ScienceDaily (Nov. 14, 2012) — Headshaking
syndrome is when a horse shakes or jerks its head uncontrollably for no
apparent reason. There are striking clinical similarities between facial pain
syndromes in people, most notably trigeminal neuralgia, and headshaking in
horses. Although some progress has been made towards both diagnosing and
treating the condition in horses, the pathology of the disease remains unknown
and further research is needed.
A recent
study led by academics from the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary
Sciences and the University of Liverpool, evaluated the long-term success rate
of a pioneering new surgical procedure, called caudal compression of the
infraorbital nerve, where platinum coils are placed into the nerve ends within
the canal to relieve the pain.
The
study found this surgery could be a viable option for headshaking in horses
with a long-term success rate of nearly 50 per cent. Nonetheless, researchers
are continually working to find a more effective treatment method for
headshaking.
Veronica
Roberts, Clinical Fellow in Equine Medicine in the University's School of
Veterinary Sciences, who led the study, has received a grant from the British
Neuropathological Society to investigate possible focal demyelination of the
nerve as a cause of headshaking in horses. The reason the Bristol research team
is looking for demyelination is that it is the most common cause of trigeminal
neuralgia in people. The team will collaborate with Seth Love, Professor of
Neuropathology in the School of Clinical Sciences, as he has carried out work
in this area in people.
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As a sufferer of Trigeminal Neuralgia I really feel for these horses, it is a very painful condition and hard to deal with in humans who can convey info verbally to a doctor. Its not called the Suicide Disease for nothing. Mine is barely tolerable even with narcotics. Sadly surgery is not an option for me.
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