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Topic:Disease Diagnosis
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.
Diamine oxidase from horse kidney: ionic strength dependence of stability and activity. Diamine oxidase was prepared from horse kidney by a procedure involving heat denaturation at 50 degrees C, ammonium sulfate fractionation, chromatography on hydroxyapatite and on G-200 Sephadex columns. This procedure gave about 1000 fold purification over the crude kidney cortex homogenate. The enzyme preparations thus obtained are stable only at high ionic strength. The effect on enzyme activity of salt concentration and various stabilizing agents have been investigated. The horse kidney diamine oxidase is irreversibly inhibited by carbonyl reagents and shows substrate specificity quite simi...
Equine adenovirus 1 isolated from cauda equina neuritis. Equine adenovirus 1 was recovered after four to six passages from two out of three cases of cauda equina neuritis (CEN) using kidney monolayers. Similar treatment of lumbo-sacral spinal cord from six normal horses did not yield adenovirus. All three cases of CEN had antibodies to the neuritogenic myelin protein P2 while immunofluorescence demonstrated that autologous IgG bound to the myelin of affected nerves. Adenovirus was not detected in neural tissue by immunofluorescence.
Sand-induced diarrhea in a foal. A diagnosis of sand enteropathy was made in a 3 1/2-month-old Quarter Horse filly. Clinical signs included diarrhea and weight loss of 2 1/2 months' duration. Abdominal radiographs were useful in diagnosis of the condition and in evaluating response to therapy. The filly responded to treatment with psyllium hydrophilic mucilloid although full recovery took 2 months. Diagnosis and treatment of sand enteropathy is discussed.
Immunoglobulin levels in tears and aqueous humor of horses before and after diethylcarbamazine (DEC) therapy. A quantitative investigation of equine tear and aqueous humor immunoglobulins was done using normal horses and ponies as well as horses and ponies infected with Onchocerca cervicalis. The equine immunoglobulin isotypes IgGa, IgM, IgA and IgG(T) were quantitated by either single radial immunodiffusion (SRID) or radioimmunoassay (RIA). Tear immunoglobulin levels for IgGa (128 +/- 151 micrograms/ml), IgA (1,664 +/- 1,038 micrograms/ml) and IgM (106 +/- 74 micrograms/ml) were measured, while IgG(T) was not detectable. In horses with ocular inflammation the IgGa was 18-fold higher in the tears, 2,2...
Determination of red blood cell potassium content in horses with diarrhoea: a practical approach for therapy. The concentration of potassium in the red blood cells in 15 horses with severe diarrhoea was determined. The red blood cell potassium content (RBCK+) was low compared with levels obtained in normal horses. The decrease in the RBCK+ was used to evaluate the total body potassium deficit. This calculated amount was administered orally, following each RBCK+ determination. In those horses which recovered, RBCK+ content returned to normal levels. During treatment, refilling of the red blood cells with potassium occurred only gradually as long as the diarrhoea persisted. In each case, oral loading wi...
Hypoplastic left ventricular syndrome in a foal. A necropsy diagnosis of hypoplastic left ventricular syndrome was made in a day-old foal. The cardiac abnormalities included mitral and aortic valve atresia, patent ductus arteriosus, and a secundum atrial septal defect. The left ventricle was hypoplastic and nonfunctional. The brief survival of the foal was a consequence of left-to-right shunting through the atrial septal defect and right-to-left shunting through the patent ductus. The information is presented to demonstrate the existence of the syndrome as a congenital defect in the horse and to clarify the necropsy findings for the practiti...
Radiological investigations of osteochondrosis dissecans in Standardbred Trotters and Swedish Warmblood horses. A total of 106 Standardbred Trotters and 27 Swedish Warmblood horses, with a radiological diagnosis of osteochondrosis dissecans, were studied over a six year period. The majority were young horses. No statistical difference in frequency between the sexes was demonstrated. In both breeds osteochondrosis was most common in the hock joints, the site of predilection being the distal dorsal tip of the intermediate tibial ridge. On radiographs the lesions of the hock joints were graded on a scale from 0 to 5 according to size, number and localisation of defects and visible loose bodies. The sizes o...
Aetiology and pathogenesis of congenital torticollis and head scoliosis in the equine foetus. In 214 cases of severe dystocia in mares, of which 141 (66 per cent) were Draught horses, deviation of the head and neck, with or without torticollis, malformed head and limbs were found to be the cause of dystocia. No evidence of a genetic lethal factor was found and torticollis was often combined with scoliosis of the head and, frequently, with malformation of one or more limbs. This is considered evidence of a common aetiology and pathogenesis of the syndrome of malformation. The malformations were found to be associated with an increased incidence of caudal and, particularly, transverse pr...
Ulcerative colitis and protein losing enteropathy associated with intestinal salmonellosis and histoplasmosis in a horse. Ulcerative colitis, protein losing enteropathy and intestinal histoplasmosis-salmonellosis were diagnosed in a six-year-old Quarterhorse stallion. For six months before examination, the horse experienced a slow continual loss of weight. During the 17 day period of hospitalisation the horse developed progressive generalised oedema. On the 12th day of hospitalisation a severe profuse watery diarrhoea began; the horse was killed five days later.
Contagious equine metritis–use of gas liquid chromatography in identifying the causal agent. Cellular fatty acid compositions of contagious equine metritis isolates and three reference Haemophilus equigenitalis cultures were determined by gas chromatography. The chromatographic data were standardised and normalised fatty acid methyl ester (FAME) profiles were produced. The profiles were compared visually and similarity indices were determined using a computer peak matching method. There was little difference between the profiles of the three reference strains, each strain being characterised by three major fatty acids; C 18:1, C 16:0 and 30H-C 14:0. Variations in cultural conditions h...
Purchase examinations for performance horses. Performance horses should be thoroughly examined before sale to detect any defects that could render them unsuitable for the purchaser's intended use. With the horse in its stall, the eyes, nasolacrimal puncta, external ear canals and mouth are examined, the rectal temperature measured and the heart, lungs, trachea and sinuses auscultated. Moving the horse out of the stall, the head, parotid glands, mandibular lymph nodes, larynx, neck muscles, jugular veins and cervical vertebrae are inspected. The scapula, point of the shoulder, withers, tuber sacrale and point of the hip are palpated, after...
Granulomatous colitis associated with small strongyle larvae in a horse. Horses presented with chronic weight loss are difficult to manage clinically. A diagnosis of granulomatous colitis due to mucosal stages of cyathostomes (small strongyles) should be considered in those cases exhibiting weight loss, intermittent diarrhea, hypoalbuminemia, increased serum globulins, and low fecal egg counts. Treatment can be attempted with larva-cidal doses of fenbendazole or ivermectin. Clinical and necropsy findings in one such case are presented.
Potassium concentration in equine red blood cells: normal values and correlation with potassium levels in plasma. The concentration of potassium in plasma and in red blood cells was determined in 948 horses. The coefficient of correlation between the two parameters was low. In 436 of these horses, which were clinically healthy, the red blood cell potassium (RBCK+) levels did not fit within a normal distribution curve, but a bimodal distribution was observed with a section point at 90 mmol/litre. In 90 per cent of these normal horses, mean RBCK+ content was 97.5 mmol/litre. In the remaining 10 per cent, mean RBCK+ concentration was 93.8 mmol/litre. A subdivision into a 'low potassium group' and a 'high pot...
Ventral approach for stabilization of atlantoaxial subluxation secondary to odontoid fracture in a foal. Atlantoaxial subluxation secondary to odontoid fracture in a 30-day-old foal was corrected by alignment of the atlantoaxial joint and stabilization with 2 ventrally placed dynamic compression plates. At 90 days after surgery, healing of the fracture, with adequate alignment of the atlantoaxial joint, was confirmed radiographically. The foal was only slightly tetraparetic at that time. At 1 year after surgery, the gait was normal. It was concluded that the technique has advantages over the use of Steinmann's pins or external coaptation for stabilization. The ventral approach allows decompressio...
A health index to evaluate clinically a beta-hemolytic streptococcal infectious disease model in the horse. Quantification of the clinical manifestations of a disease has been a serious problem particularly as related to clinical trials or drug efficacy studies. Historically, this quantification has been limited to categorizing each patient into one of three or four groups, e.g. worse, no improvement, improved. This problem becomes serious when an investigation utilizes an experimentally induced animal disease model. A health index, which quantifies the clinical state of horses which have an experimentally induced beta-hemolytic streptococcal infection, is described. Aspects of experimental design a...
Relationship between potassium administration, hyperkalaemia and the electrocardiogram: an experimental study. Hyperkalaemia affected the equine myocardium. The minimum plasma potassium concentration required to induce electrocardiographic changes was 6.2 mmol/litre and severe cardiotoxic effects were observed at levels of 8.0 to 10.1 mmol/litre in this experimental situation. The most consistent sign of hyperkalaemia was broadening and flattening of the P wave, which was generally associated with a change in T waves in the chest lead from negative to positive. The more pronounced the hyperkalaemia, the less pronounced the P wave and the more peaked positive the T wave. Severe hyperkalaemia was associa...
Antitoxin levels in botulism patients treated with trivalent equine botulism antitoxin to toxin types A, B, and E. Serum levels of equine-botulism antitoxin to toxin types A, B, and E were measured in four type-A botulism patients who had received equine-botulism antitoxin. High circulating levels capable of neutralizing in excess of 1 X 10(8), 9 X 10(7), and 6 X 10(6) 50% mouse lethal doses of toxin of types A, B, and E, respectively, were detected. There was little depletion of type-A antitoxin even though two of the patients had circulating type-A toxin before treatment. The half-life for antitoxin persistence for one patient was calculated as being 6.5, 7.6, and 5.3 days for antitoxin types A, B, and E...
[Findings of Corynebacterium equi Magnusson 1923 in connection with foal mortality in the Eastern Bohemia Region]. A case history of mass foal disease which affected ten of the total stock of 50 foals and killed eight is described. The disease was characterized by respiratory disorders and extensive pneumonias with abscess formation, metastatic abscesses in mesenterial lymph nodes and in other organs. As a result of the examination of two dead foals and three nasal smears from diseased animals, gram-positive bacteria were isolated from the lungs, pulmonary and abdominal abscesses and the nasal smears of the affected foals; with their cultivation, morphological and biochemical characteristics these bacteria...
Antigenic variation during persistent infection by equine infectious anemia virus, a retrovirus. The recurrent nature of equine infectious anemia has been attributed to relatively rapid antigenic variations in equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) during persistent infection under selective immune pressures. This model was tested by serological and biochemical analysis of virus isolates recovered from separate febrile episodes in two experimentally infected ponies. Neutralization assays employing immune sera from the experimentally infected ponies demonstrated that distinct antigenic strains of virus predominate during sequential febrile episodes in a single pony. Analysis of the test str...
Haematological and biochemical values in horses naturally infected with Strongylus vulgaris. The concentrations of serum proteins (beta 1, beta 2, gamma, alpha 1, alpha 2 globulins and albumin) and absolute numbers of eosinophils, neutrophils and lymphocytes were examined in 64 naturally infected horses and ponies in which the number of larvae of Strongylus vulgaris in the cranial mesenteric artery and the severity of the lesion of verminous arteritis could be determined. The horses were grouped according to the number of larvae found and the severity of the arteritis. The results demonstrated that, although some significant deviation from a random distribution occurred in certain of ...
Acute diarrhea in horses of the Potomac River area: examination for clostridial toxins. Fecal specimens from horses in Montgomery County, Md, and in Fairfax and Loudoun counties, Va, were examined for Clostridium perfringens type A enterotoxin and for C difficile cytotoxin (92 and 108 specimens, respectively). The toxins were found in feces from horses that had experienced an acute diarrhea syndrome and from clinically normal horses. The toxins did not appear to be primary determinants of the diarrhea syndrome, although they may have contributed to the spectrum of clinical entities observed.
The regulatory peptide system of the large bowel in equine grass sickness. In recent years, distinct changes in regulatory peptides have been found in a number of gastrointestinal diseases. Grass sickness is a fatal disease of horses for which the etiology has yet to be fully ascertained. In this study, the peptide-containing nerves and ganglionic and mucosal endocrine cells of the ileum, colon and rectum were investigated in horses with sub-acute or chronic grass sickness and compared with normal controls using immunocytochemistry, at both the light and electron microscopical levels, and radioimmunoassay. A substantial loss of both peptide-containing cells and nerve...
Heparin anticoagulant therapy in equine colic. In horses with large bowel disease, those with circulating endotoxins but no evidence of altered hemostasis had a good prognosis for survival. Those with circulating endotoxins and evidence of altered hemostasis (fibrin degradation products) had a poor prognosis. Portal vein infusion of endotoxins over 24 hours caused hoof discomfort, evidenced by shifting of weight and standing with all 4 feet together, and a decreased hoof temperature. Clinical signs appeared within 30 minutes of initiation of infusion and subsided within 4 hours despite continued infusion. Long-term heparin therapy results ...
Prevalence of Onchocerca cervicalis in equids in the Gulf Coast region. Microfilariae of Onchocerca cervicalis were detected in midventral skin biopsy samples in 64 of 84 (76%) mixed-breed ponies greater than 2 years old from the Gulf Coast area and in 42 of 51 (82.4%) horses from Louisiana breeding herds. The number of microfilariae per 8 mm of biopsied skin (ponies) ranged from 1 to 21,570. The number of microfilariae per 6 mm of biopsied skin (horses) ranged from 8 to 55,600.
