Editing Locoweed (section)

== Diagnosis ==
[[Medical diagnosis|Diagnosis]] of clinical poisoning is generally made by documenting exposure, identifying the neurologic signs, and analyzing [[blood serum]] for alpha-mannosidase activity and swainsonine.<ref name="pmid10091126"/>

In [[mule deer]], clinical signs of locoism are similar to [[chronic wasting disease]]. [[Histology|Histological]] signs of vacuolation provide a [[differential diagnosis]].<ref name="pmid16145203">{{cite journal
| vauthors = Stegelmeier BL, James LF, Gardner DR, Panter KE, Lee ST, Ralphs MH, Pfister JA, Spraker TR
| title = Locoweed (''Oxytropis sericea'')-induced lesions in mule deer (''Odocoileius hemionus'')
| journal = Veterinary Pathology
| volume = 42
| issue = 5
| pages = 566–78
| date = September 2005
| pmid = 16145203
| doi = 10.1354/vp.42-5-566
| url = https://naldc-legacy.nal.usda.gov/naldc/download.xhtml?id=31601&content=PDF
| doi-access = 
| s2cid = 2219085
| url-access = subscription
}}{{Dead link|date=November 2024 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref>

[[Sub-clinical]] intoxication has been investigated in cattle grazing on ''Astragalus mollissimus''. As the estimated intake of swainsonine increased, [[blood serum]] alpha-mannosidase activity and [[albumin]] decreased, and [[alkaline phosphatase]] and [[thyroid hormone]] increased.<ref name="pmid7858027">{{cite journal
|vauthors=Stegelmeier BL, Ralphs MH, Gardner DR, Molyneux RJ, James LF | title = Serum alpha-mannosidase activity and the clinicopathologic alterations of locoweed (''Astragalus mollissimus'') intoxication in range cattle
| journal = Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation
| volume = 6
| issue = 4
| pages = 473–9
|date=October 1994
| pmid = 7858027
| doi = 10.1177/104063879400600412
| doi-access = 
| s2cid = 32914209
}}</ref>