Equine neuro

behaviour and mentation
head posture
nasal septum sensation
head symmetry and muscle mass
tongue tone
eye movement
symmetry of eyes when head up
menace
PLR and swing test
palpebral reflex
slap test
local cervical reflex
cutaneous trunci reflex
anal sensation and reflex
tail pull
gait: lines circles, zig zag, walking down slope with head up

behaviour change
seizures
obtundation/coma/sleep disorders
abnormal head posture
visual disturbance
facial and nasal hypalgesia

lack of recognition
compulsive walking
circling
head pressing
biting inanimate objects
leaving food in mouth
odd postures

beginning can be focal - e.g. just affecting face and then become generalised. post ictal phase may have temporary blindness that can last for minutes or days

jaw champing
tachypnoea
facial muscle tremors
jerky head

brain abscess
parasite infection
trauma
vestibular disease
temporohyoid osteoarthropathy

first 1-2 weeks of life

thalamus
itnernal capsule
sensory parietal lobe

if V lesion will get facial hypalgesia and loss of VII (palpebral)

head trauma
intra carotid injection
septicaemia-meningitis
brain abscess
fungal encephalitis
helminth and fly larvae
sarcocystis neurona
viral infection
HE
neonatal hypoxia/maladjustment syndrome
leuconcephalomalacia
cholesterol granuloma
idiopathic seizures in foals
narcolepsy/cataplexy

polyneuritis equie
facial nerve trauma
fracture of petrous temporal bone/temporohyoid osteoarthropathy
guttural pouch mycosis

vesitublar

prognosis poor if non water soluble (oil based) product used

seizure
recumbent
ataxic
circle/blind/nasal hypalgesia towards opposite side of injection

failure of passive transfer, gram negative infections: get diffuse signs

CSF cloudy with low glucose

strangles

those that are immunocompromised

asymmetric and acute signs - neutro and eo in CSF

larvicidal anthelmintic and steroids

WNV, herpes, rabies

hepatoencephalopathy
- saecio jacoba
-B. piliformis
-mycotoxicosis
-PV shunt
-cholangiohepatitis
-ragwort toxicity

commonly in TB that are born rapidly = dummy barker

treat with immune transfer!

= toxic foreign body necrosis due to fuicesium mycotoxicosis found in mouldy field

cholesterol granuloma

Arabs,
self limiting: associated with pneumonia

treat with phenobarb for a few months if it injures itself

it is idiopathic and referred to as hypersomnia in adults: pogressive over moths to years

get physiological form if restraining neonates too firmly

need to rule out sleep depprevation

horses fall to goround with no struggle - loss of tone except of respiratory and facial muscles

Suffolks, shetland, fell and shire ponies.

treat with imipramine HCl

drug of choice for narcolepsy/cataplexy

polyneuritis equie
facial n trauma
fracture of petrous temporal bone/temporohyoid OA
GP mycosis

= chronic granulomatous inflammation of extradural nerve roots of many peripheral nerves: progressive disease so may need to euthanase

often present with VII and VIII signs

DDX sacral trauma (more likely)

if decide to prolong life do so with urinary catheterisation, treating UTI with ABS and by evacuating rectum

ataxia and paresis

muscle trembling
buckling at turn
can pull patient to a side when standing/moving
buckle when hold I FL and push laterally (hop test)

dragging of toe
low foot flight
stumbling especially at turn

serpentive maneouvre
circle wide and tight
elevate head when walking on flat and sloping surface
back up and turn tight after trot
- alter visual, gravitational, vestibular, and proprioceptive inputs to nervous system: motor and sensory deficit made clear

tend to see hypo or hypermetria

ataxia of all limbs/tetraplegia
normal or exaggerated tone
hypalgesia or hyporeflexia of neck
slep test depressed
normal or exaggerated pelvic limb reflex and tone
hyp/analgesia caudal to cranial edge of lesion
if C6 to T2 decrease tone of thoracic limbs: depressed reflexes and tone with atrophy

thoracic limbs normal
PL ataxia and paraparesis
hypalgesia/analgesia caudal to lesion
normal or exaggerated HL reflexes
normal tail and anal tone

thoracic limbs normal
Hl ataxia and prominent paresis/plegia
atrophy of quads and glutes
hypalgesia and analgesia cranial to edge of lesion
depressed reflexes

only subtle HL gait abnormality
decreased or absent tail and anal reflexes and tone
hypalgesia to analgesia over perineum
coccygeal muscle atrophy
urine and faecal retention

cervical vertebral malformation
SC trauma
EHV-1 myeloencephalopathy
equine protozoal myeloencephalities
WNV
equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy
occipito-atlanto-axial malformation
vertebral osteomyelitis
vertebral discospondylosis
verminous myelitis
neoplasia
cerebellar hypoplasia
cauda equina syndrome
ryegrass staggers
temporohyoid osteoarthropathy

Tbs and WBs, males over-represented
usually get dorsoventral compression but transverse compression also possible

1) osteochondral disease
2) severe osteoarthritis

kyphotic angular deformity between C2-3, C3-4, C4-5 and ventral positioning of pedicles and articular processes --> astricular processes level with lateral aspects of SC

blanching od dye column
widening of saggittal shadow of spinal cord
sometimes 2 dorsal borders of dye column
asymmetric compression!

if values are less than 50%

treat young with only 1 lesion

confine to stall first and treat with anti-inflammatories to decreases damage to cord

MODIFIED CLOWARD TECHNIQUE: fuse adjactent vertebra: drill out physes and IV disk and insert stainless steel basket filled with autologous cancellous bone

rest
steroids
DMSO
mannitol

usually get outbreak of sudden ataxia - a previous abortion or respiratory disease storm may have been present earlier.

get HL and urinary incontinence - prognosis poor if recumbency

CSF zanthochromia and increased total protein: histo brain and SC infarcts

may be worth to treat with steroids for a few days but 90% MORTALITY

sarcocystis neurona - asexual stage

focal SC signs most common but get huge variation!

WB for antibodies and PCR for neurona DNA in serum or CSF (only rule out disease)

treat with anti-folate drugs, TMPS, diclazuril, toltrazuril, etc

SC disease and muscle fasciculations

IgM ELISA diagnoses

Vx 2x/year

seen in 3mo-2yo

due to low vitamin E as no access to green forage: vitamin E

get symmetric paresis and ataxia

arabs

septic foci elsewhere e.g. R. equi, strangles, salmonella enteritis

trauma --> haemorrhage, necrosis of bone and fibrocartilage and granulomatous aseptic inflammation

asymmetric ataxia and weakness

ataxia
head tremor
no menace

neotyphidium lolii: mycotoxicosis --> spino, cerebellar and vestibular ataxia and tremor

fracture of S2: palpate recatalla
polyneuritis equi
- immune mediated granulomatous inflammation witha dhesions of spinal roots: sacral and sometimes lumbar

involves temporal bone, temporohyoid joint and hyoid bone

fracture of temporal bone/stylohyoid from tongue movement or bit induced: bony proliferation damages VII and VII
- head shake
- dysphagia
- vestibular signs

DX: big stylohyoid on endo/rad

TX: partial unilateral stylohyoidectomy (decrease progression and risk of temporal fracture)

return to athletic function guarded if VIII signs

no masseter muscle
no gluetal muscle
cervicothoracic intumescence with atrophy and paresis
thoracolumbar region solely affected

6 months