Spinal Cord Compression in Horses (CVCM)

There are a number of factors to consider in spinal cord compression. The sex, breed and age of your horse are major factors in the development of cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy or spinal cord compression in horses. This problem is sometimes referred to as CVCM. The result of this condition may be weakness, ataxia or incoordination. Several problems can cause this in your horse: Vertebral canal stenosis (narrowing), tipping of the bones through which the spinal cord passes, and bony remodeling known as ostelphytosis.

Recent studies revealed that statistically geldings and stallions were 2 and 2.4 times more likely to have CVCM than mares. Thoroughbreds, Tennessee Walkers, and Warmbloods were more prone to these problems than Quarter Horses. Horses under the age of 7 were more likely to develop CVCM than horses older than 10 years.

Full Abstract

The study, "Association of sex, breed, and age with cervical compressive myelopathy in horses: 811 cases 1974-2007," was published in the Nov. 1 edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

Associations of sex, breed, and age with cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy in horses: 811 cases (1974-2007).

OBJECTIVE: To determine sex, breed, and age distributions in a population of horses with cervical vertebral compressive myelopathy (CVCM), compared with contemporaneous control horses.

DESIGN: Retrospective case-control study.

ANIMALS: 811 horses with CVCM and 805 control horses.

PROCEDURES:
The Veterinary Medical Database was searched to identify horses with CVCM and contemporaneous control horses registered between July 1974 and August 2007. Admission date, admitting institution, sex, breed, age at the time of registration in the database, weight, and discharge status (alive, died, or euthanized) were recorded for each case and control horse.

RESULTS:
On the basis of results of multivariable logistic regression analysis, geldings and sexually intact males had a significantly higher likelihood of having CVCM than females (odds ratio [OR], 2.0 [95% confidence interval, 1.5 to 2.6]; and OR, 2.4 [95% confidence interval, 1.8 to 3.2], respectively). Thoroughbreds, Tennessee Walking Horses, and Warm-bloods were over represented in the CVCM group, compared with Quarter Horses. Horses that ranged from < 6 months to < 7 years of age had significantly higher odds of having cvcm, compared with horses > or = 10 years of age.

CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE:
Sex, breed, and age predilections were detected in horses with CVCM. Improved understanding of these factors will aid clinical recognition of the disease in groups that may have a high prevalence of CVCM or were previously not recognized to be commonly affected. The results may also stimulate future investigations to further delineate etiopathogenesis, such as breed-related genetic causality.

Author information: Author/s: Levine, Jonathan M (JM); Ngheim, Peter P (PP); Levine, Gwendolyn J (GJ); Cohen, Noah D (ND);

Affiliation: Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843, USA.

Journal: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (J Am Vet Med Assoc), published in United States. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Nov; vol 233 (issue 9) : pp 1453-8

Dates: Created 2008/11/04;

PMID: 18980501, status: In-Process (last retrieval date: 11/9/2008)

National Library of Medicine

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