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Topic:Paralysis
Paralysis in horses refers to the loss of voluntary muscle function, which can result from a variety of neurological or musculoskeletal conditions. It can affect different parts of the horse's body and may be partial or complete. Causes of paralysis in horses include traumatic injuries, neurological disorders, infections, and toxicities. Common conditions associated with equine paralysis include equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), cervical vertebral stenotic myelopathy (CVSM), and botulism. Diagnosis and management of paralysis in horses require comprehensive veterinary evaluation, including neurological examinations and diagnostic imaging. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the causes, diagnostic approaches, and treatment options for paralysis in horses.
Temporary bilateral laryngeal paralysis in a horse associated with general anaesthesia and post anaesthetic myositis. An eight-year-old Highland pony which had previously shown normal laryngeal function, underwent general anaesthesia for surgical treatment of a mandibular sinus. During its recovery from the anaesthesia, the pony suffered great respiratory distress and stridor, due to total bilateral laryngeal paralysis and pulmonary oedema. The animal was immediately given a temporary tracheostomy. Some hours later, postoperative myositis developed; it resolved within two days and the pony's laryngeal function returned to normal during the following year.
Poliomyelomalacia and ganglioneuritis in a horse with paralytic rabies. No abstract available
An immunohistological study of the uterus of mares following experimental infection by equid herpesvirus 1. Twelve Welsh Mountain pony mares in late gestation were infected intranasally with EHV-1 (AB4 isolate) at dose rates from 10(3) to 10(7.3) TCID50. This resulted in 3 cases of paresis, at Days 9, 10 and 12 after inoculation, and 5 abortions, at Days 6, 9, 18, 19 and 20. Euthanasia was performed between Days 6 and 21, with collection of uterine specimens for histopathology, virus isolation and immunoperoxidase staining from the pregnant horn, non-pregnant horn and body. EHV-1 replication in endometrial vessels was detected as early as Day 6 and was maximal at Days 9-11, when widespread thrombois...
Partial arytenoidectomy in the horse using an extralaryngeal approach. An extralaryngeal approach to partial arytenoidectomy in the horse was developed by in vitro experiments on isolated larynges and then on intact equine cadavers. The goals of the approach were to preserve the laryngeal mucosa, eliminate the need for a laryngotomy or tracheotomy, and minimize postoperative complications. The new approach was evaluated in seven horses with normal upper respiratory tracts. Left laryngeal hemiplegia was surgically created, and, after a 30-day convalescence, left partial arytenoidectomy was performed using an extralaryngeal approach. The left-to-right hemilaryngeal...
Periodic paralysis in quarter horses: a sodium channel mutation disseminated by selective breeding. We recently reported on a linkage study within a Quarter Horse lineage segregating hyperkalaemic periodic paralysis (HYPP), an autosomal dominant condition showing potassium-induced attacks of skeletal muscle paralysis. HYPP co-segregated with the equine adult skeletal muscle sodium channel alpha subunit gene, the same gene that causes human HYPP. We now describe the Phe to Leu mutation in transmembrane domain IVS3 which courses the horse disease. This represents the first application of molecular genetics to an important horse disease, and the data will provide an opportunity for control or e...
Clinical and biochemistry findings, and parathyroid hormone concentrations in three horses with secondary hyperparathyroidism. Three cases of horses with nutritional secondary hyperparathyroidism (NSH) are described. The horses showed typical thickening of the maxillae and mandibular bones with or without lameness. Laboratory findings included elevated concentrations of parathyroid hormone (carboxy-terminal and mid-molecule fractions), alkaline phosphatase and an increase in the fractional excretion rate of serum inorganic phosphorus.
Effects of phenytoin in two myotonic horses with hyperkalemic periodic paralysis. The effects of phenytoin treatment were evaluated in 2 myotonic horses with hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HPP). Phenytoin treatment abolished the clinical signs of muscle fasciculations following oral potassium challenge and decreased or abolished repetitive firing and myotonic discharges found on electromyographic examination. In both horses, an abnormally low threshold for calcium-induced calcium release was measured in heavy sarcoplasmic reticulum fractions from skeletal muscle, and this threshold increased with phenytoin treatment. Results suggest phenytoin is useful in modifying disord...
Respiratory stridor associated with polymyopathy suspected to be hyperkalemic periodic paralysis in four quarter horse foals. Four Quarter Horse foals ranging in age from 6 days to 2 months were determined to have upper airway stridor secondary to polymyopathy suspected to be hyperkalemic periodic paralysis. Electromyography revealed spontaneous muscle activity in all muscles examined. Electromyographic findings were similar in the dams of 3 foals (No. 1, 3 and 4). Hyperkalemia was found in foals 1 and 4. Endoscopically, the upper airway stridor in foals 1 and 3 was confirmed to be attributable to laryngeal and pharyngeal collapse or spasm. Foals 1, 2, and 3 were treated with acetazolamide. Foal 4 was not treated, at...
Horner’s syndrome in ten horses. Ten cases of equine Horner's syndrome were reviewed. None of the clinical signs in this series were transient (<48 hours). Sweating and ptosis were consistently observed by the attending clinician in over half of the affected horses. Enophthalmos and prolapse of the third eyelid were not reported consistently. The average duration of the clinical signs was 4.94 months and ranged from 14 days to 15 months. Eight of the ten horses developed associated complications, some of which affected performance. Airway obstruction and impedance of passage of a fiberoptic endoscope due to nasal mucosal e...
Determination of sensitivity to metocurine in exercised horses. On the basis of results in dogs, conditioning exercise may increase sensitivity to nondepolarizing muscle relaxants. Five Thoroughbreds were exercised/conditioned 3 times weekly on a treadmill for 8 months. Increasing maximal rate of O2 consumption verified that the horses were responding to exercise conditioning. Six nonexercised Thoroughbreds served as the control group. Studies were done with horses under general anesthesia by use of halothane during partial paralysis by a brief constant-rate infusion with the muscle relaxant, metocurine iodide. Quantification of degree of paralysis of the ...
Rabies in horses: 21 cases (1970-1990). The records of 21 horses with rabies were reviewed. Results of fluorescent antibody testing for rabies antigen in brain tissue were positive in each case. According to the histories, 5 of the horses had been vaccinated for rabies between 4 to 24 months prior to the onset of the clinical signs. Bite wounds were not observed on any of the horses, and exposure to a suspected rabid animal was witnessed in only 5 cases. Clinical signs of disease at the time of initial examination included ataxia and paresis of the hindquarters (9/21, 43%), lameness (5/21, 24%), recumbency (3/21, 14%), pharyngeal pa...
Histologic evaluation of nerve muscle pedicle graft used as a treatment for left laryngeal hemiplegia in standardbreds. A nerve muscle pedicle (NMP) graft was placed in the cricoarytenoideus dorsalis (CAD) muscle of 6 horses with induced left laryngeal hemiplegia. The NMP graft was created by use of the first cervical nerve and omohyoideus muscle. In 1 horse (control), the first cervical nerve was transected after placement of the NMP graft. One year after the surgical procedure, horses were examined endoscopically and then anesthetized. While the larynx was observed endoscopically, the first cervical nerve was stimulated. Horses were subsequently euthanatized, and the larynx was harvested. Prior to anesthesia,...
Familial incidence of hyperkalemic periodic paralysis in quarter horses. The pedigrees of 17 horses with hyperkalemic paralysis were studied. All were first-, second-, or third-generation offspring of a common sire, 16 were registered Quarter Horses. Analysis indicated that it was unlikely that the concentration of hyperkalemic periodic paralysis in the offspring of this sire was attributable to chance. The familial nature of this condition should help veterinarians diagnostically. It also suggests that it is possible to reduce the incidence of this condition by breeding from non-affected lines of horses and reinforces the need for studies to determine whether the ...
Paralaryngeal accessory bronchial cyst as a cause of laryngeal haemiplegia in a horse. LARYNGEAL haemiplegia is common in horses and most often
involves the left haemilarynx (Baker 1983; Haynes 1984).
Although specific processes have been incriminated in the
pathogenesis of laryngeal haemiplegia, most cases involve an
idiopathic distal axonopathy of the recurrent laryngeal nerve. The
purpose of this report is to describe a case of laryngeal
haemiplegia associated with an anomalous respiratory cyst. A
description of the lesion, method of surgical repair of the
laryngeal collapse and a proposed term to describe the
abnormality based on pathological and functional consider...
Inheritance of myotonic discharges in American quarter horses and the relationship to hyperkalemic periodic paralysis. Electromyography (EMG) was used to detect myotonic discharges in Quarter Horse breeding stock and to follow the results of mating horses with hyperkalemic periodic paralysis (HPP). The studies were performed on two brood mare farms. A total of six breeding stock showed myotonic discharges and 15 were nonmyotonic. Myotonic discharges were seen in five of six horses belonging to the blood line previously implicated as being predisposed to HPP. Two of these horses had shown clinical signs of HPP. Only one of 15 breeding horses unrelated to the HPP predisposed blood line showed myotonic discharges...
Attempted reinnervation of the equine larynx using a muscle pedicle graft. Laryngeal hemiplegia was induced in 4 ponies via a left recurrent laryngeal neurectomy. Reinnervation of the denervated left cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle was then attempted using a muscle pedicle graft from the right cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle. In 3 ponies there was no return of abductor function and failure of graft survival. In the fourth pony there was return of abductor function along with survival of the muscle bridge, however, there was evidence of reinnervation across the neurectomy site. Muscle-to-muscle neurotization of the paralyzed equine larynx, utilizing the cricoaryte...
Linkage of hyperkalaemic periodic paralysis in quarter horses to the horse adult skeletal muscle sodium channel gene. A genetic disease observed in certain Quarter horses is hyperkalaemic periodic paralysis (HYPP). This disease causes attacks of paralysis which can be induced by ingestion of potassium. Recent studies have shown that HYPP in humans is due to single base changes within the adult skeletal muscle sodium channel gene. A large Quarter horse pedigree segregating dominant HYPP was studied to determine if mutations of the sodium channel gene are similarly responsible for HYPP in horses. We used cross-species, PCR-mediated, cDNA cloning and sequencing of the horse adult skeletal muscle sodium channel a...
Treatment of left laryngeal hemiplegia in standardbreds, using a nerve muscle pedicle graft. The efficacy of a nerve muscle pedicle (NMP) graft in restoring upper airway function was evaluated in exercising horses with induced left laryngeal hemiplegia. The NMP graft was created from the first cervical nerve and the omohyoideus muscle and transplanted into the left cricoarytenoideus dorsalis muscle. Seven adult Standardbreds were trained to exercise on a treadmill inclined at 6.38 degrees. With the horses at rest and exercising at 4.2 and 7.0 m/s, the following variables were recorded: peak inspiratory and expiratory transupper airway pressures (defined as the pressure difference betw...
[Clinical diagnostic keys and special manifestations in equine leukosis]. The literature contains about 500 cases of equine leucosis, though the reports are deposited in a great number of journals and vary considerably concerning particular topics. During the last years there has been a remarkable increase of publications about this syndrome in the equine. The clinical leucosis key recommended by us has been confirmed in principle considering the latest literature. In about 70 individual symptoms which can be clinically observed in equine with leucosis 11 can be considered as main symptoms because of their frequency; they are again classified in primary (lymph node ...
In vitro responses of distal airways in horses with recurrent airway obstruction. Distal airway segments (ID, 3 to 4 mm; length, 5 mm) from 2 groups of horses were isolated and suspended in tissue baths filled with Krebs solution, aerated with 5% CO2 in oxygen and maintained at 37 degrees C. Responses to exogenous acetylcholine, isoproterenol, or electrical field stimulation were compared. Control horses (n = 30) had no history of recurrent airway obstruction, whereas principal horses (n = 15) had recurrent airway obstruction and were studied during an acute episode of airway obstruction. Although the distal airways contracted in response to the cumulative half-logarithmic ...
Liver failure attributable to pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicosis and associated with inspiratory dyspnea in ponies: three cases (1982-1988). Of 41 equids referred to a veterinary teaching hospital in the Pacific northwest because of dyspnea and inspiratory noise, 3 ponies were diagnosed as having liver failure, most likely attributable to pyrrolizidine alkaloid toxicosis. Dyspnea appeared to be caused by laryngeal and/or pharyngeal paralysis. It is proposed that this paralysis was a manifestation of hepatic encephalopathy. Although these clinical signs are not common for pyrrolizidine toxicosis, practitioners should be aware of the possibility so that misdiagnosis of other causes of inspiratory dyspnea may not be made.
Priapism in a stallion with generalized malignant melanoma. A Thoroughbred stallion developed priapism that was unresponsive to medical treatment and lavage of the corpus cavernosum penis with heparinized 0.9% NaCl solution. Three weeks after onset of priapism, the penis was firm and noncompliant, and penile pain sensation and ability to retract the penis were lost. Ultrasonography confirmed thrombosis of the corpus cavernosum penis. The stallion was euthanatized because of poor prognosis for return to breeding soundness. Necropsy revealed enlargement of numerous lymph nodes. The dorsal penile nerves were demyelinated distal to the crura of the penis. ...
A comparison of techniques to enhance the evaluation of equine laryngeal function. This study was designed to define a simple, unequivocal test for the evaluation of laryngeal function and the diagnosis of idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia (ILH). ILH is a disorder that results from left recurrent laryngeal neuropathy and in which there is no movement of the left arytenoid cartilage and vocal fold. Laryngeal function was evaluated in seven horses using four techniques designed to stimulate laryngeal movements:-nasal occlusion, exercise, swallowing and administration of a respiratory stimulant. In addition, the effects of sedation and twitching on the endoscopic examination were...
Preferential denervation of the adductor muscles of the equine larynx. I: Muscle pathology. The laryngeal muscles of 18 horses were examined histologically. The neurogenic changes found in each muscle were scored by four reviewers and the results evaluated statistically. Fifteen of these horses had endoscopic evidence of abnormal laryngeal function, three of which were defined as having adductor paralysis. Measurement of muscle fibre area in two horses with idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia (ILH) was performed. In the quantitative study of neurogenic change, the adductor muscles were more significantly affected than the abductor muscle. This was also true in the clinical cases of ILH w...
Preferential denervation of the adductor muscles of the equine larynx. II: Nerve pathology. The terminal branches of the recurrent laryngeal nerve (RLN) of three normal ponies and six horses with sub-clinical laryngeal disease were examined qualitatively and quantitatively in an attempt to explain the preferential denervation of the laryngeal adductor muscles in the neuropathy of idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia (ILH). The myelinated fibre spectra of all the motor nerve fibres in the left and right abductor and adductor branches of the RLN in three normal ponies were measured. The density of myelinated fibres was also calculated. There was no significant difference between the larger ...
Regional anesthesia. Organ toxicity from local anesthetic agents is rare. This makes these agents an attractive option in the high-risk patient. Complications associated with local anesthetics are related to overdosage. Overdosage with local anesthetic agents administered epidurally may cause motor paralysis and hind-limb weakness. Systemic signs of local anesthetic overdosage include changes in central nervous system activity (excitement or depression), muscle tremors, and hypotension. Because the dose required to produce these effects in the horse is high (12 mg/kg), this complication is uncommon. Few side effec...
Leukoencephalomalacia in two horses induced by oral dosing of fumonisin B1. Leukoencephalomalacia (LEM) was induced by the oral administration of fumonisin B1 (FB1) to 2 horses: a filly received 59.5 mg/kg of a 50% preparation of FB1, administered in 21 doses of 1.25-4 mg/kg over 33 days; a colt, 44.3 mg/kg of 95% pure FB1 in 20 doses of 1-4 mg/kg in 29 days. Both animals developed nervous signs such as apathy, changes in temperament, inco-ordination, walking into objects, and one showed paralysis of the lips and tongue. Characteristic lesions of LEM were present in the brains. These trials proved conclusively that FB1 can induce LEM in horses.
Bilateral arytenoid cartilage paralysis after inhalation anesthesia in a horse. An 8-year-old Quarter Horse gelding was anesthetized for surgical exploration and debridement of a chronic draining wound in the intermandibular space. Anesthesia was without complication other than persistently low PaO2. Severe airway obstruction was evident immediately after extubation, requiring tracheostomy. Endoscopic diagnosis was bilateral arytenoid paralysis, which gradually resolved over the next 7 days. Compression, trauma, or tension of the recurrent laryngeal nerves are the postulated causes of idiopathic laryngeal hemiplegia in horses. The extremely extended position of the head a...
Laryngeal hemiplegia in draft horses. A review of 27 cases. Case records of 27 draft horses with laryngeal hemiplegia were reviewed. Twenty-one horses were treated by ventriculectomy with or without prosthetic laryngoplasty, and 17 owners were contacted to determine the results. Fifteen horses improved after surgery and were able to perform to the owners' expectations. Performance improved significantly and hospitalization was shorter after ventriculectomy alone. Results of this study indicate that the clinical signs of exercise intolerance and excessive inspiratory noise associated with left laryngeal hemiplegia in draft horses can be treated successf...
