Investigating the Risk of Equine Motor Neuron Disease in a Brazilian Stable and Successful Intervention.
Authors: Banfield John, Lisak Ricardo, Omar Amir, Domingos Willeson, Fiaschitello Arduino, Morales-Gomez Adriana, Divers Thomas J, Mohammed Hussni O
Journal: Journal of equine veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Equine Motor Neuron Disease Risk Factors and Dietary Intervention Between 1991 and 1998, researchers investigated an EMND outbreak affecting a Brazilian stable, enrolling 69 affected horses and 64 controls to identify aetiological factors and evaluate intervention outcomes. Affected horses demonstrated significantly depressed plasma vitamin E concentrations (0.381 versus 1.148 µg/mL compared to controls), whilst phosphorylated neurofilament heavy—a marker of neuronal damage—was markedly elevated (2.85 versus 0.27 ng/mL), with diagnosis probability exceeding 50% when neurofilament levels surpassed 2.54 ng/mL; other antioxidant markers (vitamin A, β-carotenes, glutathione peroxidase, and superoxide dismutase activity) showed no significant differences. A dietary modification in 1997 substituting higher-quality green hay resulted in complete cessation of new cases within 12 months, with zero incidence maintained over the subsequent two decades. These findings implicate vitamin E deficiency as a primary risk factor rather than broader antioxidant system dysfunction, suggesting that practitioners addressing EMND clusters should prioritise forage quality assessment and vitamin E supplementation; elevated serum neurofilament levels may serve as a useful diagnostic biomarker for identifying at-risk horses before clinical signs manifest. The breed predisposition observed in mixed and Brazilian breeds warrants further investigation into potential genetic susceptibility factors.
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Practical Takeaways
- •Monitor plasma vitamin E levels in horses, particularly mixed and Brazilian breeds, as deficiency strongly associates with EMND risk
- •Upgrade hay quality in feeding programs to prevent EMND outbreaks; the intervention demonstrably eliminated disease in this stable
- •Use serum phosphorylated neurofilament heavy testing as a biomarker to identify horses at elevated EMND risk when levels exceed 2.54 ng/mL
Key Findings
- •EMND cases had significantly lower plasma vitamin E levels (0.381 vs. 1.148 μg/mL) compared to controls
- •Phosphorylated neurofilament heavy was significantly elevated in EMND cases (2.85 vs. 0.27 ng/mL), with >50% probability of diagnosis above 2.54 ng/mL
- •Mixed and Brazilian breeds showed significantly higher EMND risk compared to Standardbred horses
- •Dietary intervention with higher quality green hay in 1997 resulted in zero EMND incidence within 1 year, sustained for 20+ years