Disease diagnosis in horses involves the identification and characterization of illnesses through various diagnostic methods and tools. This process is essential for effective veterinary care and management of equine health. Techniques used in diagnosing diseases in horses include clinical examinations, laboratory tests, imaging modalities such as ultrasonography and radiography, and molecular diagnostics. Blood tests are frequently utilized to assess parameters such as complete blood count and biochemical profiles, which can indicate underlying health issues. Additionally, advancements in genetic testing and biomarker identification have enhanced the ability to detect specific diseases early. This page aggregates peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore diagnostic methodologies, their applications, and their impact on equine health management.
Bubeck KA, García-Lopez JM, Jenei TM, Maranda LS.To compare heat generation during insertion, pullout strength, and associated microdamage between a self-tapping positive profile transfixation pin (STTP) and nontapping positive profile transfixation pin (NTTP). Methods: 30 pairs of third metacarpal bones (MC3s) from adult equine cadavers. Methods: One MC3 of each pair was assigned to the STTP group; the other was assigned to the NTTP group. The assigned pin was inserted into the diaphysis in a lateral to medial direction. Bone temperature increase during pilot-hole drilling and pin insertion was recorded at 1 mm from the final thread positio...
Relave F, David F, Leclère M, Alexander K, Hélie P, Meulyzer M, Lavoie JP, Marcoux M.To validate the use of the LigaSure™ Vessel Sealing System (LVSS) to perform thoracoscopic lung tissue biopsies in heaves-affected horses. Methods: Prospective clinical study. Methods: Heaves-affected horses (n=12). Methods: Lung biopsies (n=34) were collected with the LVSS (2-4 biopsies/horse) in horses with and without clinical signs of heaves. Thoracoscope (13th intercostal space [ICS]) and 2 instruments (between the 12-15th ICS) portals were used. Selected clinical and arterial blood gas variables were monitored. Postoperative pneumothorax was evaluated. Depth of thermal injury to the su...
Hilton H, Aleman M, Madigan J, Nieto J.To describe the indications for, complications arising from, and outcome of horses that had standing lateral thoracotomy for pleural or pericardial disease. Methods: Case series. Methods: Horses (n=16). Methods: Medical records (January 1990-December 2008) of sedated standing horses that had lateral thoracotomy were reviewed. Clinical and surgical findings, perioperative and short-term complications were recorded. Long-term (>6 months) outcome was determined through telephone conversations with owners and veterinarians. Results: Mean (±SD) horse age was 6.6±5.3 years (range, 1-15 years). ...
Lopes MA, Salter CE, Vandenplas ML, Berghaus R, Hurley DJ, Moore JN.To investigate whether expression of inflammation-associated genes in leukocytes from horses with gastrointestinal tract (GIT) diseases correlated with the type of disease and outcome. Methods: 10 healthy horses and 50 horses with GIT disease. Methods: A blood sample was collected from each healthy horse or horse with GIT disease (during admission to the hospital). Leukocytes were isolated, diluted to a standard concentration, and frozen until RNA extraction. Expression of 14 genes associated with inflammation was quantified by use of a real-time quantitative reverse transcription PCR assay. R...
Sanz MG, Sellon DC, Potter KA.A 25-year-old Appaloosa gelding was evaluated for chronic weight loss and diarrhea. A clinical diagnosis of protein loosing enteropathy was made and the gelding was euthanized. Histology revealed neoplastic lymphocytes infiltrating the mucosa of the small and large intestine. Immunohistochemistry was positive for CD3, consistent with epitheliotropic T-cell lymphoma. Lymphome T intestinal épithéliotrope primaire comme cause de diarrhée chez un cheval. Un hongre appaloosa âgé de 25 ans a été évalué pour perte de poids et diarrhée chronique. Un diagnostic clinique d’entéropathie avec...
Gutierrez J, Eisenberg RL, Koval NJ, Armstrong ER, Tharappel J, Hughes CG, Tobin T.Pemoline is a central nervous system stimulant that has been used to treat attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder and narcolepsy in humans; its identification in horses could be considered evidence of attempts to influence performance. Two recent pemoline 'positives' in English racehorses led us to review the chemical relationships between tetramisole, levamisole, aminorex and pemoline. Pemoline is a simple oxidation product of aminorex, which has been shown in the United States and elsewhere to be an equine metabolite of levamisole. Based on the clear structural relationships between aminor...
Evans DL, Kiddell L, Smith CL.Inflammatory airway disease (IAD) is common in racehorses, and is a cause of wastage in the industry. IAD has been diagnosed by measurement of percent neutrophils (N%) in tracheal aspirates (TA). The aim of this study was to investigate whether spirometric indices of pulmonary function were correlated with N% in TAs. Limits to breathing were measured by analyses of relationships between relative times and relative respiratory gas flows during inspiration and expiration in individual breaths recorded after exercise. Horses with higher N% had significantly lower relative gas flows at the same re...
Kabithe E, Hillegas J, Stokol T, Moore J, Wagner B.CD14 is a receptor for the complex of lipopolysaccaride (LPS) and LPS-binding protein. Binding of this complex to CD14 in association with Toll-like receptor 4 provides a major pathway for the initiation of innate immune responses to bacterial pathogens. We used a mammalian expressed extracellular region of equine CD14 (rCD14) derived from an IgG fusion protein to produce monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) to CD14. Eight mAbs were tested by flow cytometric analysis of equine leukocytes and by immunoblotting using rCD14 indicating that the mAbs recognized at least three different epitopes on equine C...
Kim I, Cohen ND, Roussel A, Wang N.Gastric emptying studies are of great interest in human and veterinary medical research to evaluate effects of medications or diets for promoting gastrointestinal motility and to examine unintended side-effects of new or existing medications, diets, or procedures. Summarizing gastric emptying data is important to allow easier comparison between treatments or groups of subjects and comparisons of results among studies. The standard method for assessing gastric emptying is by using scintigraphy and summarizing the nonlinear emptying of the radioisotope. A popular model for fitting gastric emptyi...
Camus MS, Krimer PM, Leroy BE, Almy FS.Beta-gamma bridging (β-γ bridging) on serum protein electrophoresis is touted as being virtually pathognomonic for hepatic disease. However, the criteria for β-γ bridging are not defined, and few publications support a relationship between β-γ bridging and liver disease. The goal of this retrospective study was to evaluate the prevalence of hepatic pathology in animals with β-γ bridging. All serum protein electrophoretograms from clinical patients generated at the University of Georgia between 1994 and 2008 were evaluated for the presence of β-γ bridging, defined as (1) an albumin:gl...
Yan W, Faisal SM, Divers T, McDonough SP, Akey B, Chang YF.Little information is available about experimental induction of leptospirosis in horses. Objective: Determine serologic, hematologic responses of horses to Leptospira interrogans serovar Kennewicki infection. Methods: Four adult horses seronegative for leptospirosis. Methods: Experimental and observational study. Horses were challenged with an equine isolate of L. interrogans serovar Kennewicki at 2 different doses and different inoculation sites. After challenge, the horses were monitored for 60 days. Blood, urine, and aqueous humor samples were collected at intervals until euthanasia 60 days...
Liccardi G, Dente B, Restani P, Senna G, Falagiani P, Ballabio C, D'Amato G.In this report we describe un unusual case of exclusive allergic sensitization to furry animals, as a possible study model to speculate about different modalities ofsensitization to allergens of common and less common mammalian species. A 27-year-old woman referred in our Allergological Centre for the occurrence of conjunctival and severe respiratory symptoms after contact with several animals such as cats, dogs, rabbits, horses, cows etc. Patient underwent clinical and anamnestic evaluation including a detailed information on the modality of exposure to different furry animals. Skin-prick-tes...
Vanderstraeten E, Bogaert L, Bravo IG, Martens A.Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) represents the most common malignant tumour of the eye and external genitals in horses. Comparable to humans, papillomaviruses (PV) have been proposed as etiological agents of cancer in horses and recently, Equine papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) has been identified in genital SCCs. Hitherto it had never been demonstrated in ocular SCCs. The first goal of this study was to determine the prevalence of EcPV2 DNA in tissue samples from equine genital and ocular SCCs, genital papillomas and penile intraepithelial neoplasia (PIN) lesions, using EcPV2-specific PCR. The sec...
Gough MR, Thibaud D, Smith RK.Tiludronate regulates bone remodelling through a decrease of the resorptive process and should therefore ameliorate the remodelling processes active in osteoarthritis of the distal tarsal joints ('bone spavin') and alleviate pain associated with abnormal bone lysis. Objective: To confirm the efficacy of tiludronate, administered as a single infusion at a dose of 1 mg/kg bwt, in the treatment of bone spavin in the horse. Methods: A double blind placebo controlled trial on 108 clinical cases of bone spavin was undertaken. The lameness score of the lamest limb was assessed following distal tarsal...
Vettorato E, Chase-Topping ME, Clutton RE.The recovery quality scoring systems (RQSSs) in current use have not been critically reviewed for reliability. Objective: To examine reliability (reproducibility) of 4 RQSSs when applied to a ranked series. Methods: A DVD incorporating the recordings of 9 horses recovering from general anaesthesia was evaluated by final year students over 5 days. On Day 1, each evaluator ranked recoveries from 1-9 (1 = best). Over the following 4 days, each evaluator scored the same recoveries using 4 different RQSSs (3 of them in common usage and previously published) applied in random order. The scores from ...
Bandarra PM, Pavarini SP, Raymundo DL, Corrêa AM, Pedroso PM, Driemeier D.After ingesting green leaves of T. micrantha, 2 horses showed apathy, locomotor deficit, blindness, recumbency, paddling, coma and death. The main gross findings were scattered haemorrhages, enhanced lobular pattern of the liver, and cerebral oedema. Histological changes included disseminated haemorrhages, massive hepatocellular necrosis, neuronal degeneration, Alzheimer type II astrocytes and cerebral perivascular oedema. Clinicopathological findings which were comparable with those observed in Trema micrantha poisoned ruminants, associated with epidemiological evidence suggested the diagnosi...
de Lorenzi L, Molteni L, Zannotti M, Galli C, Parma P.This report concerns the cytogenetic analysis, using both C-banding and fluorescence in situ hybridisation techniques, of a sterile mare. Results obtained revealed a 2n = 65, XXX condition with no sign of mosaicism. The work supports the suggestion that X trisomy, rare in horse, causes infertility in mares and is not associated to other clearly visible phenotypic features.
Tranchina MM, Scott DW, McDonough SP.Summary A small population of resident T lymphocytes is present in the healthy human and murine epidermis. However, resident epidermal lymphocytes have not been reported in normal skin of the horse. Skin biopsy specimens from the normal skin of 27 horses were examined histologically and immunohistochemically for the presence of lymphocytes, CD3+ cells and BLA.36+ cells in epidermis and adnexal epithelia. All examinations were negative. It appears that lymphocytes occur rarely, if at all, in the epidermis and adnexal epithelia of normal horse skin. Hence, the presence of lymphocytes in these st...
Kristoffersen M, Parkin TD, Singer ER.Catastrophic biaxial proximal sesamoid bone fractures (PSBF) have not yet been described in detail in the UK racing population. Objective: To determine the incidence and relative risk (RR) of PSBF in different types of racing in the UK; and to describe horse-level characteristics and racing histories of horses sustaining these injuries. Methods: Distal limbs were collected from all racehorses suffering catastrophic fractures during racing at all 59 racecourses in the UK, in a prospective study from February 1999 to December 2004. Post mortem investigation identified the anatomical location and...
Naylor RJ, Perkins JD, Allen S, Aldred J, Draper E, Patterson-Kane J, Piercy RJ.The aetiology of temporohyoid osteoarthropathy (THO) is unknown; both primary infectious and degenerative causes have been suggested. Objective: There is a significant association between increasing age and severity of temporohyoid joint degeneration. To examine the histopathology of the temporohyoid articulation in aged horses and to compare the appearance of the joint with computed tomography (CT) and peripheral quantitative CT (pQCT). Methods: pQCT scans of the temporohyoid articulations were obtained bilaterally from 31 horses (range age 1-44 years) post mortem and images were graded by 2 ...
Lacombe VA, Sogaro-Robinson C, Reed SM.The use of computer tomography (CT) and contrast-enhanced CT (CCT) to image the head is common. However, the validity of CT as a neurodiagnostic indicator of intracranial diseases in horses is unknown. Objective: To define the validity of CT and CCT in horses with suspected intracranial disorders. Methods: The validity of CT imaging was estimated by comparing clinical, clinicopathological and histopathological findings to CT findings in 15 horses presented for intracranial disorders, for which pre- and post contrast CT images and post mortem examination of the brain and skull were reviewed. Po...
Argüelles D, Casteljins G, Carmona JU, Armengou L, Climent F, Prades M.In man, peritoneal transforming growth factor beta (TGF-beta) is associated with peritoneal diseases and subsequent adhesion formation. No studies on plasma and peritoneal TGF-beta concentrations in horses with colic are available. Objective: 1) To determine both plasma and peritoneal TGF-beta(1) and TGF-beta(3) concentrations in horses with different types of colic (not previously subjected to abdominal surgery); 2) to compare these concentrations according to the type of peritoneal fluid (transudate, modified transudate and exudate); and 3) to compare and correlate plasma and peritoneal conc...
Torfs S, Levet T, Delesalle C, Dewulf J, Vlaminck L, Pille F, Lefere L, Martens A.To assess risk factors for celiotomy incisional infection in horses, especially the use of staples for skin closure. Methods: Case series. Methods: Horses (n=356) that had 1 exploratory celiotomy for colic and survived >2 weeks after surgery between March 1, 2004 and December 31, 2007. Methods: Incisions were classified as "normal" (no complication, only edema, serous drainage lasting <24 hours) or as "surgical site infection (SSI)" (persistent serosanguinous drainage or purulent drainage with or without positive bacterial culture). All possible risk factors, including method of skin closure (...
Hawkes CS, Hahn CN, Dixon PM.Dysfunction of the muscles is implicated in the pathogenesis of intermittent dorsal displacement of the soft palate (DDSP) in exercising horses. The histological features of normal equine soft palate muscles have not been previously described. Objective: To describe the histological and morphometric features of normal equine soft palate muscles. Methods: The palatinus, palatopharyngeus, levator veli palatini and tensor veli palatini muscles of 6 Thoroughbred type horses were examined histologically and histochemically to assess their general morphology, fibre-type distribution and mean fibre d...
Rajasekhar A, Clancy CJ.Group C streptococci (GCS) are common causes of veterinary diseases and may colonize humans. Human diseases due to GCS are uncommon and generally occur in the elderly and persons exposed to animals or animal products. We report a case of Streptococcus equi subsp. zooepidemicus meningitis in a horse trainer and review 36 cases of GCS meningitis reported in the literature. The median age was 48 y and the majority of patients were previously healthy. Thirty-one percent (11/36) of the reported cases followed equine exposure and 19% (7/36) ingestion of dairy products. Sixty-seven percent (24/36) we...
LeBlanc MM.Rapid physical uterine clearance is paramount for fertility. Mares that are unable to clear the by-products of insemination or foaling quickly may develop post-mating-induced or acute endometritis. If endometritis is not promptly resolved, the infection can become chronic. Endometritis can be difficult to identify because clinical signs, ultrasonographic and laboratory findings can vary between uterine pathogens. Some micro-organisms are associated with an influx of neutrophils and fluid into the uterine lumen while others are associated with only heavy debris on cytological specimens. Identif...
Lavoie-Lamoureux A, Moran K, Beauchamp G, Mauel S, Steinbach F, Lefebvre-Lavoie J, Martin JG, Lavoie JP.Neutrophils are potent contributors to the lung pathophysiological changes occurring in allergic airway inflammation, which typically involve T helper type 2 (Th2) cytokine overexpression. We have previously reported that equine pulmonary endothelial cells are activated by the Th2 cytokine IL-4 and express chemotactic factors for neutrophils after stimulation. We have further explored the possible mechanisms linking Th2-driven inflammation and neutrophilia by studying the effects of recombinant equine IL-4, a prototypical Th2 cytokine, on peripheral blood neutrophils (PBN) isolated from normal...
Bogaert L, Heerden MV, Cock HE, Martens A, Chiers K.Ten equine skin tumors that had been classified as schwannomas on routine histological examination were analyzed by polymerase chain reaction for bovine papillomavirus DNA. All 10 were positive for bovine papillomavirus 1 or 2, and all 10 were immunohistochemically negative for S-100 protein and strongly positive for vimentin. Nine tumors were moderately positive for laminin and 8, for smooth muscle actin. Five tumors were variably and weakly positive for type IV collagen. The lack of S-100 protein expression made Schwann cells an unlikely cell of origin, as opposed to peripheral nerve sheath ...
Sedacca CD, Bright JM, Boon J.Univentricular atrioventricular (AV) connections are rare and complex congenital cardiac anomalies in which both AV valves communicate into a large, common (single) receiving chamber. The common chamber can be of left, right, or mixed ventricular morphology. Although well documented in people, reports of the double-inlet ventricle malformation are rare in the veterinary literature. This report provides description of an Arabian horse with a double-inlet univentricular connection of left ventricular type, a hypoplastic subpulmonary right ventricle, two muscular ventricular septal defects, and a...
Abutarbush SM, O'Connor BP, Clark C, Sampieri F, Naylor JM.Two horses had a history of ataxia and weakness or recumbency. One recovered and was diagnosed with West Nile virus (WNV) infection by serologic testing. The other was euthanized; it had meningoencephalomyelitis, WNV was detected by polymerase chain reaction. West Nile virus infection is an emerging disease. Year 2002 is the first year in which cases have been seen in Saskatchewan. Deux chevaux présentaient une histoire d’ataxie et de faiblesse ou de décubitus. Un cheval s’est rétabli et un diagnostic d’infection au virus du Nil occidental (VNO) a été posé par épreuve sérologiqu...
Wong PL, Nickel LS, Bowling AT, Steffey EP.Serum samples of 20 horses were evaluated for antibodies against RBC after homologous blood transfusion. Transfusion-associated antibodies against RBC were detected in 10 horses. Antibodies recognizing horse blood group antigens Aa, Ae, Db, and Dc were identified. Antibodies against Aa were found in all samples from Aa-negative horses that were transfused with Aa-positive RBC. Antibodies against Aa persisted for at least 1 year after transfusion. Antibodies against Ae were detected in 7 of 8 horses transfused with Ae-positive RBC. Initial appearance and persistence of antibodies against Ae dif...
Martel G, Crowley D, Olive J, Halley J, Laverty S.Extensive osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) lesions of the lateral ridge of the trochlea of the femur (LRTF), the most common OCD-affected site in the stifle, have a poor outcome with surgical debridement and can be career ending. The early detection of osteochondrosis lesions and their conservative management holds the promise to enhance outcome. We hypothesise that ultrasonography is a valuable field screening tool to detect and monitor early subclinical LRTF osteochondrosis. Objective: The goals were to 1) describe the normal ultrasonographic features of the LRTF in foals of different ages an...
Stokes A, Corteyn AH, Murray PK.A group of three horses was experimentally infected with equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) and showed clinical signs characterised by a biphasic febrile response, leucopenia and cell associated viraemia accompanied by virus shedding from the nasopharynx. A second exposure to the virus 18 days later resulted in the isolation of virus from the nasopharynx of one horse. This and a further group of three EHV-1 seropositive horses were subsequently infected with equine herpesvirus type 4 (EHV-4) 147 days after the initial EHV-1 infection and virus was shed from the nasopharynx in the absence of cli...
Campbell ML, Colahan PC, Brown MP, Grandstedt ME, Peyton LC.During a 3-year period, cecal impaction was diagnosed in 21 horses (mean age, 8 years) at exploratory celiotomy or necropsy. In 7 horses, typhlotomy was used to remove the impaction; 2 horses treated by fluid injection of the impaction did not survive. The 12 other horses had cecal rupture. Surgical correction was not possible in those horses because of inaccessibility of the rupture site. Postmortem examination of the rupture sites did not reveal a cause other than cecal impaction. The duration of clinical signs before rupture ranged from 4 to 96 hours.
Stewart AJ, Pettigrew A, Cochran AM, Belknap JK.The liver and lung are not only described as "target organs" in sepsis in most species, but are purported to be sources of circulating inflammatory mediators central to the systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). As we have recently reported an inflammatory response in the laminar tissue in laminitis similar to that described in "target organs" in human sepsis, we investigated the inflammatory response of the lung and liver in the black walnut extract (BWE) model of equine laminitis to determine (1) if a similar systemic inflammatory response occurs in this laminitis model as described...
Hood DM.This article serves as an introduction to this issue on laminitis. As such, it contains the general perspectives and terminology that will be used in all subsequent articles. This article separates the clinical problem of laminitis into developmental, acute, subacute, and chronic phases and defines the criteria, duration, clinical goals, and implications of these phases. The basis for the significance of laminitis to the horse industry and the horseman is reviewed. Lastly, the organization of this issue is described.
Scott M.Quarter horses used for western performance competitions commonly sustain a variety of musculoskeletal injuries. It is important for the veterinarian to have an understanding of some of the breed characteristics and the nature of the competitions in which individual horses are being used so as to diagnose, treat, and prevent injury as effectively as possible.
Flisikowski K, Flisikowska T, Sikorska A, Perkowska A, Kind A, Schnieke A, Switonski M.Cancer is a complex disease caused in part by predisposing germline gene polymorphisms. Knowledge of carcinogenesis in companion mammals (dog and cat) and some livestock species (pig and horse) is quite advanced. The prevalence of certain cancers varies by breed in these species, suggesting the presence of predisposing genetic variants in susceptible breeds. This review summarizes the present understanding of germline gene polymorphisms, including BRCA1, BRCA2, MC1R, KIT, NRAS and RAD51, associated with predisposition to melanoma, mammary cancer, osteosarcoma and histiocytic sarcoma in dogs, c...
Christmann U, Page AE, Horohov DW, Adams AA, Chapman SE, Hancock CL, Emery AL, Poovey JR, Hagg C, Ortega Morales SM, Duncan AR, Morgan J, Couetil LL....To perform lipidomic analysis of surfactant and plasma from asthmatic and healthy horses. Methods: 30 horses with clinical signs of asthma and 30 age-matched control horses. Methods: Detailed history, physical examination, CBC, and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) cytologies were obtained. Asthmatic horses were grouped based on their BALF inflammatory profile: severe equine asthma (SEA), mild equine asthma with neutrophilic airway inflammation (MEA-N), or mild equine asthma with eosinophilic airway inflammation (MEA-E). Each asthma group was assigned its own age-matched control group. Lipid...
White SD, Affolter VK, Schultheiss PC, Ball BA, Wessel MT, Kass P, Molinaro AM, Bannasch DL, Ihrke PJ.A Quarter horse filly bred from two horses affected with HERDA (hereditary equine regional dermal asthenia) was observed clinically and its skin histologically for the 1.5 years of its life. Severe signs of the disease did not manifest until 1.5 years of age, and were not temporally related to saddling. Histological comparison to an age-, breed- and sex-matched control did not show any consistent diagnostic features. Monitoring of the proband substantiated previous reports of (i) the autosomal recessive nature of the disease, (ii) mares affected with HERDA being able to foal without damage to ...
Larghi OP, González E, Held JR.The corneal test (CT) for rabies diagnosis was evaluated in samples from 313 subjects of different species. Some of the subjects were inoculated experimentally and others were naturally infected. When the CT was compared with immunofluorescence staining and mouse inoculation tests on brains of the same subjects, a sensitivity of 41.7% and a specificity of 100% were found. The authors conclude that a positive CT result would confirm the diagnosis of rabies, but a negative one would not exclude the possibility of disease.
Boersema JH, Borgsteede FH, Eysker M, Saedt I.The reappearance of strongyle eggs in the faeces of horses treated with pyrantel embonate was studied. The horses (103) were divided in 11 groups on 8 different farms. The efficacy of pyrantel embonate against strongyles, based on egg count reduction tests, was 99.8%. Mean weekly egg counts performed between week 2 and week 9 after treatment showed that 5 weeks after treatment the egg output passed the 90% reduction level. It is concluded that strategic treatments of horses with pyrantel embonate for the prevention of strongylosis should be administered with intervals of 6 weeks.
Andersson L, Juneja RK, Sandberg K.Genetic linkage between the equine loci for phosphohexose isomerase (PHI) and serum Xk protein was demonstrated by means of segregation data from three sire families. The recombination frequency was estimated from pooled data to be 0.23 +/- 0.02; a significant heterogeneity between sires for estimates of the recombination frequency was observed. No indication of linkage was detected between Xk and 14 other blood marker loci. Linkage between the Xk locus and the locus for soluble malic enzyme (ME1) has recently been reported in horses. An equine linkage group designated LG IV comprising the thr...
Inácio SV, de Brito RL, Zucatto AS, Coelho WM, de Aquino MC, Aguirre Ade A, Perri SH, Meireles MV, Bresciani KD.The present study aimed to analyze the occurrence of infection by Cryptosporidium spp. in mares and their respective foals. This study was carried out in 11 farms located in the municipalities of Araçatuba, Birigui, Guararapes and Santo Antônio do Aracangua, in the northwest region of the State of Sao Paulo, from November 2010 to March 2011. A total of 98 mares and 98 foals of several breeds were analyzed; among foals, 59 were males and 39 females, aged from three to 330 days. Feces were collected directly from the rectal ampulla, purified and processed according to modified Kinyoun stain. O...
Fitzgerald TA, Browning GF.The sensitivity of a rotavirus serotyping enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) was improved by the addition of 0.5 mM CaCl2 to the washing buffer and reagent diluent. Twenty-nine of 63 (46%) previously untyped bovine and equine faecal rotavirus samples were serotyped in the modified assay. A differential response to Ca2+ ions was noted for different G-serotypes suggesting that serotyping assays performed without the inclusion of CaCl2 in the assay buffers may produce biased results.
Gustafson SB, McIlwraith CW, Jones RL.Four groups of 8 horses each had 1 midcarpal joint injected with 33 colony-forming units (CFU) of viable Staphylococcus aureus plus: 1 ml of saline solution (group 1, control), 250 mg of polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (PSGAG, group 2), 100 mg of methylprednisolone acetate (group 3), or 20 mg of sodium hyaulronate (group 4). Horses were euthanatized, and samples were obtained on the basis of clinical signs of septic arthritis that were nonresponsive to phenylbutazone administration. One group-1 horse, all 8 group-2 horses, 3 group-3 horses, and 4 group-4 horses were culture-positive for S aureu...
Kalinowski M, Grądzki Z, Jarosz Ł, Kato K, Hieda Y, Kakuda T, Takai S.Rhodococcus equi is an important bacterial pathogen in foals up to 6 months old, widespread in horse farms all over the world. It was found that only virulent R. equi strains expressing 15-17 kDa virulence-associated protein (VapA) and having large virulence plasmid of 85-90 kb containing vapA gene are pathogenic for horses. To date, 12 plasmid types have been reported in VapA positive strains from horses. There are no data concerning plasmid types of Polish field R. equi strains isolated from horses and horse farm environment. The aim of the study is to determine plasmid profiles of virulent ...
Garma-Aviña A.A series of 40 tumors with a proven diagnosis of squamous cell carcinoma for which both histology and cytology were available were classified according to their histologic appearance as well differentiated, moderately differentiated, and poorly differentiated. The Romanowsky-stained cytology specimens were reviewed. When available, Papanicolaou-stained smears were included. The cytologic findings for each of the 3 groups are described, and the most significant findings are photographically illustrated.
Poirée JC, Vannier C, Sudaka P, Fehlmann M.Brush border membranes isolated from horse kidney cortex as closed right-side out vesicles show selective permeability when analyzed on sucrose and dextran gradients. These vesicles can actively accumulate D-glucose. The preservation of the glucose transport system is demonstrated by the following features: (a) the uptake and release rates of D-glucose are higher in the presence of a sodium gradient, showing that D-glucose transport is a sodium-dependent process; (b) this transport, specific for the D-isomer, is inhibited by phlorizin; (c) the D-glucose transport system is saturable; (d) no in...
Dunnett M, Lees P.Analysis of human hair for drug residues is being used increasingly as a diagnostic tool in the investigation of drug use and abuse. Hair analysis is complementary to urine/blood testing in that it can provide an extensive historical record of drug use, is noninvasive, impersonal and can facilitate retesting. However, the technique has not been studied in horses. Objective: That the systemic administration of drugs in horses could be identified by the detection of drug residues in hair. Objective: To evaluate hair analysis as a potential retrospective diagnostic test for drug administration in...
Singh G, Singh NK, Singh H, Rath SS.A total of 311 equine faecal samples (190 horses and 121 mules) collected from six districts of Central Plain Zone, Punjab were examined using standard coprological methods. The results showed an overall prevalence of 27.33 % for strongyles with rare to mild type of infection as evident from egg per gram of faeces. In particular, amongst the examined samples, 17.90 % of horses and 42.14 % of mules were infected and the difference was statistically significant (P < 0.01). Identification of the faecal culture harvested larval stages, showed 56 % and 46 % of horses and mules, respectively, ...
Kraus M, Physick-Sheard P, Brito LF, Sargolzaei M, Schenkel FS.Admissions of Standardbred racehorses (Std) to the Ontario Veterinary College Teaching Hospital (OVCTH) for treatment of atrial fibrillation (AF) began to increase in the early 1990s. The arrhythmia has been shown to have a modest heritability (h2 ≃ 0.15), with some stallions appearing as sires or sires of mares used in breeding (broodmares) of affected horses more frequently than others. The objective of this study was to determine the marginal genetic contributions of ancestors to cohorts of Std affected with AF and their contemporary control groups, and whether these ancestors contribute ...
Guthrie AJ, Coetzee P, Martin DP, Lourens CW, Venter EH, Weyer CT, Joone C, le Grange M, Harper CK, Howell PG, MacLachlan NJ.This is a report of the complete genome sequences of plaque-selected isolates of each of the four virus strains included in a South African commercial tetravalent African horse sickness attenuated live virus vaccine.
Shively MA, Banks KL, Greenlee A, Klevjer-Anderson P.Equine infectious anemia is a chronic disease of horses caused by a nononcogenic retrovirus. Studies were undertaken to determine the types of cells involved in the in vitro lymphoproliferative response to viral antigens and the dynamics of this reaction. It was observed that reactive lymphocytes were present at unpredictable times in the peripheral blood of infected horses. This reaction was shown to be specific for the interaction of equine infectious anemia virus and T lymphocytes. Enriched B-lymphocyte populations did not divide when exposed to equine infectious anemia virus. Macrophages w...
Brinkhof S, Te Moller N, Froeling M, Brommer H, van Weeren R, Ito K, Klomp D.T2* mapping is promising for the evaluation of articular cartilage collagen. In this work, a groove model in a large animal is used as a model for posttraumatic arthritis. We hypothesized that T2* mapping could be employed to differentiate between healthy and (subtly) damaged cartilage. Eight carpal joints were obtained from four adult Shetland ponies that had been included in the groove study. In this model, grooves were surgically created on the proximal articular surface of the intermediate carpal bone (radiocarpal joint) and the radial facet of the third carpal bone (middle carpal joint) b...
van Zadelhoff C, Schwarz T, Smith S, Engerand A, Taylor S. To describe detectable and non-detectable naturally occurring cartilage damage of the equine distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint using plain magnetic resonance (MR) imaging and gadolinium and saline MR arthrography. The second objective was to quantify the sensitivity, specificity and accuracy in detection of cartilage damage. In a pilot study, the distal limbs of two horses with confirmed osteoarthritis of the DIP joint were imaged with low-field MR. Magnetic resonance images were assessed in consensus by three observers and compared to gross pathological findings. Subsequently, a prospectiv...
Peyrou M, Doucet MY, Vrins A, Concordet D, Schneider M, Bousquet-Mélou A.Population pharmacokinetic of marbofloxacin was investigated on 21 healthy and 16 diseased horses to assess interindividual variability of drug exposure. Demographic, physiologic and disease covariables were tested using mixed effects models. As a preliminary analysis, this study has demonstrated that none of the tested covariables were significant in regression models for compartmental volumes or clearance of distribution, but the clinical status of the horse (healthy/diseased) was a significant covariable (P < 0.01) for systemic clearance. Clearance had a lower mean and a higher variance ...
Thomsen MH, Persson AB, Jensen AT, Sørensen H, Andersen PH.Equine lameness examination is based on subjective visual scoring of lameness. Instrumented objective methods for lameness examinations may be complicated to perform and the equipment is often stationary. Accelerometry has a potential clinical use; however, the reduction and interpretation of equine accelerometric data are not yet routine and the value of accelerometry in equine lameness examination is unclear. Objective: To use accelerometric data to calculate 2 different accelerometric symmetry scores and to evaluate the agreement of these with traditional lameness scores done by experienced...
Kristula MA, Smith BI.Contagious Equine Metritis (CEM), a venereal disease of horses caused by the bacterium Taylorella equigenitalis, was first diagnosed in 1977 and subsequently spread to many nations [Proc 24th AM Assoc Equine Pract (1979) 287]. The disease was confirmed in the United States in 1978 [Proc Am Assoc Equine Pract (1983) 295]. Specific regulatory procedures for this disease have been established in the United States and 37 other countries. From 1999 through 2001, four of 120 imported European stallions tested positive for CEM at a quarantine facility in Darlington, MD, USA. Two stallions were identi...
