Introduction

• May overlap with polyarteritis nodosa Polyarteritis nodosa and polyarthritis of Japanese Akita.
• Steroid responsive meningitis arteritis (SRMA Steroid-responsive meningitis-arteritis (SRMA) ) is currently the most widely accepted term.
• Cause: immune-mediated disease.
• Signs: stiffness, depression.
• Diagnosis: hematology, serology, CSF analysis.
• Treatment: immunosuppressive therapy.
• Prognosis: fair.

Pathogenesis

Pathophysiology

• Thought to be immunological mechanism due to response to glucocorticoid therapy.
• Pedigree analysis of affected Akitas suggests that the disease is inherited.
• Activated T cells, implying exposure to a previous or existing antigen, have sometimes been found. This suggests that dogs with this condition may have been exposed to an exogenous infectious or non-infectious agent or to an endogenous antigen.
• Affected dogs tend to produce high concentrations of intrathecal IgA and high serum IgA. These findings suggest that IgA plays an important role in the pathogenesis.

Timecourse

• Usually fairly acute onset (days to weeks).
• Disease usually cyclic with periods of remission.

Diagnosis

Treatment

Outcomes