Department of Clinical Studies-New Bolton Center, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Kennett Square, Pennsylvania, USA.
Department of Pathobiology, University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA.
J Vet Intern Med. 2024 Jan-Feb;38(1):431-439. doi: 10.1111/jvim.16969. Epub 2023 Dec 14.
Adult horses with proprioceptive ataxia and behavior changes that have histologic lesions consistent with neurodegenerative disease have been increasingly recognized.
HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: Describe the history, clinical findings and histopathologic features of horses presented to a referral institution with neuroaxonal degeneration.
One hundred horses with a necropsy diagnosis of neuroaxonal degeneration compatible with neuroaxonal dystrophy/degenerative myeloencephalopathy (eNAD/EDM).
Retrospective study of horses presented to the University of Pennsylvania, New Bolton Center, between 2017 and 2021 with a necropsy diagnosis of eNAD/EDM.
Affected horses had a median age of 8 years (range, 1-22), and the majority were Warmbloods (72). Sixty-eight horses had behavioral changes, and all 100 had proprioceptive ataxia (median grade, 2/5). Fifty-seven horses had abnormal findings on cervical vertebral radiographs, and 14 had myelographic findings consistent with compressive myelopathy. No antemortem diagnostic test results were consistently associated with necropsy diagnosis of neurodegenerative disease. All 100 horses had degenerative lesions characteristic of eNAD in the brainstem gray matter, and 24 had concurrent degenerative features of EDM in the spinal cord white matter.
Clinical and histopathologic findings in this large group of horses with neurodegenerative disease were most consistent with eNAD/EDM, but with a different signalment and clinical presentation from earlier descriptions. The increasing occurrence of neurodegenerative disease in horses and the safety risk posed emphasize the importance of focused research in affected horses.
具有本体感觉共济失调和行为改变的成年马，其组织学病变与神经退行性疾病一致，这种情况越来越受到关注。
假说/目的：描述在转诊机构就诊的具有神经轴突变性的马的病史、临床发现和组织病理学特征。
100 匹具有与神经轴突营养不良/脱髓鞘性脑脊髓病（eNAD/EDM）相符的神经轴突变性尸检诊断的马。
对 2017 年至 2021 年期间在宾夕法尼亚大学新博尔顿中心就诊且具有 eNAD/EDM 尸检诊断的马进行回顾性研究。
受影响的马的中位年龄为 8 岁（范围，1-22 岁），大多数为温血马（72 匹）。68 匹马出现行为改变，所有 100 匹马均有本体感觉共济失调（中位数为 2/5）。57 匹马的颈椎 X 线片有异常发现，14 匹马的脊髓造影结果符合压迫性脊髓病。没有任何生前诊断测试结果与神经退行性疾病的尸检诊断一致。所有 100 匹马的脑干灰质均有 eNAD 的退行性病变特征，24 匹马的脊髓白质同时有 EDM 的退行性病变特征。
患有神经退行性疾病的这一大组马的临床和组织病理学发现最符合 eNAD/EDM，但与早期描述的神经退行性疾病在马中的发生情况和临床表现不同。神经退行性疾病在马中的发生率不断增加，以及由此带来的安全风险，强调了对受影响的马进行重点研究的重要性。
