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- Breakthrough Canine Brain Imaging: 3T MR Spectroscopy Reveals Gliomatosis Cerebri Markers
Breakthrough Canine Brain Imaging: 3T MR Spectroscopy Reveals Gliomatosis Cerebri Markers
JVIM 2025
Obi Veterinary Education
November 11, 2025
Péter Sebestyén, Chris Staudinger, Robert Herzig, Anna Oevermann, Lorenzo Golini, Niklaus Zölch, Katrin Beckmann
Background
Gliomatosis cerebri (GC) is a rare, diffusely infiltrating glial tumor involving multiple brain lobes and often posing diagnostic challenges without histopathology. In humans, proton magnetic resonance spectroscopy (^1H-MRS) of GC typically shows elevated myo-inositol (mI) and reduced N-acetyl-aspartate (NAA) relative to creatine (Cr). However, these metabolic patterns had not been documented in dogs at 3 Tesla (3 T). The study aimed to describe MRI and ^1H-MRS findings in a canine case of GC and compare them to reference data from healthy dogs and similar encephalopathies.
Methods
A 12-year-old female West Highland White Terrier with progressive encephalopathy underwent neurological evaluation and 3 T MRI, including T1-, T2-weighted, FLAIR, DWI, and susceptibility-weighted sequences. Single-voxel ^1H-MRS was performed using a point-resolved spectroscopy (PRESS) protocol in the left parietal lobe (TE = 30.5 ms). Metabolite ratios were analyzed with LCModel software and compared against healthy control data. Diagnosis was confirmed via stereotactic brain biopsy and histopathology.
Results
MRI revealed diffuse, bilateral, ill-defined, T2W/FLAIR-hyperintense, and T1W-isointense white matter lesions without contrast enhancement, consistent with infiltrative disease. ^1H-MRS demonstrated markedly elevated mI (approximately twice the control range) and significantly decreased NAA relative to both Cr and water, with additional reductions in glutamate + glutamine and elevations in glucose. Histopathology identified a diffuse anaplastic astrocytoma (WHO grade III) exhibiting a gliomatosis cerebri growth pattern. These findings paralleled ^1H-MRS features described in human GC.
Limitations
Only a single canine case was studied, and postmortem confirmation of diffuse brain involvement was unavailable. Metabolite comparison between parietal and thalamic regions may introduce minor variability, although prior data indicate minimal regional differences. The results may not represent the full spectrum of ^1H-MRS findings in canine GC.
Conclusions
Increased myo-inositol and decreased NAA concentrations in ^1H-MRS spectra at 3 T may support a diagnosis of gliomatosis cerebri in dogs, especially when histopathology is unavailable. These metabolic biomarkers enhance diagnostic confidence, inform biopsy targeting, and may facilitate treatment monitoring in veterinary neuro-oncology.
Transverse T2-weighted (T2W); (A), fluid-attenuated inversion recovery (FLAIR) (B), sagittal T2W (C) sequences, transverse T1-weighted (T1W) sequence before (D) and after (E) contrast medium administration, diffusion-weighted imaging (DWI) (D), and apparent diffusion coefficient (ADC) map (E). The white line in (C) indicates the location of the other transverse planes. Bilaterally, the white matter is diffusely T2W- (A, C), FLAIR- (B) hyperintense, and T1W- (D) iso- to hypointense, without contrast enhancement (E) of the lesion. No discrete mass is discernible. Flattened gyri and sulci are visible in the transverse views, caudal transtentorial and foramen magnum herniation in the sagittal plane. There is no evidence of a restrictive diffusion pattern.
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