Dm (cdrm)

Mention DM to anyone who has ever owned a German Shepherd and they will all know immediately what you are referring to. DM is a terrible, progressive condition which will ultimately lead to the euthanasia of the dog because it has become paralysed at the back end and can become doubly incontinent, although it's usually the bowels that they lose control of rather than the bladder. The brain remains alerted and the front end remains normal, so watching your poor dog trying to drag itself around on its front limbs is heartbreaking, which makes the decision to put to sleep even harder. Some owners do resort to doggie wheels and many dogs do very well on these, although it takes a great commitment from the owner.A post mortem will show demyelination (loss of the insulating sheath) of the spinal cord, destruction of some large axons (nerve cells leading from the cord to smaller branch nerves), and abnormal cells (or certain cells in abnormal locations). The fact that similar signs may be see...

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