Metabolic Causes of Encephalopathy in Horses

Metabolic encephalopathy can be defined as cerebral dysfunction that occurs in response to endogenously derived biochemical abnormalities. There are only a small number of metabolic disorders known to cause clinically relevant encephalopathy in horses. Resulting clinical signs are often dramatic and may include blindness, bizarre behavior, seizures, depression, and coma. The most common metabolic disorders causing encephalopathy in horses are: primary hyperammonemia syndromes, hepatoencephalopathy, uremic encephalopathy, sodium and glucose concentration abnormalities, neonatal encephalopathy, kernicterus, and hypocalcemic seizures.