title: Association between plasma vitamin E concentration and the risk of equine motor neuron disease.
abstract: Equine motor neuron disease (EMND) is a neurodegenerative disorder of the somatic lower motor neurons that results in a syndrome of diffuse neuromuscular disease in the adult horse. The aetiology of this disorder is unknown, although prior studies have suggested that a deficiency in the lipid antioxidant vitamin E (alpha-tocopherol) contributes to the development of EMND. This paper describes a case-control study designed to investigate the association between plasma vitamin E levels and the risk of EMND for horses. Signalment, plasma vitamin E levels at the time of referral, and information relative to dietary and management practices were collected from 53 horses diagnosed with EMND and 69 controls. The mean plasma vitamin E concentration in EMND cases was significantly lower than that of control horses. After controlling for other risk factors of EMND, there was a statistically significant association between plasma vitamin E levels and EMND, with the likelihood of the disease increasing as the vitamin E concentration decreased. These findings support the reported role of vitamin E deficiency as one of the risk factors for EMND.
authors.affiliation: Department of Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14850-6401, USA.
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: De la Rúa-Domènech
authors.forename: H O
authors.initials: HO
authors.lastname: Mohammed
authors.forename: J F
authors.initials: JF
authors.lastname: Cummings
authors.forename: T J
authors.initials: TJ
authors.lastname: Divers
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: De Lahunta
authors.forename: B A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Summers
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001947:Breeding; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004032:Diet / Q000662:veterinary; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology; D006736:Horses; D008297:Male; D016472:Motor Neuron Disease / Q000453:epidemiology / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D012307:Risk Factors; D014810:Vitamin E / Q000097:blood* / Q000502:physiology; D014811:Vitamin E Deficiency / Q000150:complications / Q000662:veterinary
chemical_list: D014810:Vitamin E