2019 Volume 72 Issue 3 Pages 154-156
A male cross-breed (Japanese black x Holstein-Friesian) calf exhibited chronic progressive abnormalities in gait, difficulty standing, and shaking, and had a wide stance in the standing position soon after birth. At 68 days old, the calf clearly exhibited consciousness but manifested astasia. Some cerebellar anomalies were suspected based on this history and clinical findings, although there were no obvious gross lesions in the brain at necropsy. Based on the histopathological findings of degeneration/loss of Purkinje cells and axonal swelling in the cerebellum, a diagnosis was given of cerebellar cortical degeneration. Most clinical cases of cerebellar cortical degeneration in cattle are thought to have a hereditary background; however, the current case is a cross-breed calf, which suggests that this disease is not confined to a specific breed.
