Abstract
The syndrome known as neuritis of the cauda equina (NCE) of the horse is an uncommon condition in which a chronic poly-neuritis affects especially the sacral and coccygeal nerves. This leads to paralysis of the tail, rectum and bladder, and a loss of sensation in the sacral dermatomes with a surrounding zone of hyperaesthesia. It is frequently associated with cranial nerve paralyses, particularly of the trigeminal and facial nerves. The aetiology of the condition in unknown1, but similarities between this condition and the Guillain-Barré syndrome in man and experimental allergic neuritis (EAN) have been noted1,2, and it was this that stimulated our interest. Bovine P2, a protein purified from peripheral myelin and having a molecular weight of approximately 15,000, has been shown to be the neuritogenic antigen in EAN3,4 and animals with EAN have circulating antibodies to P25. We report here that four horses with NCE all had circulating antibodies to P2.
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Kadlubowski, M., Ingram, P. Circulating antibodies to the neuritogenic myelin protein, P2 , in neuritis of the cauda equina of the horse. Nature 293, 299–300 (1981). https://doi.org/10.1038/293299a0
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/293299a0
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