Segmental axonopathy of Merino sheep (abstract)

Authors: Johnstone AC, Jolly RD
Publication: New Zealand Veterinary Journal, Volume 53, Issue 1, pp 94, Feb 2005
Publisher: Taylor and Francis

Animal type: Livestock, Production animal, Ruminant, Sheep
Subject Terms: Locomotor, Disease/defect, Breed/breeding, Nervous system/neurology, Genetics, Inherited disease/conditions, Pathology
Article class: Abstract

---

Abstract: Over several years, ataxia was noted in a small proportion of 1–2- year-old Merino sheep when they were mustered. Histopathologically, the disorder was characterised by large foamy axonal swellings affecting dorsal rootlets and axons in the cuneate fascicle of the spinal cord. Similar lesions occurred throughout the brain, being particularly severe in the trigeminal nerve radix, inferior cerebellar peduncle and pons. At the ultrastructural level, the swellings were made up of large numbers of membrane-bound vesicles and a lesser number of electron-dense bodies. Additional lesions were Wallerian-type degeneration in the brain and cord. This disorder resembles Murrurundi disease in Australia and is presumed to be inherited as an autosomal recessive trait.

---