Whether it’s a yearling that flipped and landed on his poll or an older horse that tumbled after simply taking a bad step, traumatic injury to the central nervous system is the most common cause of neurologic problems in horses. Yvette S. Nout, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACVECC, ACVIM, a researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, reviewed the pathophysiology and therapeutic options for treating these animals at the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine Forum, held June 3-6 in Montréal, Quebec.

Nout reported that central nervous system trauma accounts for 24% of equine neurologic cases, with approximately equal distribution between spinal cord trauma and traumatic brain injury. Although some aspects of the pathophysiology in these types of injuries are different, many of the underlying mechanisms for cell damage are similar, and treatment approaches for both focus on reducing inflammation and swelling, stopping secondary injury, and aiding regeneration for a functional outcome.

She noted that the prognosis for these horses is greatly dependent on the severity of the primary injury and on the location and extent of the damage