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Hepatic encephalopathy in two goat kids with common paternity

Correspondence: ¹Corresponding Author: Greg K. Wilkerson, Colorado State University, 1619 Campus Delivery, Fort Collins, CO 80523–1619. Gregory.wilkerson{at}colostate.edu

Two juvenile, intact, female mixed-breed goats from a common sire were presented for periodic neurologic deficits, seizures, and a generalized loss of body condition that occurred over a 4–6-week period. On physical examination, both goats were thin, obtunded, blind, and ataxic. Laboratory diagnostics revealed increased serum bile acids (95 µmol/l; reference interval: 0–50 µmol/l) in one of the goats. Both goats exhibited progressive physical and mental deterioration, and were eventually euthanized. Upon necropsy, no significant macroscopic lesions were noted. Microscopic examination, however, demonstrated hepatocellular atrophy and anomalies in the hepatic microvasculature, including duplication of hepatic arteries, small-to-indistinct portal veins, and oval cell hyperplasia. In addition, spongiform change was microscopically identified throughout the parenchyma of the brain, most notably within the white matter and along the junction of gray and white matter. The diagnosis of congenital portal vein hypoperfusion (suggestive of a portosystemic shunt) with resultant hepatic encephalopathy was proposed in each case based on the characteristic microscopic lesions in conjunction with the signalment and history of the goats. The observation that the affected kids were sired by the same buck suggests a hereditary basis for the condition in these animals as well.

Key Words: Genetic • goats • hepatic encephalopathy • hereditary • liver • portosystemic shunt