![]() This incoordination can become worse when the head is lifted, and the gait abnormality or weakness is accentuated when the horse is walked up or down slopes.īecause damage to the spinal cord results in a "disconnect" to peripheral nerves, muscle atrophy is seen with EPM. They can show spasticity evidenced by stiffness or lack of fluidity in movement with stilted, slow or awkward limb placement, abnormal gaits and lameness. Horses with EPM can exhibit ataxia (incoordination) that can range from subtle to profound. This fact leads to the varied and often confusing array of clinical presentations of EPM. hughesi enter the horse, they migrate to the central nervous system and can cause inflammation and damage anywhere in the brain and spinal cord. Other hosts for these protozoan organisms have been implicated as possibly contributing to this disease and include armadillos, skunks and cats. hughesi is not yet known), and horses are infected through the consumption of contaminated water and/or feed and hay. neurona is the opossum (the definitive host for N. Similar clinical signs are seen with both organisms. The majority of cases are caused by Sarcocystis neurona but recent work has shown some horses are affected by Neospora hughesi, another protozoan closely related to Neospora caninum. Photo 2: A thermography scan of a horse with an active EPM infection shows cooler (bluer) muscle on the right side of the hip and rump, indicating a reduction of nerve stimulation and resulting decrease in blood flow and activity to these muscle groups.ĮPM is a disease of the central nervous system caused by protozoal organisms. Sharon Witonsky of the Equine Field Service group at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine. Currently, "there is no perfect test for EPM," says Dr. There are numerous tests available but even these have limitations. EPM has been called "the great imitator" because it can present in many ways with varying clinical signs of differing intensities. The problem, however, is that EPM seems to remain as difficult to diagnose accurately as it ever was. The nerve damage to these muscles is permanent they cannot regrow.(Photos: courtesy of Dr. Photo 1: This horse was diagnosed and treated successfully for EPM but suffered severe muscle loss on the right side of the rump involving the gluteal muscles. The veterinary community has made significant advances in the areas of treatment and rehabilitation. During this period, numerous bits of information have emerged about the causative organisms, their lifecycles, hosts and transmission. ![]() Equine protozoal myelo-encephalitis (EPM) has been a prominent neurological disease of horses for nearly 15 years. ![]()
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