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Topic:Comparative Study
Comparative studies in equine research involve the systematic analysis of different horse breeds, management practices, or physiological responses to identify variations and similarities. These studies are instrumental in understanding how different factors influence health, performance, and behavior in horses. Common areas of comparison include genetic traits, nutritional requirements, disease resistance, and response to training. By evaluating these differences, researchers can develop targeted strategies for breeding, healthcare, and training. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that focus on the methodologies, findings, and implications of comparative studies in the context of equine science.
Equine laminitis: comparative histopathology 48 hours after experimental induction with insulin or alimentary oligofructose in standardbred horses. Laminitis has many triggers and comparing the histopathology of lesions induced by different causes may help to establish whether a common mechanism or multiple pathologies are involved. The aim of this study was to describe the microscopical lesions and to quantify morphometric changes in the lamellae of horses with insulin-induced (n=4) and oligofructose (OF)-induced laminitis (n=4) compared with normal controls (n=4). Archived lamellar samples collected during two previous studies were used. Laminitis was induced within 48 h in standardbred horses with either a euglycaemic, hyperinsulinaemi...
Role of oxidative tissue injury in the pathophysiology of experimentally induced equine laminitis: a comparison of 2 models. Oxidative stress reportedly plays a role in sepsis-induced organ dysfunction and failure in many species. In septic horses, laminae are targeted; evidence of laminar oxidative stress has been reported experimentally in the black walnut extract (BWE) model. Carbohydrate (CHO)-induced laminitis may be more similar to clinical sepsis-related laminitis than the BWE model in that animals with CHO-induced disease commonly develop laminar failure. The role of oxidative stress in the CHO model remains unknown. Objective: Markers of oxidative stress will be increased in laminae from horses with BWE- an...
Comparison of medial and lateral ultrasound-guided approaches for periarticular injection of the thoracolumbar intervertebral facet joints in horses. To compare ultrasound-guided lateral and medial approaches for periarticular injections of the thoracolumbar intervertebral facet joints (IFJ). Methods: Experimental cadaveric study. Methods: Adult equine cadavers (n=4). Methods: IFJ (T12-T13 to L5-L6) were identified by ultrasound (transducer perpendicular to the spine axis) and insertion of a 13 cm, 18 g spinal needle monitored until bone contact using medial (right side) and lateral (left side) approaches. Number of needle insertions at each site, needle repositioning, and insertion depth were recorded. On bone contact 2 mL latex was ...
Host associated polymorphisms in the Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis rpoB gene sequence. Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis is a widespread facultative intracellular pathogen that causes caseous lymphadenitis disease in sheep and goats, and generates cutaneous abscesses and granulomas in horses and cattle. Although some genes have been studied for diagnostic and phylogenetic analysis within the genus Corynebacterium, at subspecies level the pathogen has been poorly analyzed. The aim of this study was to characterize C. pseudotuberculosis strains isolated from domestic animals, through the sequencing of a hypervariable rpoB gene segment. As result, there were identified host associ...
Improvement of embryo production by the replacement of the last two doses of porcine follicle-stimulating hormone with equine chorionic gonadotropin in Sindhi donors. The aim of this study was to evaluate the superovulatory (SOV) response of Sindhi (Bos indicus) donors submitted to an ovarian follicular superstimulatory protocol replacing the last two doses of pFSH by eCG. Forty-eight SOV treatments were performed in a crossover design in 19 nulliparous and primiparous females that were randomly divided into two groups: FSH (n=24), which consisted of eight pFSH injections, or FSH/eCG (n=24), which consisted of six pFSH injections followed by two eCG injections. Each female underwent two or three SOV treatments that consisted of an i.m. injection of 2mg estr...
A comparison of antibody responses to commercial equine influenza vaccines following annual booster vaccination of National Hunt horses – a randomised blind study. Protection against equine influenza virus (EIV) relies largely on the production of circulating antibodies specific for the haemagglutinin (HA) glycoprotein. The objective of this study was to determine the antibody response of National Hunt horses in training to booster vaccination. The antibody response to the six equine influenza vaccines available in Ireland (three whole inactivated vaccines, two subunit vaccines and a canary pox recombinant vaccine), was monitored by single radial haemolysis (SRH) for six months post vaccination. There was no significant difference between antibody respon...
Comparative evolutionary analyses of beta globin gene in eutherian, dinosaurian and neopterygii taxa. Comparative genomics and evolutionary analyses of conserved genes have enabled us to understand the complexity of genomes of closely related species. For example: β-globin gene present in human hemoglobin is one such gene that has experienced many genetic changes in many related taxa and produced more than 600 variants. One of the variant, HBS causes sickle-cell anemia in humans but offers protection against severe malaria due to Plasmodium falciparum. In the present study, we characterized and performed evolutionary comparative analyses of the ?-globin gene in different related and unrelated...
The effect of environmental storage conditions on bone marrow fat determination in three species. Diagnostic laboratories are frequently required to assess the antemortem nutritional condition of deceased animals. The percentage of fat in the bone marrow is used to diagnose starvation because this fat depot is typically the last in the body to be depleted. Diagnosticians rely on measurement of bone marrow adipose content using fat solvent-extraction methods; however, the effects of tissue storage conditions before processing have not been fully assessed. The current study focuses on evaluating the effects of 3 storage conditions (refrigeration [4 °C], freezing [-20 °C], and ambient tempe...
A functional turbidimetric method to determine C-reactive protein in horses. A turbidimetric method to determine serum C-reactive protein (CRP) concentration, based on soybean oil-phosphocholine interaction, was performed on horse serum samples to evaluate its potential diagnostic value in veterinary medicine. Intralipid 20% in 0.1 M Tris-calcium buffer (pH 7.5) was added to horse serum. After 30 min of incubation at 37 °C, the CRP-phosphocholine complexes were turbidimetrically, bichromatically (660 nm/700 nm) quantified on a commercial analyzer. Furthermore, comparison between CRP and other inflammatory markers, including white blood cell and neutrophil counts, was ...
Expressed gene sequence of the IFNγ-response chemokine CXCL9 of cattle, horses, and swine. This report describes the cloning and characterization of expressed gene sequences of bovine, equine, and swine CXCL9 from RNA obtained from peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and other tissues. The bovine coding region was 378 nucleotides in length, while the equine and swine coding regions were 381 nucleotides. Mapping showed that all three sequences were coded for in four exons in the genome, as are the human and mouse genes. The bovine, equine, and swine coding regions shared 83%, 86%, and 84% homology with human CXCL9, respectively, and all three were 74% homologous with mouse CXCL...
Endocrine dysregulation in critically ill foals and horses. Critical illness challenges many endocrine homeostatic systems to overcome diseases, stress, and hostile conditions that threaten survival. Coordinated and consecutive responses by the autonomic nervous system, endocrine metabolic adaptations to mobilize and conserve energy and electrolytes, cardiovascular adjustments to maintain organ perfusion, and immunomodulation to overcome infections and inflammation are required. Because most admissions to equine intensive care units are related to horses with gastrointestinal disease and septic foals, most endocrine information during critical disease ...
Hypothalamic-pituitary gland axis function and dysfunction in horses. Hypothalamic-pituitary (HP) dysfunction has been documented in a limited capacity in horses and foals associated with critical illness, stress, and pain. This article reviews species-specific details of anatomy, function, hormones, receptors, and testing of the HP axis in the horse. A discussion of critical care medicine relevant to HP dysfunction in the horse with some reference to current understanding in human medicine is made, focusing primarily on current and relevant literature. A brief mention of other conditions described in human and veterinary medicine is also provided for reference ...
Autologous conditioned serum: the comparative cytokine profiles of two commercial methods (IRAP and IRAP II) using equine blood. Osteoarthritis (OA) is one of the most prevalent and debilitating conditions affecting the horse. Autologous conditioned serum (ACS), commercially available as IRAP and IRAP II, is a recently developed treatment for OA in which plasma is prepared from venous blood by incubation with glass beads for 24 h. This product has been shown to increase anti-inflammatory cytokines and growth factors in human blood. However, data for equine ACS preparations are lacking. Objective: To characterise the protein profiles produced by commercially available ACS systems in equine blood. Methods: Blood was dra...
Comparative efficacy of inhaled albuterol between two hand-held delivery devices in horses with recurrent airway obstruction. Studies investigating the clinical efficacy of albuterol administered with the same propellant and commercially available delivery devices in horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) are not currently available. Objective: To determine the efficacy of aerosolised albuterol administered to horses with RAO by means of 2 commercially available, hand-held delivery devices. Methods: Ten horses with RAO were kept in a dusty environment and fed mouldy hay to induce airway obstruction. Lung mechanics were measured before and after the procedure. ΔP(max) was measured 5 min after administration o...
Quantification of left ventricular longitudinal strain, strain rate, velocity, and displacement in healthy horses by 2-dimensional speckle tracking. The quantification of equine left ventricular (LV) function is generally limited to short-axis M-mode measurements. However, LV deformation is 3-dimensional (3D) and consists of longitudinal shortening, circumferential shortening, and radial thickening. In human medicine, longitudinal motion is the best marker of subtle myocardial dysfunction. Objective: To evaluate the feasibility and reliability of 2-dimensional speckle tracking (2DST) for quantifying equine LV longitudinal function. Methods: Ten healthy untrained trotter horses; 9.6 ± 4.4 years; 509 ± 58 kg. Methods: Prospective study. Re...
Comparison of three methods of injecting the proximal interphalangeal joint in horses. The efficacy of three methods of injecting the equine proximal interphalangeal (pastern) joint was compared using cadaver limbs. Five veterinary students without prior experience attempted to inject an aqueous radiographic contrast medium into the joint using five limbs for each technique. The number of attempts was recorded and successful injection of the joint was confirmed by the presence of intra-articular contrast on radiographic examination. Levels of accuracy for the dorsal, dorsolateral and palmaroproximal approaches were 32, 48 and 36 per cent, respectively. There was inadvertent inje...
Molecular cloning and characterization of phospholipase C zeta in equine sperm and testis reveals species-specific differences in expression of catalytically active protein. Oocyte activation at fertilization is brought about by the testis-specific phospholipase C zeta (PLCZ), owing to its ability to induce oscillations in intracellular Ca(2+) concentration ([Ca(2+)](i)). Whereas this is a highly conserved mechanism among mammals, important species-specific differences in PLCZ sequence, activity, and expression have been reported. Thus, the objectives of this research were to clone and characterize the intracellular Ca(2+)-releasing activity and expression of equine PLCZ in sperm and testis. Molecular cloning of equine PLCZ yielded a 1914-bp sequence that translat...
In vitro metabolic studies using homogenized horse liver in place of horse liver microsomes. The study of the metabolism of drugs, in particular steroids, by both in vitro and in vivo methods has been carried out in the authors' laboratory for many years. For in vitro metabolic studies, the microsomal fraction isolated from horse liver is often used. However, the process of isolating liver microsomes is cumbersome and tedious. In addition, centrifugation at high speeds (over 100 000 g) may lead to loss of enzymes involved in phase I metabolism, which may account for the difference often observed between in vivo and in vitro results. We have therefore investigated the feasibility of us...
Assessment of body fat in the pony: part II. Validation of the deuterium oxide dilution technique for the measurement of body fat. Excessive accumulations or depletions of body fat have been associated with increased morbidity and mortality in horses and ponies. An objective, minimally-invasive method to accurately quantify body fat in living animals is required to aid nutritional management and define welfare/performance limits. Objective: To compare deuterium oxide (D(2) O) dilution-derived estimates of total body water (TBW) and body fat with values obtained by 'gold standard' proximate analysis and cadaver dissection. Objective: D(2) O dilution offers a valid method for the determination of TBW and body fat in equids....
The difference in kinematics of horses walking, trotting and cantering on a flat and banked 10 m circle. Locomotion adaptation mechanisms have been observed in horses, but little information is available in relation to banked and nonbanked curve locomotion, which might be important to optimise training environments. Objective: To determine if adaptation mechanisms in horses existed when moving on a banked compared to a flat curve and whether adaptation was similar in different gaits. Methods: Eight infrared cameras were positioned on the outside of a 10 m lungeing circle and calibrated. Retroreflective markers were used to define left and right metacarpus (McIII) and proximal phalanges (P1), meta...
Determination of angiotensin I-converting enzyme activity in equine blood: lack of agreement between methods of analysis. Angiotensin-I converting enzyme (ACE) is a key regulator of blood pressure, electrolytes and fluid homeostasis through conversion of angiotensin I into angiotensin II. Recently, a genetic polymorphism of the ACE gene, which accounts for 47% of the variation of ACE activity in blood, has been advocated as a biomarker of athletic aptitude. Different methods of analysis and determination of ACE activity in plasma have been used in human and equine research without a consensus of a "gold standard" method. Different methods have often been used interchangeably or cited as being comparable in the ex...
Performance comparison between 8- and 14-bit-depth imaging in polarization-sensitive swept-source optical coherence tomography. Recently the effects of reduced bit-depth acquisition on swept-source optical coherence tomography (SS-OCT) image quality have been evaluated by using simulations and empirical studies, showing that image acquisition at 8-bit depth allows high system sensitivity with only a minimal drop in the signal-to-noise ratio compared to higher bit-depth systems. However, in these studies the 8-bit data is actually 12- or 14-bit ADC data numerically truncated to 8 bits. In practice, a native 8-bit ADC could actually possess a true bit resolution lower than this due to the electronic jitter in the convert...
An interlaboratory study of the pharmacokinetics of testosterone following intramuscular administration to Thoroughbred horses. Testosterone is an anabolic androgenic steroid (AAS) that is endogenously produced by both male and female horses that also has the potential for abuse when administered exogenously to race horses. To recommend appropriate withdrawal guidelines so that veterinarians can discontinue therapeutic use prior to competition, the pharmacokinetics and elimination of testosterone were investigated. An aqueous testosterone suspension was administered intramuscularly in the neck of Thoroughbred horses (n = 20). The disposition of testosterone from this formulation was characterized by an initial, rapid a...
Vaccination elicits a prominent acute phase response in horses. European and American guidelines for vaccination against tetanus and influenza in horses recommend annual and annual/semi-annual vaccinations, respectively, against the two pathogens. Too-frequent vaccination may, however, have adverse effects, among other things because an inflammatory response is elicited with subsequent alterations in homeostasis. The objective of the study was to compare the acute phase response (APR) in 10 horses following administration of two different types of vaccines, namely, an inactivated Immune Stimulating COMplex (ISCOM) vaccine and a live recombinant vector vacc...
Genetic variability in the Skyros pony and its relationship with other Greek and foreign horse breeds. In Greece, seven native horse breeds have been identified so far. Among these, the Skyros pony is outstanding through having a distinct phenotype. In the present study, the aim was to assess genetic diversity in this breed, by using different types of genetic loci and available genealogical information. Its relationships with the other Greek, as well as foreign, domestic breeds were also investigated. Through microsatellite and pedigree analysis it appeared that the Skyros presented a similar level of genetic diversity to the other European breeds. Nevertheless, comparisons between DNA-based a...
An in vitro biomechanical comparison of equine proximal interphalangeal joint arthrodesis techniques: two parallel transarticular headless tapered variable pitch screws versus two parallel transarticular AO cortical bone screws inserted in lag fashion. To compare the mean number of cycles to failure under axial compression of equine proximal interphalangeal (PIP) joint arthrodesis constructs created by 2 parallel transarticular Acutrak Plus screws (AP-TS) or 2 parallel transarticular 5.5 mm cortical screws inserted in lag fashion (AO-TLS). Methods: Paired in vitro biomechanical testing of 2 methods of stabilizing cadaveric adult equine forelimb PIP joints. Methods: Cadaveric adult equine forelimbs (n=5 pairs). Methods: For each forelimb pair, 1 PIP joint was stabilized with AP-TS and 1 with AP-TLS. The 5 construct pairs were tested for cycli...
Inertial properties of equine limb segments. Quantifying the dynamics of limb movements requires knowledge of the mass distribution between and within limb segments. We measured segment masses, positions of segmental center of mass and moments of inertia of the fore and hind limb segments for 38 horses of different breeds and sizes. After disarticulation by dissections, segments were weighed and the position of the center of mass was determined by suspension. Moment of inertia was measured using a trifilar pendulum. We found that mass distribution does not change with size for animals under 600 kg and report ratios of segmental masses to...
Statistical analysis of bone mineral density using voxel-based morphometry-an application on proximal sesamoid bones in racehorses. Voxel-based morphometry (VBM) is a computational technique that has been used to analyze statistical differences between groups of MR brain images. This study outlines a new VBM pipeline, designed for determining statistical variation in bone mineral density (BMD). CT images of proximal sesamoid bone (PSB) specimens from the right forelimb of six racehorses that had suffered PSB fractures were compared with six age-matched control specimens. Following segmentation, masked gray-scale images were co-aligned to a statistical template generated with all 12 CT datasets iteratively. Student t-tests ...
