Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horse showing weakness and unsteady walk - what could it be?
By Miller, L M et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·1985·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Ataxia and weakness associated with fourth ventricle vascular anomalies in two horses.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
Two adult horses were found to have worsening problems with coordination and weakness, which were thought to come from issues in their spinal cords. When veterinarians looked into possible causes, they considered several conditions that could lead to these symptoms. After the horses passed away, a detailed examination revealed that both had a large blood clot in a part of the brain called the fourth ventricle, which was pressing on other important areas of the brain. Unfortunately, the findings suggest that the horses had serious brain issues that likely contributed to their symptoms.
Abstract
Two adult horses with progressive neurologic signs were examined clinically and at necropsy. Both horses had signs of progressive ataxia and weakness, clinically diagnosed as spinal cord in origin. Differential diagnoses for cervical spinal ataxia in horses included cervical vertebral malformation, equine degenerative myeloencephalopathy, equine herpes-virus-I myeloencephalopathy, and equine protozoal myeloencephalopathy. Necropsy findings in both horses were similar and consisted of a large hematoma in the fourth ventricle, with upward compression of the cerebellum and downward compression of the pons and rostral portion of the medulla.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/3988596/