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.
Thomson GW, McCready R, Sanford E, Gagnon A.In the foaling season of 1977, five vaccinated horses in a Standardbred breeding stable were affected with herpesvirus myeloencephalitis. Respiratory and abortigenic forms also occurred in other individuals on the premises. Equine herpesvirus type 1 was isolated from the brain of one case of myeloencephalitis and from lungs of two aborted fetuses. Twelve of 16 horses demonstrated fourfold or greater increases in titres to equine herpesvirus type 1.
Sembrat RF, Di Stazio J, Stremple JF.This study was conducted to determine the feasibility of using alert, conscious ponies as a model for septic shock in man. Ten ponies were given 0.7-5 X 10(9) organisms/kg of body weight of live E coli intravenously over one hour. All ponies died and exhibited signs of low cardiac output septic shock. significant decreases were found in cardiac index to 3.15 +/- 0.1 liters/min/m2 (P less than 0.05), white blood cell count to 1,930 +/- 100 cells/m3 (P less than 0.05), preterminal blood glucose to 75 +/- 5 mg/dl (P less than 0.05), PaO2 to 75.7 +/- 5.7 mm Hg (P less than 0.05), and pH to 7.15 +/...
Putt W, Fisher RA.In this paper we describe seven enzymes, NP, GOTM, PGM2, alpha FUC, PEP A, ADA and MPI which are found in the white cells of horses, including 39 British crossbred ponies and 16 crossbred horses, 30 Mongolian ponies and 10 Icelandic ponies. Two of these enzymes--alpha FUC and MPI--were polymorphic in all the populations of horses studied and could prove useful as additional markers in the paternity testing of horses. PEP A and GOTM were also polymorphic in two of the populations studied and could be used as further markers in these populations.
Hazard GH, Hughes KL, Penson PJ.Contagious equine metritis (CEM) was first diagnosed in Australia in August 1977 and it has since been found on 6 farms in 3 states, having been isolated from about 24 mares and 2 stallions. Details are given of the epidemiology and control procedures used to combat CEM on one farm. Difficulty was experience in successfully treating one infected stallion; this was thought to be associated with inadequate cleaning and treating of the diverticulum of the urethral fossa. Introduction of the disease has had far-reaching consequences and may well result in the adoption of routine bacteriological te...
Brook D, Schmidt GR.A case of pre-renal azotaemia is described in a 12 year old pony resulting from oesophageal obstruction of 8 days duration. Blood urea nitrogen, creatinine, calcium, inorganic phosphate, sodium, potassium, chloride and bicarbonate concentrations were monitored throughout the recovery period. After relief of the obstruction normal blood concentrations were quickly restored.
Powell DG, Whitwell K.Following an outbreak of CEM in England during 1977 a Code of Practice was introduced to control the disease in 1978. The Code recommended a bacteriological screening programme for Thoroughbred mares and stallions and improved standards of hygiene on the stud farm. As a result of the implementation of the Code a number of asymptomatic carrier mares was detected. Stallions which had transmitted CEM in 2977 and were treated did not transmit the disease during 1978. Two small outbreaks of CEM were reported during the 1978 breeding season.
Porcelli G, Marini-Bettolo GB, Croxatto HR, Di Jorio M.Kallikrein was purified from horse kidney by several steps of chromatographic procedure and by affinity chromatography on Sepharose-Concanavaline. Horse urinary kallikrein was previously purified by DE-32 hydroxylapatite and by Sephadex G-100 gel filtration. On the purified final sample of renal and urinary kallikrein the aminoacid composition and the gel electrophoretic molecular weight were determined. The ratio in micronMoles between each aminoacid residue of both hydrolyzed renal and urinary kallikrein of horse is about 1,00 +/- 0,30. Except for Pro, 1/2 Cys and basic aminoacid residues a ...
Webb AI, Weaver BM.The density of the following equine tissues was measured: white and grey brain matter, myocardium, lung parenchyma, liver, spleen, gastrointestinal tract and contents, renal medulla and cortex, muscle, fat, tendon and bone. Statistical analysis indicated that there were highly significant differences in the values for density between horses and between tissues within horses. Values for density of eight different muscles were obtained for 18 horses and these were shown to differ highly significantly between horses and between muscles within horses. The values for splenic density differed highly...
Oldenkamp EP.A suspension based on the antibiotic, natamycin, was applied by sponging to 83 horses of various breeds and ages with signs of clinical ringworm. A number of different causative agents were involved of which Trichophyton equinum was the most common. Treatment successfully eliminated the disease within 4 weeks. After treatment the recovered animals did not show any evidence of re-infection for up to 6 months. The mycological clearance rate was 97 per cent and apart from the efficacy against ringworm, the preparation had the advantage of being non-irritant and odourless. It was also useful for t...
Klevjer-Anderson P, Cheevers WP, Crawford TB.Equine dermal fibroblasts persistently infected with equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) show no alterations in cell morphology or growth kinetics when compared to uninfected cells. The percentage of cells immunofluorescent positive for viral proteins fluctuated, depending upon the stage of the cell cycle, while production of extracellular virus was uniform throughout the cell cycle, increasing only as the cell number increased. This was shown in log versus stationary phase cultures as well as in cultures synchronized by sterum starvation. The establishment of productive infection did not re...
McDonell WN, Hall LW, Jeffcott LB.Studies in conscious and anaesthetised ponies demonstrated that starvation, anaesthesia and changes in body position influence the radiographic appearance of the lungs in the lateral and dorsoventral views. Radiographic appearances could not be closely correlated with blood gas values, but they suggested that the volume of the lowermost lung of the laterally recumbent animal is greatly reduced.
Ellis DR.Eighteen cases of fractures of the proximal sesamoid bones in Thoroughbred foals are described. Most of the fractures were in foals under 2 months old and all but one occurred in the forelegs. The bones commonly fractured when the foal galloped to exhaustion trying to keep up with its dam in the paddock. The types of fracture varied but a simple fracture of the medial sesamoid was most frequent and the majority were towards the base of the bone. Six foals sustained a fracture of more than one sesamoid bone and one foal fractured all 4 proximal sesamoid bones in its front legs. Treatment includ...
Stefani M, Berti A, Camici G, Manao G, Cappugi G, Ramponi G.The use of sodium selenite as a catalyst in the presence of oxygen was a suitable technique to obtain in good yield an interchain S-S dimeric form of horse muscle acylphosphatase. The dimer so obtained possesses kinetic properties very similar to those of the native enzyme. On the other hand the dimer has shown a generally lower stability in respect of the thermal inactivation, particularly in the acidic environment, to the lyophilization and to the proteolytic attack. As regards the 8 M urea inactivation, the dimer is not able to completely regain its activity by dilution, showing a behaviour...
Samuel CA, Ricketts SW, Rossdale PD, Steven DH, Thurley KW.Endometrial biopsies obtained from mares at different stages of the oestrous cycle, during anoestrus and in various abnormal conditions were examined with the scanning electron microscope. Preliminary observations suggest that the patterns of secretory and ciliary activity in the uterine epithelium are similar to those observed by electron microscopical techniques in laboratory and other large domestic animals. The response of the epithelial cells to hormonal variations and infections is compared with that of the endometrium as seen with the light microscope.
Timoney PJ, O'Reilly PJ, McArdle JF, Ward J, Harrington AM, McCormack R.Reproduction of contagious equine metritis 1977 in Pony mares was achieved with cultures of an unclassified Gram-negative coccobacillus. Infected mares developed a vaginal discharge and associated inflammatory changes of the cervix and vagina. There was evidence of variation in pathogenicity between different strains of the organism. Although all infected mares made spontaneous clinical recoveries, the Gram-negative coccobacillus persisted in the genital tracts of a considerable proportion for a variable period after challenge. Recovery of the organism was not associated solely with the occurr...
Ricketts SW, Rossdale PD.Endometrial biopsy samples before and after treatment were obtained from 10 mares naturally infected and one Pony mare experimentally infected with Contagious Equine Metritis in 1977. The histopathological features were a short-lived polymorphonuclear cell infiltration of the luminal epithelium and stroma followed by a very early and marked mononuclear cell infiltration of the stroma, including many plasma cells. The luminal epithelium responded with cellular proliferation which may have reflected a regenerative response. Following the initial acute response, intercellular basal vacuoles conta...
Yamamoto M, Tanaka Y, Sugano M.1. The lipid composition of serum and liver and some properties of serum lecithin: cholesterol acyltransferase of the horse were investigated. 2. Phospholipids and cholesterol were the major components of serum lipids and the concentration of triglyceride was considerably low. The concentration of liver lipids was comparable with that of other mammals. 3. Fatty acid composition of serum cholesterol ester resembled that of the 2-position of lecithin, except palmitic acid. 4. The activity of serum cholesterol esterifying enzyme was found to be 0.03-0.09 mumol/hr per ml. There was an equimolar de...
Mia AS, Koger HD.Serum concentrations of arginase, glutamic pyruvic transaminase (SGPT) and glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT) in dogs, cats, horses, cattle, sheep and pigs were determined before and after oral administration of CCl(4) at doses known to cause hepatic necrosis. Following CCl(4) administration, serum concentration of arginase and SGOT increased to a level of diagnostic significance in all animals. SGPT increased markedly in dogs and cats and marginally in 1 of 3 cattle and 2 of 3 pigs. In the surviving animals, the serum concentration of arginase returned to normal range much earlier than ...
Hurtgen JP, Ganjam VK.Endometrial biopsy or endometrial biopsy and uterine culture taken on Day 4 after oestrus induced lysis of the corpus luteum (CL), resulting in a sharp decline in serum progesterone concentration and shortened the interoestrous interval in 8/12 and 32/33 oestrous cycles, respectively, during 2 experiments. Cervical dilatation 4 days after oestrus shortened the interoestrus interval in 5/10 and 0/5 oestrous cycles. Endometrial biopsy and culture on Days 1 and 3 after oestrus also induced CL lysis during 4 of 7 cycles. Total oestrogen (oestrone plus oestradiol) concentrations increased at the on...
Barendsz AW.The enzyme butyrylcholinesterase from horse serum catalyses the hydrolysis of certain esters. The orange-red 2,6-dichloroindophenyl acetate will be converted by the enzyme into a deep blue alcohol. The colour transformation does not occur when the enzyme is inactivated. By making use of this biochemical reaction a cheap and simple, but very sensitive and specific detection tube could bedeveloped. The tube comprises a breakable ampoule with an aqueous buffer solution, a freeze-dried preparation of the chromogenic ester with a filler promoting its dissolution, a freeze-dried preparation of butyr...
Gygax AP, Ganjam VK, Kenney RM.The surprisingly rapid rate of uterine involution detected is consistent with a high rate of conception as the first post-partum heat. Furthermore, many of the immediately post-partum features have attained the pregravid state by the end of the first post-partum oestrus and virtually all by the second post-partum oestrus. There was no specific cause detected for the higher rate of early embryonic death associated with conception at the foal heat.
Mason TA, Maclean AA.Two cases of osteochondrosis dissecans of the head of the humerus in foals are described. The lesions were gross compared with those seen in dogs. Arthrotomy and curettage of the affected area resulted in marked clinical improvement.
Climent F, Carmona JU, Cuenca R, Prades M.Eosinophilic synovitis (ES) is a rare disease described in human and veterinary medicine. Only three cases have been reported in the horse. A case of tarsocrural synovitis in an Hispano-Arabian gelding is presented in this report. The patient presented with severe joint effusion and lameness of the right tarsocrural joint on admission. Synovial fluid analysis revealed an increased WBC of 12800 leukocytes/microliter with 76% of eosinophils. Lavage of the diseased joint and medical treatment with antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs produced remission of the clinical problem.
de Camargo MM, Kuribayashi JS, Bombardieri CR, Hoge A.Studies focusing on the equine humoral response are scarce, with a bias towards the pre- and post-parturition mare and its foal. The present study attempted to expand current knowledge by establishing normal ranges for adult horse serum isotypes. Immunoglobulin (Ig) concentrations were obtained by screening 47 horses of various breeds and in different training regimes. Radial immunodiffusion values (mg/dL) were 196+/-73 for IgA, 2704+/-1424 for IgG, 419+/-220 for IgG(T) and 70+/-30 for IgM. All values passed the Kolmogorov-Smirnov normality test. The results will be of use to the field veterin...
Monzón CM.An indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) to detect antibodies against Trypanosoma evansi was evaluated using 90 different sera, obtained from naturally-infected horses. As negative controls, 218 sera from the T. evansi-free zone of Argentina, and 90 uninfected sera from the enzootic zone were used. The results of the ELISA were expressed in terms of percent positivity (PP) when compared with a positive primary reference serum, obtained from a horse experimentally-infected with T. evansi. The inter-assay coefficient of variation (CV), expressed as PP, was 44.7% for the negative con...
Stadler P.The anterior enteritis syndrome in the horse is reviewed with reference to the aetiology, pathogenesis, clinical findings, laboratory findings, diagnosis, treatment, prognosis and post mortem findings.
Belknap JK, Derksen FJ, Nickels FA, Stick JA, Robinson NE.Upper airway flow mechanics and arterial blood gas measurements were used to assess the efficacy of subtotal arytenoidectomy for treatment of induced left laryngeal hemiplegia in horses. Measurements were collected with the horses at rest, and trotting or pacing on a treadmill (6.38 degrees incline) at speeds of 4.2 and 7.0 m/s. Experimental protocols were performed after right common carotid artery exteriorization (baseline), after left recurrent laryngeal neurectomy (LRLN), and after left subtotal arytenoidectomy. At baseline, increasing treadmill speed progressively increased peak inspirato...
van der Kolk JH, Wensing T, Kalsbeek HC, Breukink HJ.Lipid metabolism was studied in 21 horses with hyperadrenocorticism. To be included in the study, horses had to have histologic evidence of a pars intermedia adenoma found at necropsy (n = 9), a baseline ACTH concentration greater than 400 pg/ml (n = 6), or a plasma cortisol concentration 2 hours after i.v. administration of 25 IU of ACTH greater than 413 nmol/L (n = 16). Mean +/- SD baseline plasma cortisol concentration was 338 +/- 261 nmol/L (n = 20), mean +/- SD plasma insulin concentration was 97 +/- 54 microU/ml (n = 15), mean +/- SD plasma beta-hydroxybutyrate concentration was 1.8 +/- ...