Photo Credit: Soledad Lorieto
Scientific Frontline: Extended "At a Glance" Summary: Neuroproteins as Diagnostic Tools for Foals
The Core Concept: Measuring specific neuroproteins and neurosteroids in the blood serum of newborn foals can help identify and diagnose neonatal maladjustment syndrome (NMS).
Key Distinction/Mechanism: Unlike healthy foals whose neurosteroid levels rapidly drop within 48 hours of birth, foals with NMS maintain high levels for days, and analyzing these levels alongside specific brain-cell-produced neuroproteins provides a clearer diagnostic picture.
Origin/History: The research, published in the Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine in September 2026, was conducted by a team from North Carolina State University and supported by the Morris Animal Foundation.
Major Frameworks/Components:
- The study focuses on three neuroproteins—brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and S100B—which are typically used to diagnose neurological diseases in humans.
- It also analyzes three pregnanes, which are neurosteroids derived from the pregnancy hormone progesterone.
- The research indicates that lower BDNF concentrations after 24 hours and higher S100B levels on admission are associated with NMS in septic foals.
Branch of Science: Veterinary Medicine, Neurology, Pathology, Endocrinology.
Future Application: Developing practical, rapid diagnostic tools and targeted clinical therapies for foals suffering from NMS, prematurity, or sepsis.
Why It Matters: NMS is a complex disease where foals exhibit neurological signs such as a lack of nursing reflex or even seizures, but because they can recover if brain damage is ruled out, early and accurate diagnosis is critical for effective supportive care.
Researchers from North Carolina State University have found that blood serum concentrations of both neuroproteins and neurosteroids are associated with neonatal maladjustment syndrome (NMS) in newborn foals. The work could lead to better diagnostic tools and potential therapies.
"Neonatal maladjustment syndrome is a very complex disease in neonatal foals," says Katarzyna Dembek, associate professor of clinical sciences at NC State and corresponding author of the research. "Foals with NMS usually develop neurological signs at birth or within the first 24–48 hours after birth. When you rule out brain damage from foaling, many of those foals with NMS can recover. But the mechanism behind the disease is not completely understood."
While clinical signs of NMS are variable, the most common one is a lack of a normal nursing reflex. On the more severe side, foals can develop seizures and become comatose. Treatment consists primarily of using a feeding tube or teaching the foal to drink from a bucket until it can be weaned, as well as providing supportive care for more severe cases.
Dembek's team was specifically interested in three neuroproteins, two of which are produced by astrocytes, or brain cells that support the nervous system. These neuroproteins, brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF), glial fibrillary acidic protein (GFAP), and astrocytic protein S100B, are used for the diagnosis of several different neurological diseases, such as Parkinson's disease or neonatal encephalopathy in people, but have not been studied in foals with neurological symptoms.
The team took blood serum and plasma measurements from 14 healthy and 58 hospitalized foals. Of the hospitalized foals, 19 were NMS foals, while the others presented with different diseases, such as sepsis or diarrhea. Blood serum was measured at admission, and again at days 1 and 2 of hospitalization.
In addition to the neuroproteins, the team measured the levels of three pregnanes, or neurosteroids that are produced in the brain and can affect neuronal function. These neurosteroids are metabolites of progesterone, a pregnancy hormone, and have been detected at high levels in the brains of both normal foals and foals with NMS.
"The difference is, while normal healthy foals have high concentrations of those progesterone-derived steroids, the levels decrease very quickly," Dembek says. "Within 24–48 hours, they're unmeasurable. However, foals with neurological signs retain that high concentration for days. We measured the pregnane levels in addition to the proteins to confirm NMS in the foals."
They saw that the pregnane levels remained high in NMS foals compared with both healthy and sick foals. For the neuroproteins, they saw that BDNF concentration decreased over the first day of hospitalization in NMS foals, S100B was higher in septic foals with NMS compared with septic foals without NMS, and GFAP concentration was lower in NMS and sick foals compared with healthy foals.
"I think that the main finding here is that pregnanes and these neuroproteins—particularly BDNF and S100B—could serve as biomarkers of not only NMS, but prematurity and sepsis as well," Dembek says. "Further research is necessary to establish practical applications for S100B and BDNF in clinical settings and to fully understand the dynamics of these biomarkers."
Funding: Morris Animal Foundation.
Published in journal: Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine
Title: Biomarkers of brain injury in foals with neonatal maladjustment syndrome
Authors: Javier Perez Quesada, Kinnidy Coley, David Wong, Nimet Browne, Myriah Albrecht, and Katarzyna Dembek
Source/Credit: North Carolina State University | Tracey Peake
Edited by: Scientific Frontline
Reference Number: vet092826_01