Quantitative assessment of motor neuron loss in equine motor neuron disease (EMND).
The mean number of motor neurons was assessed in the C7 spinal cord segment of 5 EMND and 5 control horses. Mean number per section in EMND horses was reduced significantly (P<0.001). The mean neuronal loss was estimated at 31%. Each of the 5 affected horses had a mean neuronal count below the 95% confidence interval for control horses. The statistically significant difference between the 2 groups was consistent in the cranial, middle and caudal thirds of the C7 segment (P<0.001). The results of regression analysis indicated an association between neuronal reduction in EMND horses and the duration of the disease when adjusted for age (P<0.001). This is the first quantitation of the neurodegenerative loss in EMND and it provides a clearer explanation for residual deficits in horses that survive EMND.
Weber Polack
E
E
Department of Pathology, College of Veterinary Medicine, Cornell University, Ithaca, New York 14853, USA.
King
J M
JM
Cummings
J F
JF
de Lahunta
A
A
Divers
T J
TJ
Mohammed
H O
HO
D000818:Animals; D002452:Cell Count / Q000662:veterinary; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology; D006736:Horses; D016472:Motor Neuron Disease / Q000473:pathology / Q000503:physiopathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D009046:Motor Neurons / Q000473:pathology*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D013116:Spinal Cord / Q000473:pathology* / Q000503:physiopathology