Spastic paresis in calves
SIR, - I wish to report the occurrence of hindlimb straightness and stiffness with inability to flex the hock in calves, in a herd of 21 pedigree Simmental cows that calved in the spring of 2003. Six of eight female calves were affected, with 13 unaffected males. The age of onset was from
Bovine spastic paresis: current knowledge and scientific voids.
The aetiology, pathogenesis, diagnosis and treatment of bovine spastic paresis of the gastrocnemius muscle (BSP-G) have been investigated for several decades, but much remains to be elucidated. In some breeds, the proportion of atypical presentations of BSP involving the quadriceps muscle (BSP-Q) and/or several other muscles (mixed presentation, BSP-M) appears to be increasing. Differentiation between BSP-G, -Q and -M is challenging and existing surgical treatments are usually ineffective in cattle affected by one of the atypical forms of the disease. This paper reviews the current knowledge on BSP and addresses several areas where understanding of the disease is incomplete.
Staggers in sheep associated with the ingestion of Tribulus terrestris.
The history of an unusual locomotory disturbance of sheep is traced from its first recognition in 1937 through to the most recent outbreak in 1981-83. The condition occurred only at certain times and in restricted areas of the central and northern slopes districts of New South Wales. Outbreaks were repeatedly associated with drought periods during which sheep grazed large areas of Tribulus terrestris for many months at a time. Many thousands of sheep were affected, but the prevalence varied greatly between flocks. The course of the disease was characterised by a slowly developing, irreversible, asymmetrical, weakness of the hindlimbs. The clinical signs suggested that a lesion of the thoraco-lumbar spinal cord region was present. The macroscopic and microscopic examination of the nervous and musculoskeletal systems failed to demonstrate abnormalities which would account for the clinical signs. Haematological, biochemical and toxicological test results supported the concept of a neuromuscular disease process being present, but failed to indicate its aetiology.