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Topic:Diagnosis
Diagnosis in horses involves the systematic identification of diseases and conditions affecting equine health. This process relies on a combination of clinical evaluations, laboratory tests, imaging techniques, and other diagnostic tools to assess the health status of horses. Veterinarians utilize these methods to identify symptoms, determine the underlying causes of health issues, and formulate appropriate treatment plans. Diagnostic procedures in equine medicine can include blood tests, ultrasound, radiography, endoscopy, and more specialized tests such as genetic screening or advanced imaging modalities like MRI and CT scans. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various diagnostic techniques, their applications, and advancements in the field of equine veterinary medicine.
[Comparison of direct smear observations and bacteriologic culture results carried out on equine tracheal secretions]. The aim of the study was to assess the relation between the direct smear observations and bacteriological results carried out on equine tracheal secretions. A total of 304 cases comprising both the direct smear (Gram stain) and the bacteriological culture, over a period of 8 years, were submitted to this retrospective study. Most of the specimens (78%) were obtained using tracheal washings while the rest (22%) originated from tracheal brushings. A total of 96 specimens (32%) were negative for both direct smear and culture. The positive predictive value of direct smears appeared high (81-96%) w...
Aortic root disease in four horses. Clinical findings in 4 horses with aortic root disease are described. Three of the horses had aneurysms of the right aortic sinus, and in 2 of the 3, the aneurysm ruptured, creating a fistula between the aorta and right ventricle. One of these horses had had a murmur since birth, and the aortic sinus aneurysm may have been a congenital anomaly. In a second horse, the aneurysm may have been an acquired condition that developed secondary to chronic aortic regurgitation. Another horse had a large subendocardial hematoma associated with dissection of blood from the aorta to the interventricular se...
Systemic relaxin in pregnant pony mares grazed on endophyte-infected fescue: effects of fluphenazine treatment. Tall fescue is one of the most widely grown forage grasses for horses in the United States. However, it is frequently infected with the endophyte Neotyphodium coenophialum which produces ergot alkaloids that cause severe adverse effects in the pregnant mare. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of fescue toxicosis and fluphenazine on circulating relaxin in pregnant pony mares and evaluate the usefulness of relaxin as a monitor of treatment efficacy. Twelve mares were maintained on endophyte-infected tall fescue pasture. Group TRT (n = 6), received 25 mg of fluphenazine de...
Mares with delayed uterine clearance have an intrinsic defect in myometrial function. Persistent, postmating endometritis affects approximately 15% of mares and results in reduced fertility and sizable economic losses to the horse-breeding industry. Mares that are susceptible to postmating endometritis have delayed uterine clearance associated with reduced uterine contractility. Unfortunately, the mechanism for reduced uterine contractility remains an enigma. The present study examined the hypothesis that mares with delayed uterine clearance have an intrinsic contractile defect of the myometrium. Myometrial contractility was evaluated in vitro by measuring isometric tension gen...
Enhanced survival of lung granulocytes in an animal model of asthma: evidence for a role of GM-CSF activated STAT5 signalling pathway. As granulocyte/macrophage colony stimulating factor (GM-CSF) mediated delay of granulocyte apoptosis contributes to the accumulation of inflammatory cells at the site of inflammation in many diseases, we sought to determine whether asthma is also associated with a GM-CSF dependent increase in lung granulocyte survival. Moreover, because GM-CSF mediates its effects through activation of signal transducer and activator of transcription 5 (STAT5), we also investigated the potential role of STAT5 in allergic inflammation. Methods: Blood granulocytes were recovered from six healthy and six heaves a...
Evidence of Borna disease virus genome detection in French domestic animals and in foxes (Vulpes vulpes). Borna disease virus (BDV) is an enveloped, non-segmented negative-stranded RNA virus which belongs to the Bornaviridae family. BDV is an aetiological agent of encephalitis in horses, sheep and several other vertebrate species. In order to extend our knowledge about the presence of BDV in France, a study based on BDV RNA detection by RT-nested-PCR was done with 196 animal tissues: 171 brain samples collected from different animal species (75 horses, 59 foxes, 31 cattle, 4 dogs, 1 sheep, 1 roe deer) and 25 horse blood samples. An RNA internal standard molecule was constructed and was co-amplifie...
The novel picornavirus Equine rhinitis B virus contains a strong type II internal ribosomal entry site which functions similarly to that of Encephalomyocarditis virus. Equine rhinitis B virus (ERBV) has recently been classified as an Erbovirus, a new genus in the Picornaviridae family. ERBV is distantly related to members of the Cardiovirus and Aphthovirus genera which utilize a type II internal ribosome entry sequence (IRES) to initiate translation. We show that ERBV also possesses the core stem-loop structures (H-L) of a type II IRES. The function of the ERBV IRES was characterized using bicistronic plasmids that were analysed both by transfection into BHK-21 cells and by in vitro transcription and translation in rabbit reticulocyte lysates. In both system...
Two new variants of the Rhodococcus equi virulence plasmid, 90 kb type III and type IV, recovered from a foal in Japan. This report describes the discovery of two new virulence plasmid types from a crossbred foal with Rhodococcus equi pneumonia in Kumamoto died with severe R. equi pneumonia and ulcerative enteritis. R. equi was isolated in large numbers and isolates from the foal were investigated for the presence of virulence-associated 15-17 kDa antigens (VapA) by colony blotting, using the monoclonal antibody 10G5, and by gene coding for VapA by PCR. Plasmid DNAs extracted from the isolates were digested with restriction endonucleases BamHI, EcoRI, EcoT22I, and HindIII. The digestion patterns that resulted d...
Solution NMR determination of the seating(s) of meso-nitro-etioheme-1 in myoglobin: implications for steric constraints to meso position access in heme degradation by coupled oxidation. The highly stereoselective cleavage of hemin in myoglobin by coupled oxidation has been attributed to steric barriers that leave more space near the alpha- than the other meso-positions. The steric barriers near meso positions in myoglobin have been investigated by establishing the thermodynamics and dynamics of possible seatings in the pocket of horse myoglobin of a four-fold symmetric etioheme I modified with a bulky nitro group at a single meso position. The cyanomet complex of this reconstituted myoglobin exhibits three sets of (1)H NMR resonances that are linked dynamically and occur in a...
Persistent mucin glycoprotein alterations in equine recurrent airway obstruction. Horses with the episodic asthmalike condition of recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) have bouts of inflammation and bronchoconstriction associated with indoor housing. To assess the potential differences in airway secretions between RAO-affected and control horses, methods to quantify mucus secretions were developed and applied to bronchoalveolar lavage fluid. The relative difference in the amount of mucin glycoproteins between control and RAO-affected horses was assessed with a carbohydrate side chain-specific monoclonal antibody (4E4) in an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay and by carbohydrat...
Analyses of quaternary ammonium drugs in horse urine by capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry. A capillary electrophoresis-mass spectrometry (CE-MS) method for the analysis of quaternary ammonium drugs in equine urine was developed. Quaternary ammonium drugs were first extracted from equine urine by ion-pair extraction and then analysed by CE-MS in the positive electrospray ionization (ESI) mode. Within 12 min, eight quaternary ammonium drugs, each at 1 ng/mL in horse urine, could be detected. The confirmation of these drugs in urine samples was achieved by capillary electrophoresis tandem mass spectrometry (CE-MS/MS). A direct comparison of this method was made with existing liquid chr...
Percutaneous ultrasound-guided pyelography aided diagnosis of ectopic ureter and hydronephrosis in a 3-week-old filly. Ultrasound-guided percutaneous pyelography has previously been used in dogs to diagnose ectopic ureter. To the authors' knowledge its use has never been reported in the horse. This paper reports the technique used in a three-week-old filly with a suspected ectopic ureter. Pyelography can be performed under sedation and is a relatively simple, safe procedure. The technique enables assessment of individual renal function through collection and analysis of urine from each renal pelvis.
Trypanosoma evansi control and horse mortality in the Brazilian Pantanal. The impact of three treatment strategies for Trypanosoma evansi control on horse mortality in the Brazilian Pantanal based on four size categories of cattle ranches is explored. The region's 49,000 horses are indispensable to traditional extensive cattle ranching and T. evansi kills horses. About 13% of these horses would be lost, annually, due to T. evansi if no control were undertaken. One preventive and two curative treatment strategies are financially justifiable in the Pantanal. The best available technology for the treatment of T. evansi from a horse mortality perspective is the preventi...
Magnetic resonance imaging features of equine nigropallidal encephalomalacia. Magnetic resonance imaging (MR) was used to make a diagnosis of equine nigropallidal encephalomalacia in a horse. Equine nigropallidal encephalomalacia is a neurodegenerative disease that has many characteristics with Parkinson-like diseases in humans. Historically, horses were euthanized based on clinical signs and exposure to the toxic weed, yellow star thistle (Centaurea solstitialis). Previously, the disease has only been confirmed on necropsy. MR imaging can provide accurate and sensitive visualization of typical lesions seen in the brain of horses affected with equine nigropallidal encep...
Ultrasound appearance of an equine testicular seminoma. A 16-year-old thoroughbred stallion developed sudden swelling of the left testicle. The stallion had previously been regarded as a unilateral cryptorchid. Ultrasound examination of the left testicle revealed a diffusely heterogeneous parenchyma. The testicle was diffusely hypoechoic with ill defined regions of hyperechogenicity giving the appearance of hypoechoic nodules throughout the testicular parenchyma. No normal testicular tissue was identifiable. An echogenic band, representing a pseudocapsule could be seen surrounding the testicle. Histopathologic diagnosis a seminoma.
Use of quantitative analysis of sonographic brightness for detection of early healing of tendon injury in horses. To determine whether quantitative analysis of sonographic brightness could be used to detect healing of an induced injury of the superficial digital flexor tendon in horses and whether rate of healing was influenced by equine recombinant growth hormone. Methods: 8 clinically normal Standardbreds. Methods: A localized injury was created in the left and right superficial digital flexor tendons of each horse by injection of 2,000 units of collagenase. After injury, 4 horses received equine recombinant growth hormone, a possible promoter of tendon healing. Sonographic images (7.5 MHz) of the flexo...
Evaluation of equine immunoglobulin specific for Rhodococcus equi virulence-associated proteins A and C for use in protecting foals against Rhodococcus equi-induced pneumonia. To determine whether purified equine immunoglobulin specific for Rhodococcus equi virulence-associated proteins A and C (VapA and VapC) can confer passive protection against R. equi-induced pneumonia in foals. Methods: Twenty-eight 3-week-old mixed-breed pony foals. Methods: 7 foals received IV injections of equine hyperimmune plasma (HIP) against whole-cell R. equi, and 7 received purified equine immunoglobulin specific for VapA and VapC 1 day prior to intrabronchial infection with R. equi strain 103+. Eleven foals were not treated prior to infection, and 3 control foals were neither treated ...
Derivation and characterization of a live attenuated equine influenza vaccine virus. To develop and characterize a cold-adapted live attenuated equine-2 influenza virus effective as an intranasal vaccine. Methods: 8 ponies approximately 18 months of age. Methods: A wild-type equine-2 virus, A/Equine/Kentucky/1/91 (H3N8), was serially passaged in embryonated chicken eggs at temperatures gradually reduced in a stepwise manner from 34 C to 30 C to 28 C to 26 C. At different passages, infected allantoic fluids were tested for the ability of progeny virus to replicate in Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells at 34 C and 39.5 C. Virus clones that replicated at 26 C in eggs and at 3...
Marsupialization and iodine sclerotherapy of a branchial cyst in a horse. A 6-month-old Morgan colt was evaluated because of a 10-cm right-sided retropharyngeal swelling. The swelling was soft and moveable on examination, and palpation did not elicit signs of pain. Radiography revealed a large space-occupying mass ventral to the second cervical vertebra; ultrasonography revealed an anechoic fluid-filled structure with a well-defined hyperechoic capsule. Fine-needle aspiration yielded a viscous amber fluid. Cytologic evaluation indicated that the fluid was an exudate; anaerobic and aerobic bacterial culture did not yield any growth. Histologic examination of a portio...
High intensity light increases olfactory bulb melatonin in Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus infection. In mice infected with the Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis (VEE) virus and exposed to high intensity light (2500 lux) with a 12 h light: 12 h dark photoperiod, a significant increase in the levels of melatonin in the olfactory bulb was observed. The significance of these findings deserves further studies to understand the mechanisms involved in this effect since the olfactory bulbs have been proposed as first portal for VEE virus entry into the CNS. The increase in melatonin content could represent one of the mechanisms of defense against the viral attack.
Congenital hypotrichosis in a Percheron draught horse. A blue roan Percheron foal was born with poorly circumscribed patchy alopecia of the trunk and legs. Teeth and hoof development were normal. Alopecia was progressive, becoming almost complete by 1 year of age. Histopathological findings in a skin biopsy obtained at 7 months of age were consistent with severe follicular hypoplasia. Sebaceous glands, epitrichial sweat glands and arrector pilae muscles were normal. The horse is alive and otherwise well at 6 years of age, although adult stature is considered small for this breed. The clinical history and histopathological findings are most consist...
Zonal dermal separation: a distinctive histopathological lesion associated with hyperelastosis cutis in a Quarter Horse. This case report describes a distinctive deep cutaneous lesion in a 1-year-old Quarter Horse filly with hyperelastosis cutis. The horse had a typical clinical presentation of hyperelastic skin associated with a 6-month history of cutaneous wounds that developed following minor cutaneous trauma. Punch biopsies of skin from the affected horse were thinner than similar biopsies from an age- and breed-matched control. Significant microscopic lesions were not seen in cutaneous punch biopsies stained with haematoxylin and eosin and Masson's trichrome stains, but the ultrastructure of the dermis from...
