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Analysis of neurofilament concentration in healthy adult horses and utility in the diagnosis of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis and equine motor neuron disease

Morales Gómez, A M; Zhu, S; Palmer, S; Olsen, E; Ness, S L; Divers, T J; Bischoff, K; Mohammed, H O

Authors

A M Morales Gómez

S Zhu

S Palmer

E Olsen

S L Ness

T J Divers

K Bischoff

H O Mohammed



Abstract

Neurofilaments (NFs) are structural proteins of neurons that are released in significant quantities in the cerebrospinal fluid and blood as a result of neuronal degeneration or axonal damage. Therefore, NFs have potential as biomarkers for neurologic disorders. Neural degeneration increases with age and has the potential to confound the utility of NFs as biomarkers in the diagnosis of neurologic disorders. We investigated this relationship in horses with and without neurological diagnosis. While controlling for horse type (draft, pleasure, and racing), we evaluated the relationship between serum heavy-chain phosphorylated neurofilaments (pNF-H) and age, sex, and serum vitamin E concentrations. Serum pNF-H concentrations increased by 0.002 ng/ml for each year increase in age. There were significant differences in the serum pNF-H concentration among the type of activity performed by the horse. The highest serum pNF-H concentration was found in horses performing heavy work activity (racehorse) and with lower serum pNF-H concentration found among light (pleasure riding) and moderate (draft) activity. There was no significant association between the pNF-H concentration and sex or vitamin E concentration. Serum pNF-H concentration was elevated among horses afflicted with EMND and EPM when compared with control horses without evidence of neurologic disorders. Accordingly, serum pNF-H concentration can serve as a useful biomarker to complement the existing diagnostic work-up of horses suspected of having EPM or EMND.

Citation

Morales Gómez, A. M., Zhu, S., Palmer, S., Olsen, E., Ness, S. L., Divers, T. J., …Mohammed, H. O. (2019). Analysis of neurofilament concentration in healthy adult horses and utility in the diagnosis of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis and equine motor neuron disease. Research in Veterinary Science, 125, 1-6. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2019.04.018

Journal Article Type Article
Acceptance Date Apr 24, 2019
Publication Date May 1, 2019
Deposit Date May 21, 2019
Publicly Available Date Mar 29, 2024
Journal RESEARCH IN VETERINARY SCIENCE
Print ISSN 0034-5288
Publisher Elsevier
Peer Reviewed Peer Reviewed
Volume 125
Pages 1-6
DOI https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rvsc.2019.04.018
Public URL https://rvc-repository.worktribe.com/output/1382542

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