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Neurological Insight Needed

So sorry to hear this…Dr. Johnson has probably seen more cases of EDM than any other vet in the country and her instincts are usually accurate. Glad you were able to be there for the exam - I wasn’t able to be since the Covid restrictions were still pretty strict back in February. But they were very good about letting me go up to say good-bye once we had made the decision.

I wanted to provide a quick update in case this helps someone else. After four days of testing, my horse was diagnosed with neurological Lyme.

He was ranked a 2.5/5 on the neurological scale, with ataxia in all four limbs, worse behind. Although he suffers from moderate to severe neck arthritis, x-rays followed by a myelogram and robotic CT ruled out any areas of compression and this was eliminated as a potential cause of his neurological deficits. Although very rare, his spinal fluid showed a WBC count 12x higher than the high end of normal, elevated protein levels, a low mast cell count, and general inflammation of the nervous system. Cancer has been ruled out, as has EPM. Further testing showed a sky-high level of Lyme’s antibodies in the spinal fluid.

He will receive IV antibiotics at New Bolton for a week and further IV treatment will be continued at home if he responds well. General prognosis and question of returning to be a riding horse is unknown.

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Hunter11, I’m sorry to hear that, but glad it’s being treated. Neurologic Lyme is what made my mare a headshaker, but she didn’t have any coordination issues.

I’m curious what antibiotic they’re using since it presumably has to cross the blood/brain barrier.

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So sorry…but having a diagnosis and a possible treatment is a good thing. It’s at least worth a try! Fingers crossed you see some improvement quickly. He’s in good hands up there.

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