State-of-the-Art Diagnostic Methods to Diagnose Equine Spinal Disorders, With Special Reference to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Transcranial Electrical Stimulation.
Abstract: Spinal cord disorders are a common problem in equine medicine. However, finding the site of the lesion is challenging for veterinarians because of a lack of sensitive diagnostic methods that can assess neuronal functional integrity in horses. Although medical imaging is frequently applied to help diagnose corticospinal disorders, this approach does not reveal functional information. For the latter, transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and more recently transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) can be useful. These are brain stimulation techniques that create either magnetic or electrical fields passing through the motor cortex, inducing muscular responses, which can be recorded either intramuscularly or extramuscularly by needle or surface electrodes. This permits the evaluation of the functional integrity of the spinal motor tracts and the nerve conduction pathways. The interest in TES in human medicine emerged these last years because unlike TMS, TES tends to bypass the motor cortex of the brain and predominantly relies on direct activation of corticospinal and extrapyramidal axons. Results from human medicine have indicated that TMS and TES recordings are mildly if not at all affected by sedation. Therefore, this technique can be reliably used in human patients under either sedation or full anesthesia to assess functional integrity of the corticospinal and adjunct motor tracts. This opens important new avenues in equine medicine.
Copyright © 2019 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.
Publication Date: 2019-09-03 PubMed ID: 31668311DOI: 10.1016/j.jevs.2019.102790Google Scholar: Lookup
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This research article discusses the use of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) as advanced diagnostic methods for detecting spinal disorders in horses. These techniques allow for an analysis of the functional integrity of spinal motor tracts and nerve conduction pathways, providing more comprehensive data than conventional diagnostic methods.
The Challenge in Diagnosing Equine Spinal Disorders
- One of the critical concerns in equine medicine is spinal cord disorders. Locating the problem area, or the lesion, is difficult due to a lack of precise diagnostic methods capable of evaluating neuronal function in horses.
- Often, medical imaging is utilized to diagnose corticospinal disorders, but this strategy falls short as it does not provide functional information about the condition.
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) and Transcranial Electrical Stimulation (TES)
- TMS and TES, brain stimulation techniques that produce magnetic or electrical fields passing through the motor cortex, are emerging as useful tools for diagnosing spinal disorders in horses.
- As these techniques induce muscular responses, which are easily detected either intramuscularly or extramuscularly using needle or surface electrodes, they allow the evaluation of spinal motor tracts and nerve conduction pathways.
The Advantages of TES over TMS
- In recent years, TES is gaining the interest of the medical community, especially in human medicine. Unlike TMS, TES bypasses the brain’s motor cortex and mainly activates the corticospinal and extrapyramidal axons directly.
- Results from human medicine applications show that TMS and TES readings are slightly, if at all, influenced by sedation. Hence, these techniques can be used reliably in patients under anesthetic or sedation to evaluate the functional integrity of the corticospinal and auxiliary motor tracts.
- This promising result presents new possibilities for their application in equine medicine, potentially revolutionizing the diagnosis of equine spinal disorders.
Cite This Article
APA
Journée SL, de Meeus d'Argenteuil C, De Maré L, Boshuizen B, Vanderperren K, Journée LH, de Bruijn M, Bergmann W, Delesalle C.
(2019).
State-of-the-Art Diagnostic Methods to Diagnose Equine Spinal Disorders, With Special Reference to Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation and Transcranial Electrical Stimulation.
J Equine Vet Sci, 81, 102790.
https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jevs.2019.102790 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology, Research Group of Comparative Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium; Equine Diagnostics, BG Wyns, The Netherlands.
- Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology, Research Group of Comparative Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
- Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology, Research Group of Comparative Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
- Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology, Research Group of Comparative Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium; Wolvega Equine Hospital, EA Oldeholtpade, The Netherlands.
- Department of Medical Imaging, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium.
- Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Center Groningen, University of Groningen, Groningen, The Netherlands.
- Wolvega Equine Hospital, EA Oldeholtpade, The Netherlands.
- Department of Pathobiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Utrecht University, CL Utrecht, The Netherlands.
- Department of Virology, Parasitology and Immunology, Research Group of Comparative Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Ghent University, Merelbeke, Belgium. Electronic address: Catherine.delesalle@ugent.be.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Evoked Potentials, Motor
- Horse Diseases
- Horses
- Humans
- Motor Cortex
- Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation / veterinary
- Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation / veterinary
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