The Nervous System Flashcards
How can a neurological problem start?
Trauma = sudden
Slow and progressive
How does the neurological exam work
Start at head and work back
What might you see when examining the head in a neurological exam
Behaviour (aggression, depression, head pressing, circling)
Blindness
Abnormal eye movement (nystagmus)
Drooping muzzle, ears, eyes
Difficulty eating/swallowing
Noisy breathing
Protruding tongue
How do we test for blindness
No menace reflex
Pupillary light reflex
What is abnormal eye movement called
Nystagmus
What might you see caudal to the head during a neurological exam
Loss of coordination
General weakness
Loss of proprioception (placing limbs)
No cutaneous trunci reflex (drag pen down side = twitching)
Single limb abnormalities
Loss of coordination is also known as…
Ataxia
Proprioception is..
ability to place limbs
What imaging techniques can we use during a neurological exam
Radiographs
MRI
CT scans
Nuclear scitingraphy
Test involving collection of fluid in a needle and examining it for abnormalities…
CSF tap
Measurement of electrical activity in muscles
Electromyography
Malformation of a cervical vertebra that puts pressure on the spinal cord and causes neurological signs is…
Cervical Vertebral Malformation (CVM) or wobblers
How will CVM occur
Abnormal development in young horse (6 months - 3 years)
Hereditary/nutritional
Occurs after arthritis in older horse
Trauma
How is wobblers diagnosed
Clinical signs (ataxia, weakness)
Ragiographs +/- myelogram
How is wobblers treated
Diet, NSAIDs, surgery
How serious is wobblers?
Performance-limiting
~70% of surgically treated horses improve
Complications of wobblers?
Trauma
Virus that attacks the nervous system, passed from horse to horse through saliva, respiratory secretions or feces is…
Equine herpes virus 1
or rhinopneumonitis
Clinical signs of EHV-1?
Ataxia, recumbancy ~6-12 days after exposure
Loss of bladder function
How is EHV-1 diagnosed
Outbreaks
Antibodies
How is EHV-1 treated?
Supportive (NSAIDS, fluids, prevent decubital ulcers, bladder catherization)
What are decubital ulcers
Pressure sores from constant laying
Can EHV-1 be vaccinated against?
Respiratory and reproductive forms have vaccines
Neurological form DOES NOT, but maybe resp/repro ones could offer some protection
How serious is neurological EHV-1?
Large outbreaks and incidence of disease is high
Mildly affected can recover
Mortality rate 40%
Complications of EHV-1?
Permanent gait alterations, loss of bladder function
Viral disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, is zoonotic
West Nile Virus
Neurological signs of west nile?
Ataxia
Hindlimb paralysis
Coma
Tremors around nose/lips
West nile is carried by _____ and spread by ______
Birds, mosquitoes
What kind of hosts and humans and horses
Dead-end
What is a dead end host
If a mosquito bites an infected person, it will not further spread the disease
How is WNV diagnosed
Clinical signs
Antibody levels (vaccine or infected?)
How do you treat west nile
Supportive, NSAIDS
Complications/seriousness of WNV
Fatal in 35% of horses (decreased since vaccine)
Fatal disease caused by a toxin released from bacteria present in soil that enters through a wound
Tetanus
The bacteria that causes tetanus is
Clostridium tetani
Two species most susceptible to tetanus are…
Humans, horses
How does tetanus affect the nervous system
Interferes with neurotransmitter fxn, constant contractions
Clinical signs of tetanus?
Stiff-> full body rigidity
Lips pulled back, nostrils flared, lockjaw
In horses, third eyelid contracted
How is tetanus diagnosed
Clinical signs
History (puncture?)
Not vaccinated?
If a horse has tetanus, what can you use within 24h of exposure
Tetanus antitoxin
If a horse has a cut, what should you give it
Tetanus booster
How is tetanus treated
antitoxin
Penicillin (antibiotic)
Sedation
Quiet
Support
How serious is tetanus
Survival is possible
Rapidly fatal (5-10 days)
euthanasia may be recommended
Complications of tetanus?
Wounds or injuries due to inability to stand
