cases are rather guarded.
The outlook for dogs with Myositis is usually fair.Even though the disease is well controlled, Corticosteroids can cause muscle wasting and give the impression that the animal is getting worse.When your dog is receiving treatment, your vet will need to keep an eye on it to make sure it is getting better and that the drugs are not causing any serious side effects.
If an underlying cause of Myositis can be identified and successfully treated, it may be possible to withdraw medication without the condition relapsing.
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