# Arythrogryposis ((Was: Atrophy of the hind feet. Now the ears too!))



## Greendecember (Feb 23, 2011)

I toyed with tacking this onto another post I made or making a new thread. Since the original post was in the raising kids section I decided to move it over here.

Here is the other thread for more info.

http://www.backyardherds.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=8461


Still no improvement on his feet. As a matter of fact it is worse. It is like his little hind feet are shriveling up and going to fall off. Like there is some sort of circulation constriction. I decided not to split him so it wasn't that I cut off circulation. 

I haven't felt well the last couple days so Hubby has been with him more than I. When I give him his shots he has the TOUGHEST skin! I have NEVER had trouble giving shots before to animals or humans. It is a fight to get a 22g in him. I mean through his skin not with him. Hubby holds him pretty well. Still being less than 10 or 15 pounds it is still easy to restrain him 

Monday Hubby asked if I noticed his ears looked weird. I thought he just meant they didn't stick out to the sides like his Mom's so I didn't give it much thought. I glanced over and didn't see anything glaring. His ears have black fur which hides a multitude of sins hehe

Human communication error. I should have looked closer. 

Last night while giving him his shot Hubby tells me it is getting worse. He has his head covered when I give him the shot to hold him so I couldn't see his ears. This time I took a closer look.... same thing as his feet. Dry and hard! It is about 1/2 way from the tip to the head on both ears. 

I don't think it is frost bite. There was never any blistering or bad smell. It doesn't appear to be rot of any kind. It is simply drying up dead tissue. 

His treatments so far...

Vitamin shot from the vet, 7 days of a pain shot once a day, 7 days of penicillin 1 shot once a day. We have 2 shots left to give but I am taking him back to the vet when they open at 8am. I can't really afford to take him to OSU's teaching vet hospital. It is 1-2 hours drive from me.

I got 3 hours sleep last night worried about the little guy. He is our first baby. I feel like somehow my inexperience has failed him. 


*EDIT:* It was not frostbite. Two vets examined Goliath. One of them said "I remember something about those ears from school." And left the room to hit the books. 

Aparently Goliath had a birth defect called *arythrogryposis*. The vet said it is cause by a virus the dame had while pregnant. It breaks down the cartilage in the kid's body. Until the ears started to loose their shape it was not evident it was a cartilage issue.


According to what I could find on the net it is caused from a virus the mom contracts in the first 30-50 days of gestation usually from an insect bite. It appears to be linked with the Akabane virus. 
This is what I found in the Merck Veterinary Manual. I cut and pasted some parts that were relevant to Goliath's case. The article lends it's self mainly to calves but is also noted in goats

http://www.merckvetmanual.com/mvm/index.jsp?cfile=htm/bc/50804.htm

Akabane is an insect-transmitted virus that causes congenital abnormalities of the CNS in ruminants. Disease due to Akabane virus has been recognized in Australia, Israel, Japan, and Korea; antibodies to it have been found in a number of countries in southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Africa. The disease affects fetuses of cattle, sheep, and goats. Asymptomatic infection has been demonstrated serologically in horses, buffalo, and deer (but not in humans or pigs) in endemic areas. 

Those infected earlier (120-180 days of gestation) have rigid fixation of limbs, usually in flexion (arthrogryposis), and sometimes also torticollis, kyphosis, and scoliosis with associated neurogenic muscle atrophy due to loss of spinal motor neurons. These abnormalities usually cause dystocia, and can result in severe obstetric complications, sometimes resulting in infertility and even death of cows. The first calves born with arthrogryposis are less severely affected than those born during the next 4-6 wk. Initially only 1-2 joints may be affected on a single limb, but later cases can have severe fixation of multiple joints on several or all limbs. Calves infected at 80-120 days of gestation are usually born alive and, if able to stand, walk poorly and are depressed and blind. These calves have varying degrees of cavitation of cerebral hemispheres, ranging from porencephaly to severe hydranencephaly. The latter is common, especially among those infected in the earlier stages of pregnancy. Some calves may be affected with both arthrogryposis and hydranencephaly. 

In small ruminants, the lesions of arthrogryposis and hydranencephaly are often seen concurrently and are common in the same animals. In lambs and kids, a range of other defects may occur, including pulmonary hypoplasia and hypoplasia of the spinal cord. Most Akabane-infected lambs or kids are stillborn or die soon after birth. Abortions are also seen.
Akabane virus-induced congenital abnormalities (especially arthrogryposis and hydranencephaly) have been suspected in horses, but laboratory confirmation has been inconclusive.

In the USA, Cache Valley virus, another vectorborne bunyavirus unrelated to Akabane virus, has been associated with congenital defects in sheep and perhaps cattle in some states.

Treatment and Control:
There is no specific treatment for affected animals. Measures should be directed at the prevention of infection of susceptible animals with Akabane virus during pregnancy. Introduction of stock from nonendemic to endemic areas should be done well before first breeding. Effective vaccines are available in Japan.


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## aggieterpkatie (Feb 23, 2011)

It definitely sounds like frostbite to me.  Those are classic places for it to occur.  :/


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## Greendecember (Feb 23, 2011)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

> It definitely sounds like frostbite to me.  Those are classic places for it to occur.  :/


But we kept him inside at night and most of the day while it was snowing and bellow freezing. None of the other 3 kids have any thing like this. It never blistered. It never smelled fowl. I even had him at the vet and the vet just suspected it was weak legs from a cramped fetal time.

God if it was frostbite I am going to feel like even more of a heel. 

Amputating the tips of his ears would be no huge thing (in the grand scheme of things) but how would ge get around with no hind legs?


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 23, 2011)

I don't think it is frost bite. I would be interested to hear what the vet says. I think this is why he suspected CAE, not that I think that is what you are dealing with. I just think he felt it was more than weak legs. 

The tough skin is what I was wondering about before when you said you couldn't get the needle in. I just barely remember when I used to raise pigs, having a couple piglets that did something like this.  I am sorry, but it isn't looking promising for him.  

Good luck at the vets.


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## aggieterpkatie (Feb 23, 2011)

Greendecember said:
			
		

> aggieterpkatie said:
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It's not your fault if it is frostbite. Sometimes these things happen! Was he born outside or was it really cold?  The ears are no big deal. We had calves get frostbitten ears all the time.  The dead part will eventually fall off.  

Legs I'm not so sure.  I know on another forum a lady had a goat that lost 1 leg, but the other was still good.  She had it amputated and the goat was fine.  

Again, that's just what it sounds like to me. It could be something totally different, but it's really hard to tell over the net.


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## Greendecember (Feb 23, 2011)

20kidsonhill said:
			
		

> I don't think it is frost bite. I would be interested to hear what the vet says. I think this is why he suspected CAE, not that I think that is what you are dealing with. I just think he felt it was more than weak legs.
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> The tough skin is what I was wondering about before when you said you couldn't get the needle in. I just barely remember when I used to raise pigs, having a couple piglets that did something like this.  I am sorry, but it isn't looking promising for him.
> 
> Good luck at the vets.


Vet didn't mention CAE. I suspected CAE. I knew it was more than weak legs deep down but not having much experience I was grasping at straws.

I thought the tough needle pokes were odd but again chalked it up to my lack of expirence. With the ears though I KNOW something bigger is going on. 

At least if it IS frostbite I will know what it is. I still won't be able to do anything to correct it but at least knowing is better than guessing and poking him with needles for nothing 

I will be sure to update after I know more


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## Greendecember (Feb 23, 2011)

aggieterpkatie said:
			
		

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It is in both hind feet though. I can't see how he would get around well without 2 hind legs. 1 I could deal with. Animals do good on 3 legs all the time, but 2?

He was born in the barn sometime during the night. We had an atypical blizzard here the day or 2 before he was born and had significant snow on the ground. So it is possible.


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## 20kidsonhill (Feb 23, 2011)

I had one frozen to the inside of my barn wall a few years ago, mom had him right by the wall and he froze right to the metal siding, We had to pour water on him to get him off,  His ears got like huge bubbles in them, and when the swelling went down 3/4 of them fell off.  

Maybe the tough skin is from dehydration, or he had really bad frostbite.


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## ksalvagno (Feb 23, 2011)

I suspect that there is much more going on with that little guy than can be seen. Unfortunately, I think you may have to make some tough choices. He really shouldn't have such tough skin that you can barely get a needle in. Plus the back feet problem and now the ears. I wonder if there is some poor blood circulation going on and not frostbite.

I'm so sorry about having to go through this. It is never easy with livestock. Always something new around the corner and it isn't always good.


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## Greendecember (Feb 23, 2011)

I edited my original post to include the findings at the vet. 




Goliath went over the rainbow bridge today. He was 20 days old. 

May he rest in peace with his twin brother at our Vet's farm.


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## glenolam (Feb 23, 2011)

Greendecember said:
			
		

> I edited my original post to include the findings at the vet.
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  I'm really sorry for your loss

ETA - I googled arythrogryposis and found this:

_Signs and symptoms

There are numerous symptoms for this group of conditions.[4] Some of the more common signs and symptoms are associated with the shoulder (internal rotation), elbow (extension and pronation), wrist (volar and ulnar), hand (fingers in fixed flexion and thumb-in-palm), hip (flexed, abducted and externally rotated, often dislocated), knee (flexion) and foot (clubfoot).[8] Complications may include scoliosis, lung hypoplasia, respiratory problems, growth retardation, midfacial hemangioma, facial and jaw variations, and abdominal hernias. Cognition and language are usually normal.[5]

Causes

The cause is unknown[7], although several mechanisms have been suggested. This includes *hyperthermia of the fetus*, prenatal virus, fetal vascular compromise, septum of the uterus, decreased amniotic fluid, muscle and connective tissue developmental abnormalities. [5][6] In general, the causes can be classified into extrinsic and intrinsic factors.

Extrinsic

There is insufficient room in the uterus for normal movement. For example, fetal crowding; the mother may lack a normal amount of amniotic fluid or have an abnormally shaped uterus.[3][9] 

Neurological - Central nervous system and spinal cord are malformed. In these cases, a wide range of other conditions usually accompanies arthrogryposis. [6] 
Connective Tissue - Tendons, bones, joints or joint linings may develop abnormally. For example, tendons may not be connected to the proper place in a joint.[3][9] 
*Research has shown that anything that prevents normal joint movement before birth can result in joint contractures. *The joint itself may be normal. However, when a joint is not moved for a period of time, extra connective tissue tends to grow around it, fixing it in position. Lack of joint movement also means that tendons connecting to the joint are not stretched to their normal length; short tendons, in turn, make normal joint movement difficult. (This same kind of problem can develop after birth in joints that are immobilized for long periods of time in casts.)

*The principal cause of AMC is believed to be decreased fetal movements (akinesia) caused by maternal or fetal abnormalities. *It is associated with neurogenic and myopathic disorders. It is believed that the neuropathic form of AMC involves a deterioration in the anterior horn cell leading to muscle weakness and fibrosis. 

arthrogryposis is not a genetic condition and does not occur more than once in a family. In about 30% of the cases, a genetic cause can be identified. The risk of recurrence for these cases varies with the type of genetic disorder.[4]There is a rare autosomal recessive form of the disease known to exist_


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## ksalvagno (Feb 23, 2011)

I'm so sorry for you loss. It is never easy. You did everything you could.


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## Emmetts Dairy (Feb 23, 2011)

Im so very sorry for you guys!! Thats never ever easy stuff to do...

Poor little guy!!


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## Roll farms (Feb 23, 2011)

Thanks for sharing what you found out....it's good to keep learning.
I'm so sorry.


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## aggieterpkatie (Feb 23, 2011)

Aw, I'm sorry to hear that. I'm glad you were able to get a good diagnosis though, at least maybe it can give you some peace of mind.


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## chandasue (Feb 23, 2011)

Very sad but I appreciate the info you've posted.


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## Greendecember (Feb 23, 2011)

glenolam said:
			
		

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Thanks


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## Greendecember (Feb 23, 2011)

Thanks for all the condolences. It was really rough. I'm such a baby about stuff like this. 

Your also welcome for the information. I love to sponge up good info. I just wish it wasn't at the cost of the kid to have to learn it


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## cmjust0 (Feb 23, 2011)

Greendecember said:
			
		

> I love to sponge up good info. I just wish it wasn't at the cost of the kid to have to learn it


You and me both, plus lots of other folks here.  

Really sorry for your loss.  To have gone to the lengths required to uncover something as obscure as 'arthrogryposis' speaks volumes for how hard you tried.


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## elevan (Feb 23, 2011)

So sorry for your loss


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