Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Stringhalt in horses: a distal axonopathy.
- Journal:
- Neuropathology and applied neurobiology
- Year:
- 1986
- Authors:
- Cahill, J I et al.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A study looked at a horse with stringhalt, a condition that affects movement. They found that the horse's nerves were damaged, particularly the long nerve that controls the voice box, which was the most affected. The damage was worse in the nerves further away from the body, like those in the legs, and this also caused muscle weakness in those areas. Importantly, the brain and spinal cord were not damaged. The researchers concluded that stringhalt is a type of nerve disease that affects the ends of the nerves.
Abstract
A detailed investigation of the neuropathology of a horse affected with stringhalt was performed. Qualitative and quantitative light and electron microscopy, and single teased fibre preparations of peripheral nerve demonstrated predominantly axonal degeneration, the stage of which was appropriate for the duration of clinical signs. There was selective involvement of large myelinated nerve fibres. A proximal to distal increase in the severity of pathological changes was present in the peripheral nerves. The long left recurrent laryngeal nerve was the most severely affected, followed in order by its right counterpart, the hindlimb and forelimb nerves. Neurogenic atrophy of muscles innervated by affected peripheral nerves also showed a distally graded increase in severity. No lesions were observed in the central nervous system. It was concluded that this disease should be classified as a distal axonopathy.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3024050/