Blood tests could revolutionise diagnosis of neonatal maladjustment syndrome in foals

North Carolina State University research suggests that neuroproteins and neurosteroids in blood samples may offer new diagnostic tools for neonatal maladjustment syndrome in foals, potentially improving early detection and treatment options beyond current clinical signs.

Blood tests may soon help veterinarians identify neonatal maladjustment syndrome in foals, a condition that can leave newborns unable to nurse, seize or lapse into coma. Researchers at North Carolina State University say concentrations of certain neuroproteins and neurosteroids in serum and plasma track the disorder and could point to better diagnostics and, eventually, treatment.

The study, published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, examined 14 healthy foals and 58 hospitalised foals, including 19 with neonatal maladjustment syndrome. According to the authors, levels of the progesterone-derived neurosteroids known as pregnanes stayed elevated in affected foals, whereas they fell rapidly in healthy animals after birth.

Among the proteins tested, brain-derived neurotrophic factor, or BDNF, declined over the first day of admission in foals with the syndrome. S100B was higher in septic foals with neonatal maladjustment than in septic foals without it, while GFAP was lower in foals with the syndrome and other illnesses than in healthy foals.

Katarzyna Dembek, an associate professor at NC State and the study’s corresponding author, said the markers may help distinguish neonatal maladjustment from prematurity and sepsis. That matters for an industry still reliant on clinical signs and supportive care, from tube-feeding to intensive monitoring, while the underlying biology remains incompletely understood.