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Willis AT, Dahlgren AR, Woolard KD, Ghosh S, Donnelly CG, de la Concha‐Bermejillo A, Pacheco A, Watson KD, Berryhill E, Aleman M, Wensley F, Humphreys S, Whitehead AE, Goldsmith D, Chesen B, Ragsdale J, Tompkins JE, Nash R, Plunkett AH, Qualls HJ, Rodriguez K, Hochanadel D, Miller AD, Finno CJ. Clinicopathological and pedigree investigation of a novel spinocerebellar neurological disease in juvenile Quarter Horses in North America. J Vet Intern Med 2024; 38:1808-1814. [PMID: 38669583 PMCID: PMC11099776 DOI: 10.1111/jvim.17049] [Citation(s) in RCA: 0] [Impact Index Per Article: 0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [MESH Headings] [Grants] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Received: 12/12/2023] [Accepted: 03/08/2024] [Indexed: 04/28/2024] Open
Abstract
BACKGROUND In 2020, a novel neurologic disease was observed in juvenile Quarter Horses (QHs) in North America. It was unknown if this was an aberrant manifestation of another previously described neurological disorder in foals, such as equine neuroaxonal dystrophy/equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy (eNAD/EDM). HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES To describe the clinical findings, outcomes, and postmortem changes with Equine Juvenile Spinocerebellar Ataxia (EJSCA), differentiate the disease from other similar neurological disorders, and determine a mode of inheritance. ANIMALS Twelve neurologically affected QH foals and the dams. METHODS Genomic DNA was isolated and pedigrees were manually constructed. RESULTS All foals (n = 12/12) had a history of acute onset of neurological deficits with no history of trauma. Neurological deficits were characterized by asymmetrical spinal ataxia, with pelvic limbs more severely affected than thoracic limbs. Clinicopathological abnormalities included high serum activity of gamma-glutamyl transferase and hyperglycemia. All foals became recumbent (median, 3 days: [0-18 days]), which necessitated humane euthanasia (n = 11/12, 92%; the remaining case was found dead). Histological evaluation at postmortem revealed dilated myelin sheaths and digestion chambers within the spinal cord, most prominently in the dorsal spinocerebellar tracts. Pedigree analysis revealed a likely autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE EJSCA is a uniformly fatal, rapidly progressive, likely autosomal recessive neurological disease of QHs <1 month of age in North America that is etiologically distinct from other clinically similar neurological disorders. Once the causative variant for EJSCA is validated, carriers can be identified through genetic testing to inform breeding decisions.
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Affiliation(s)
| | - Anna R. Dahlgren
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of California DavisDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | - Kevin D. Woolard
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, School of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of CaliforniaDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | - Sharmila Ghosh
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of California DavisDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | - Callum G. Donnelly
- Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary MedicineCornell UniversityIthacaNew YorkUSA
| | | | - Ana Pacheco
- Carlson College of Veterinary MedicineOregon State UniversityCorvallisOregonUSA
| | - Katherine D. Watson
- California Animal Health and Food Safety Lab, School of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of California DavisDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | - Emily Berryhill
- Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of California DavisDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | - Monica Aleman
- Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of California DavisDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | - Fiona Wensley
- Department of Medicine and Epidemiology, School of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of California DavisDavisCaliforniaUSA
| | | | | | - Dayna Goldsmith
- Diagnostic Services UnitUniversity of Calgary, Faculty of Veterinary MedicineCalgaryAlbertaCanada
| | | | - John Ragsdale
- New Mexico Department of AgricultureVeterinary Diagnostic ServicesAlbuquerqueNew MexicoUSA
| | | | - Ron Nash
- Ronald Nash, DVMMagnoliaArkansasUSA
| | | | | | | | | | - Andrew D. Miller
- Department of Population Medicine and Diagnostic Sciences, Section of Anatomic PathologyCornell University College of Veterinary MedicineIthacaNew YorkUSA
| | - Carrie J. Finno
- Department of Population Health and Reproduction, School of Veterinary MedicineUniversity of California DavisDavisCaliforniaUSA
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Abstract
In food animals, spinal cord damage is most commonly associated with infection or trauma. Antemortem diagnosis is based on clinical signs, history, cerebrospinal fluid analysis, and imaging. As clinical signs are often severe, and prognosis is grave, necropsy may provide a postmortem diagnosis. Peripheral nerve abnormalities are most often the result of trauma. Calving paralysis or paresis is the most common condition affecting the sciatic or obturator nerve and often concurrently involves the peroneal branch of the sciatic. Damage to peripheral nerves is often transient and resolves within a few days as long as the nerve is not severed.
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Wen J, Sun D, Tan J, Young W. A consistent, quantifiable, and graded rat lumbosacral spinal cord injury model. J Neurotrauma 2015; 32:875-92. [PMID: 25313633 PMCID: PMC4492780 DOI: 10.1089/neu.2013.3321] [Citation(s) in RCA: 21] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Key Words] [Track Full Text] [Download PDF] [Figures] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 12/31/2022] Open
Abstract
The purpose of this study is to develop a rat lumbosacral spinal cord injury (SCI) model that causes consistent motoneuronal loss and behavior deficits. Most SCI models focus on the thoracic or cervical spinal cord. Lumbosacral SCI accounts for about one third of human SCI but no standardized lumbosacral model is available for evaluating therapies. Twenty-six adult female Sprague-Dawley rats were randomized to three groups: sham (n=9), 25 mm (n=8), and 50 mm (n=9). Sham rats had laminectomy only, while 25 mm and 50 mm rats were injured by dropping a 10 g rod from a height of 25 mm or 50 mm, respectively, onto the L4-5 spinal cord at the T13/L1 vertebral junction. We measured footprint length (FL), toe spreading (TS), intermediate toe spreading (ITS), and sciatic function index (SFI) from walking footprints, and static toe spreading (STS), static intermediate toe spreading (SITS), and static sciatic index (SSI) from standing footprints. At six weeks, we assessed neuronal and white matter loss, quantified axons, diameter, and myelin thickness in the peroneal and tibial nerves, and measured cross-sectional areas of tibialis anterior and gastrocnemius muscle fibers. The result shows that peroneal and tibial motoneurons were respectively distributed in 4.71 mm and 5.01 mm columns in the spinal cord. Dropping a 10-g weight from 25 mm or 50 mm caused 1.5 mm or 3.75 mm gaps in peroneal and tibial motoneuronal columns, respectively, and increased spinal cord white matter loss. Fifty millimeter contusions significantly increased FL and reduced TS, ITS, STS, SITS, SFI, and SSI more than 25 mm contusions, and resulted in smaller axon and myelinated axon diameters in tibial and peroneal nerves and greater atrophy of gastrocnemius and anterior tibialis muscles, than 25 mm contusions. This model of lumbosacral SCI produces consistent and graded loss of white matter, motoneuronal loss, peripheral nerve axonal changes, and anterior tibialis and gastrocnemius muscles atrophy in rats.
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Affiliation(s)
- Junxiang Wen
- 1 Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey , Piscataway, New Jersey.,2 Department of Orthopaedics, Tongji University School of Medicine , Shanghai, China
| | - Dongming Sun
- 1 Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey , Piscataway, New Jersey
| | - Jun Tan
- 2 Department of Orthopaedics, Tongji University School of Medicine , Shanghai, China
| | - Wise Young
- 1 Department of Cell Biology and Neuroscience, Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey , Piscataway, New Jersey
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Windsor P, Kessell A, Finnie J. Neurological diseases of ruminant livestock in Australia. V: congenital neurogenetic disorders of cattle. Aust Vet J 2011; 89:394-401. [PMID: 21933167 DOI: 10.1111/j.1751-0813.2011.00826.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 14] [Impact Index Per Article: 1.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022]
Abstract
As part of a series on neurological disorders in ruminant livestock in Australia, this review focuses on the congenital neurogenic disorders of cattle. The genetic pressures that contribute to the emergence of congenital neurogenic disorders, as well as the methods of diagnosis, are discussed. Disorders reviewed are ordered by breed and include arthrogryposis multiplex, fawn calf syndrome, inherited congenital myoclonus and maple syrup urine disease.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pa Windsor
- University of Sydney, New South Wales, Australia.
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Syring C, Drögemüller C, Oevermann A, Pfister P, Henke D, Müller S, Sölkner J, Leeb T, Meylan M. Degenerative axonopathy in a Tyrolean grey calf. J Vet Intern Med 2010; 24:1519-23. [PMID: 21039865 DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2010.0607.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.3] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/29/2022] Open
Affiliation(s)
- C Syring
- Clinic for Ruminants, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Berne, Berne, Switzerland
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6
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Abstract
Inherited disorders are of major importance in Holstein-Friesian cattle, a breed that now dominates the global dairy industry. Recent developments in the breed reflect intensive selection programs for production traits, identifying elite sires whose genotypes are rapidly spread worldwide through the use of breeding programs involving advanced reproductive technologies. These elite sires carry mutations responsible for disease. Consequently, the mating of descendants of an elite sire (as with any sire) substantially increases the risk of producing defective progeny. The important inherited disorder citrullinaemia was disseminated globally in the 1970s and first reported in Australian Holstein-Friesians. However, a range of inherited disorders more recently recognised internationally in this breed have remained unreported in Australia, although recent genotyping studies suggest they have probably occurred. A survey of these disorders suggests a decline in surveillance for such diseases in Australia. Clinical and pathological descriptions are presented to enable practitioners and producers to recognise and report these disorders, and a proposal is advanced to establish a health program to manage this issue.
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Affiliation(s)
- Pa Windsor
- Faculty of Veterinary Science, University of Sydney, PMB 3, Camden, New South Wales 2570, Australia.
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Sisó S, Hanzlícek D, Fluehmann G, Kathmann I, Tomek A, Papa V, Vandevelde M. Neurodegenerative diseases in domestic animals: A comparative review. Vet J 2006; 171:20-38. [PMID: 16427580 DOI: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2004.08.015] [Citation(s) in RCA: 39] [Impact Index Per Article: 2.2] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Accepted: 08/15/2004] [Indexed: 12/11/2022]
Abstract
Neurodegenerative diseases are characterised by selective damage to specific neurons in the nervous system. Interest in such diseases in humans has resulted in considerable progress in the molecular understanding of these disorders in recent decades. Numerous neurodegenerative diseases have also been described in domestic animals but relatively little molecular work has been reported. In the present review, we have classified neurodegenerative disease according to neuroanatomical criteria. We have established two large groups, based on whether the neuronal cell body or its axon was primarily affected. Conditions such as motor neuron diseases, cerebellar degenerations and neuroaxonal dystrophies are discussed in terms of their clinical and neuropathological features. In the most studied disorders, we also present what is known about underlying pathomechanisms, and compare them with their human counterparts. The purpose of this review is to re-kindle interest in this group of diseases and to encourage veterinary researchers to investigate molecular mechanisms by taking advantage of current diagnostic tools.
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Affiliation(s)
- S Sisó
- Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, NeuroCentre, University of Berne, Bremgartenstrasse 109 a, 3001 Berne, Switzerland. silva.siso@itn
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Washburn KE, Streeter RN. Congenital defects of the ruminant nervous system. Vet Clin North Am Food Anim Pract 2004; 20:413-34, viii. [PMID: 15203233 DOI: 10.1016/j.cvfa.2004.02.005] [Citation(s) in RCA: 11] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/27/2022] Open
Abstract
Abnormalities of the nervous system are common occurrences among congenital defects and have been reported in most ruminant species. From a clinical standpoint, the signs of such defects create difficulty in arriving at an antemortem etiology through historical and physical examination alone. By first localizing clinical signs to their point of origin in the nervous system, however, a narrower differential list can be generated so that the clinician can pursue a definitive diagnosis. This article categorizes defects of the ruminant nervous system by location of salient clinical signs into dysfunction of one of more of the following regions: cerebrum, cerebellum,and spinal cord. A brief review of some of the more recognized etiologies of these defects is also provided. It is important to make every attempt to determine the cause of nervous system defects because of the impact that an inherited condition would have on a breeding program and for prevention of defects caused by infectious or toxic teratogen exposure.
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Affiliation(s)
- Kevin E Washburn
- Food Animal Medicine and Surgery, Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine, BVMTH, Farm Road, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
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Borges AS, Mendes LCN, Luvizotto MCR, Summers B, de Lahunta A. Myelopathy in Holstein x Gir calves in Brazil. J Vet Intern Med 2003; 17:730-1. [PMID: 14529145 DOI: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.2003.tb02510.x] [Citation(s) in RCA: 1] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.0] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/30/2022] Open
Abstract
This case report contains clinical and pathologic features of a degenerative myelopathy in Holstein X Gir crossbred calves in Brazil. The bilateral and symmetrical spinal cord white matter lesions were interpreted as a primary axonopathy that may be of the dying-back type.
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Affiliation(s)
- Alexandre Secorun Borges
- Universidade Estadual Paulista, Faculdade de Medicina Veterinária, Departamento de Clínica Veterinária, Botucatu, SP, Brazil.
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Panciera RJ, Washburn KE, Streeter RN, Kirkpatrick JG. A familial peripheral neuropathy and glomerulopathy in Gelbvieh calves. Vet Pathol 2003; 40:63-70. [PMID: 12627714 DOI: 10.1354/vp.40-1-63] [Citation(s) in RCA: 13] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.6] [Reference Citation Analysis] [Abstract] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 11/19/2022]
Abstract
Nine Gelbvieh calves originating in four herds and clinically presenting with rear limb ataxia/paresis had histopathologically confirmed peripheral neuropathy and a proliferative glomerulopathy. Degenerative lesions were severe in peripheral nerves, dorsal and ventral spinal nerve roots, and less marked in dorsal fasciculi of the spinal cord. Cell bodies of spinal ganglia were minimally diseased; ventral horn neurons occasionally had central chromatolysis and nuclear displacement. Glomerular lesions ranged from mild mesangial hypercellularity to glomerulosclerosis. Pedigree analysis of affected animals from one herd indicated a strong familial relationship and probable hereditary basis for the syndrome.
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Affiliation(s)
- R J Panciera
- Department of Veterinary Pathobiology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, OK 74078, USA.
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Kwiecien JM, Staempfli HR, Lach B, Mok T, Runstedler M. Congenital axonopathy in a brown Swiss calf. Vet Pathol 1995; 32:72-5. [PMID: 7725602 DOI: 10.1177/030098589503200113] [Citation(s) in RCA: 4] [Impact Index Per Article: 0.1] [Reference Citation Analysis] [MESH Headings] [Track Full Text] [Journal Information] [Subscribe] [Scholar Register] [Indexed: 01/26/2023]
Affiliation(s)
- J M Kwiecien
- Department of Clinical Studies, Ontario Veterinary College, University of Guelph, Canada
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