Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horse with malaise diagnosed with Pelger-Huet anomaly
By Grondin, Tanya M et al.·Published in Veterinary clinical pathology·2007·Department of Diagnostic Medicine/Pathobiology, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Pelger-Huët anomaly in an Arabian horse.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A 9-year-old Arabian mare was brought in for feeling unwell for a week. Blood tests showed some unusual white blood cell changes, leading the vet to suspect liver issues initially. After treatment with antibiotics, her symptoms improved, but further tests revealed a genetic condition called Pelger-Huët anomaly, which affects the shape of her white blood cells. Interestingly, her offspring was also found to have the same condition. Both horses showed no differences in immune function compared to healthy horses, indicating that while the anomaly is present, it doesn't seem to affect their overall health.
People also search for: Arabian horse malaise · Pelger-Huët anomaly in horses · horse blood test results · horse liver problems · Arabian horse health issues
Abstract
A 9-year-old Arabian mare was evaluated for a 7-day history of malaise. Results of a CBC included a leukocyte concentration within the reference interval (8.4 x 10(3)/microL, reference interval 6.0-14.0 x 10(3)/microL) with an apparent degenerative left shift (segmented neutrophils 1.2 x 10(3)/microL, reference interval 2.5-7.5 x 10(3)/microL; hyposegmented neutrophils 1.8 x 10(3)/microL, reference interval 0.0-0.2 x 10(3)/microL). Serum clinical chemistry results included increased aspartate transaminase, alkaline phosphatase, and gamma-glutamyltransferase activities. A presumptive diagnosis of hepatitis or cholangiohepatitis was made. The horse was treated with antimicrobials and the malaise quickly resolved. However, in a recheck CBC on day 13, the apparent degenerative left shift remained. Further evaluation of the blood smear revealed many hyposegmented granulocytes with coarse mature chromatin and normal cytoplasmic features. On the basis of the microscopic examination, the horse was diagnosed with Pelger-Huët anomaly. The patient's offspring was subsequently also diagnosed with Pelger-Huët anomaly on the basis of blood film examination. Neutrophil, eosinophil, and basophil mean nuclear scores in both affected horses (mare, range 1.5-2.6; offspring, range 1.6-3.2) were lower than those in 2 unrelated Arabian horses (range, 2.8-5.0) and 5 non-Arabian control horses (range, 2.8-5.0). Results of immunophenotyping and phagocytosis/oxidative burst assays via flow cytometry showed no difference in the expression of myeloid-specific or adhesion molecules or in neutrophil function between affected and control horses. This is the second known report of equine Pelger-Huët anomaly, both of which affected Arabian horses.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17806084/