Silva et al.; Asteroid Bodies Associated with Granulomatous Meningoencephalitis in a Female Dog. Braz J Vet Pathol, 2014, 7(3), 166 - 169 Brazilian Journal of Veterinary Pathology. www.bjvp.org.br . All rights reserved 2007. 166 Case Report Asteroid Bodies Associated with Granulomatous Meningoencephalitis in a Female Dog Juneo F. Silva 1 , Rogéria Serakides 1 , Matheus V. L. Moreira 1 , Natália M. Ocarino 1* 1 Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias, Escola de Veterinária, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Brazil. * Corresponding Author: Natalia M. Ocarino, Departamento de Clínica e Cirurgia Veterinárias, Escola de Veterinária, UFMG, Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais, Av. Presidente Antônio Carlos, 6627 – CEP: 30.161-970, Belo Horizonte, MG, Brazil. E-mail: nataliaocarino@gmail.com Submitted July 05 th 2014, Accepted August 17 th 2014 Abstract A case of asteroid bodies associated with granulomatous meningoencephalitis is reported in a 4-year-old female dachshund that showed intermittent tremors and blindness. Necropsy revealed leptomeninges moderately hyperemic and from the parietal cortex extending into the temporal and frontal cortex, thalamus and midbrain flattening of the gyri and a grayish and friable focally extensive area. Microscopically intense and extensive perivascular inflammatory infiltrates of lymphocytes, plasma cells, macrophages and giant cells were observed. In the cytoplasm of the giant cells, neuropil stellate structures ranging from 20 to 80 μm in diameter with a central dense and homogenous zone and with amphophilic and vacuolated cytoplasm consistent with asteroid bodies were present. Special staining and transmission electron microscopy permitted the diagnosis of asteroid bodies associated with granulomatous meningoencephalitis. Key words: nervous system, cytoplasmic inclusion, inflammation, dog. Introduction Giant-cell asteroid bodies are stellate acidophilic cytoplasmic inclusions formed during the process of macrophage fusion to become giant cells (9, 14). In humans, asteroid bodies (AB) have been described in association with granulomatous reactions such as sarcoidosis, cryptococcosis, sporotrichosis, lobomucosis, mycobacteriosis, schistosomiasis, foreign body and xanthogranuloma (6, 11, 14). Although granulomatous reactions are frequently identified in veterinary medicine, the occurrence of asteroid bodies is extremely rare, with only one case described in the literature (12). The origin, formation and constitution of AB are controversial, and several theories have been postulated (9, 10). Histologically, AB are characterized by star-shaped intracellular structures (7). The main differential diagnoses for AB are other cytoplasmic inclusions. This report describes a case of asteroid bodies associated with granulomatous meningoencephalitis in a female dog. This paper reports the occurrence of asteroid bodies and their differential diagnosis, but does not aim to characterize their constitution. Case report A 4-year-old female dachshund was submitted for necropsy at the Pathology Department of the Veterinary Hospital at the Escola de Veterinária – UFMG, Brazil. According to the owner, the dog showed intermittent tremors and blindness. Necropsy revealed intensely hyperemic mucous membranes and skeletal muscles. The leptomeninges were moderately hyperemic, and from the parietal cortex extending into the temporal and frontal cortex, thalamus and midbrain were observed flattening of the gyri and a grayish and friable focally extensive area (Fig. 1). The organs of the abdominal and thoracic cavities showed moderate hyperemia. Fragments of the brain,