Equine diseases encompass a wide range of health conditions that can affect horses, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and genetic conditions. These diseases can impact the overall health, performance, and well-being of horses. Common equine diseases include equine influenza, equine herpesvirus, laminitis, and equine metabolic syndrome. Diagnosis and management of these diseases often require a combination of clinical evaluation, laboratory testing, and appropriate treatment strategies. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the etiology, pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment options for various equine diseases, providing valuable insights for veterinarians and researchers in the field.
Scare JA, Leathwick DM, Sauermann CW, Lyons ET, Steuer AE, Jones BA, Clark M, Nielsen MK.An alternative control regimen for drug-resistant parasites is combination deworming, where two drugs with different modes of action are administered simultaneously to target the same parasite. Few studies have investigated this in equine cyathostomins. We previously reported that an oxibendazole (OBZ) and pyrantel pamoate (PYR) combination was not sustainable against a cyathostomin population with high levels of OBZ and PYR resistance. This study consisted of a field study and two computer simulations to evaluate the efficacy of a moxidectin-oxibendazole (MOX-OBZ) combination against the same...
Bhoora RV, Collins NE, Schnittger L, Troskie C, Marumo R, Labuschagne K, Smith RM, Dalton DL, Mbizeni S.Recently reported substantial genetic diversity within Theileria equi 18S rRNA gene sequences has led to the identification of five genotypes A, B, C, D, and E, complicating molecular and serological diagnosis. In addition, T. haneyi has lately been reported as a species closely related to the T. equi 18S rRNA genotype C (Knowles et al., 2018). Theileria spp. of this group have a monophyletic origin and are therefore referred to as Equus group to distinguish them from the remaining Theileria lineages (Jalovecka et al., 2019). In this study, we report on the development of genotype-specific qua...
Steinfort S, Röcken M, Vogelsberg J, Failing K, Staszyk C.Equine periodontal disease in horses has long been recognized as a painful disease, leading to a poor condition. The disease is widespread and attracts growing attention in equine dental medicine. The understanding of the underlying etiological and pathological mechanisms of equine periodontal disease is necessary to develop effective prophylactic and treatment options. As a first step, a thorough description of the histological features of the healthy equine gingiva is required. Specimens were taken from six horses (3 mares, 3 geldings, age: 0.5-26 years). The animals were euthanized for reas...
Leng J, Walton G, Swann J, Darby A, La Ragione R, Proudman C.The intestinal microbiota of the horse, an animal of huge economic and social importance worldwide, is essential to the health of the animal. Understanding the intestinal ecosystem and its dynamic interaction with diet and dietary supplements currently requires the use of experimental animals, with consequent welfare and financial constraints. Here, we describe the development and assessment, using multiple analytical platforms, of a three-vessel, continuous-flow, model of the equine hindgut. After inoculation of the model with fresh horse feces, the bacterial communities established in each ...
Risner K, Ahmed A, Bakovic A, Kortchak S, Bhalla N, Narayanan A.Venezuelan equine encephalitis virus (VEEV) is a category B select agent pathogen that can be aerosolized. Infections in murine models and humans can advance to an encephalitic phenotype which may result in long-term neurological complications or death. No specific FDA-approved treatments or vaccines are available for the treatment or prevention of VEEV infection. Neurotropic viral infections have two damaging components: neuronal death caused by viral replication, and damage from the subsequent inflammatory response. Reducing the level of inflammation may lessen neurological tissue damage tha...
Kumar S, Sudan V, Shanker D, Devi A.Equine piroplasmosis, caused by Babesia (Theileria) equi, is well reported from many parts of India. However, literature regarding its prevalence from semi arid India is limited. Alongside, there is complete absence of information about genetic characterization of B.(T.) equi and the associated genotypes from India. In the present study, the prevalence of B.(T.) equi was studied from semi arid India using 18S ribosomal gene based PCR assay. An overall prevalence rate of 10.46% was recorded. PCR was more sensitive and specific in comparison with blood smears. The found isolates were sequenced. ...
Hannant D.This study investigates severe equine asthma (sEA), a significant health risk in horses similar to human asthma, identifying latex found in riding arenas and racetracks as a potential risk factor. […]
Davies T, Skelly C, Puggioni A, D'Helft C, Connolly S, Hoey S.Multiple published studies involving computed tomographic (CT) examinations of the equine head utilise a wide range of mAs parameters for image acquisition. This prospective, experimental study assessed the effects of lowering mAs during CT image acquisition on image quality and scatter radiation on 10 cadaver equine heads. Each head was scanned three times at 300, 225, and 150 mAs, with all other scanning parameters remaining constant between series. An anthropomorphic phantom was positioned adjacent to each equine head during image acquisition, mimicking a human bystander, with an ionizatio...
Bell C, Rogers S, Taylor J, Busby D.A key welfare problem for horses is that people commonly fail to recognise, and consequently neglect to resolve, equine behavioural signs of distress, worsening the welfare of the horse and potentially putting the safety of the handler at risk as a result. Members of equestrian Facebook groups were asked to view six videos and assess the horse's behaviour in each; the authors selected the videos and considered each video to demonstrate behaviour associated with negative affective states. An additional six equine behaviourists also completed the survey as an "expert comparison group" from whom ...
Haussler KK, Manchon PT, Donnell JR, Frisbie DD.Low-level laser therapy has been used clinically to treat musculoskeletal pain; however, there is limited evidence available to support its use in treating back pain in horses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the clinical effectiveness of low-level laser therapy and chiropractic care in treating thoracolumbar pain in competitive western performance horses. The subjects included 61 Quarter Horses actively involved in national western performance competitions judged to have back pain. A randomized, clinical trial was conducted by assigning affected horses to either laser therapy, chi...
Bulmer LS, Murray JA, Burns NM, Garber A, Wemelsfelder F, McEwan NR, Hastie PM.Gut microbiota have been associated with health, disease and behaviour in several species and are an important link in gut-brain axis communication. Diet plays a key role in affecting the composition of gut microbiota. In horses, high-starch diets alter the hindgut microbiota. High-starch diets are also associated with increased behavioural reactivity in horses. These changes in microbiota and behaviour may be associated. This study compares the faecal microbiota and behaviour of 10 naïve ponies. A cross-over design was used with experimental groups fed high-starch (HS) or high-fibre (HF) die...
Sánchez-Aparicio P, Florán B, Rodríguez Velázquez D, Ibancovichi JA, Varela Guerrero JA, Recillas S.Osteoarticular equine disease is a common cause of malady; in general, its therapy is supported on steroids and nonsteroidal anti-inflammatories. Nevertheless, many side effects may develop when these drugs are administered. Nowadays, the use of new alternatives for this pathology attention is demanded; in that sense, cannabinoid CB2 agonists may represent a novel alternative. Cannabinoid belongs to a group of molecules known by their psychoactive properties; they are synthetized by the Cannabis sativa plant, better known as marijuana. The aim of this study was to contribute to understand the ...
Dordas-Perpinyà M, Pintart C, Terris H, Normandin L, Bruyas JF.Two cloned mares, produced from the same sample of skin fibroblasts, were bred during four breeding seasons from their second year of age, as embryo donors, in exactly the same conditions, using the same stallions for both cloned mares. The aim of this study was to test the embryo donor potential of cloned mares and to compare the results obtained from two cloned mares of the same mare with other embryo donor mares (n = 31-39 per breeding season) at the same stud. For both cloned mares, 19 embryos were recovered by 43 collection attempts (44%) (7/22 for one; 12/21 for the other), 16 (84%) pr...
Egbe-Nwiyi TN, Paul BT, Cornelius AC.This study aimed to investigate the prevalence and intensity of nematode infection among slaughtered donkeys in Kaltungo, Nigeria. Methods: A total of 72 fecal samples were examined by salt flotation and the modified McMaster fecal egg count technique to morphologically identify nematodes eggs and determine their egg per gram (EPG) outputs. Results: Out of a total of 72 (100%) donkeys sampled, 36 (50%) tested positive, but the prevalence of nematodes was independent of the age, sex, and breed of donkeys (p>0.05). Among the four species of nematodes identified in single and mixed infections,...
Chiaradia E, Pepe M, Orvietani PL, Renzone G, Magini A, Sforna M, Emiliani C, Di Meo A, Scaloni A.Osteochondrosis is a failure of the endochondral ossification that affects developing joints in humans and several animal species. It is a localized idiopathic joint disorder characterized by focal chondronecrosis and growing cartilage retention, which can lead to the formation of fissures, subchondral bone cysts, or intra-articular fragments. Osteochondrosis is a complex multifactorial disease associated with extracellular matrix alterations and failure in chondrocyte differentiation, mainly due to genetic, biochemical, and nutritional factors, as well as traumas. This study describes the mai...
Hülskötter K, Aurich C, Köhne M, Baumgärtner W, Wohlsein P.Adenomatous hyperplasia of the equine allantoic epithelium (EAAH) is an infrequently observed nodular or plaque-like change in the placenta of the mare which is presented as a case description. EAAH is most frequently diagnosed in cases of aborted fetuses and is associated with inflammatory changes of the placenta. Histologically, different degrees of EAAH may be distinguished; however, these are not associated with specific clinical signs, degree of inflammation, a particular pathogen, or the frequency of abortions. It is assumed that EAAH represents a secondary, reactive change and has per s...
Pronost S, Fortier C, Marcillaud-Pitel C, Tapprest J, Foursin M, Saunier B, Pitel PH, Paillot R, Hue ES.(1) Background: Equine hepacivirus (EqHV), also referred to as non-primate hepacivirus (NPHV), infects horses-and dogs in some instances-and is closely related to hepatitis C virus (HCV) that has infected up to 3% of the world's human population, causing an epidemic of liver cirrhosis and cancer. EqHV also chronically infects the liver of horses, but does not appear to cause serious liver damages. Previous studies have been looking to identify route(s) of EqHV transmission to and between horses. (2) Methods: In this retrospective study, we sought to evaluate the prevalence of vertical transmis...
de Laat MA, Spence RJ, Sillence MN, Pollitt CC.Equine laminitis is a disease of the digital epidermal lamellae typified by epidermal cell proliferation and structural collapse. Most commonly the disease is caused by hyperinsulinemia, although the pathogenesis is incompletely understood. Insulin can activate the epidermal growth factor (EGF) system in other species and the present study tested the hypothesis that upregulation of EGF receptor (EGFR) signalling is a key factor in laminitis pathophysiology. First, we examined lamellar tissue from healthy Standardbred horses and those with induced hyperinsulinemia and laminitis for EGFR distrib...
Camoin M, Kocher A, Chalermwong P, Yangtarra S, Kamyingkird K, Jittapalapong S, Desquesnes M.Surra, caused by is a widely distributed animal trypanosomosis; it affects both domestic and wild mammals with high economic impact. Clinical picture is moderate in bovines but severe in equids. Surra is also an important constraint for international animal trade and movements. Despite its impact, surra remains poorly diagnosed because of low sensitivity tests. To improve epidemiological knowledge of the disease and to secure international movement, efficient diagnosis tools are required. Here, we optimized and applied to equids the OIE-recommended indirect ELISA that was validated in other ...
Al Naem M, Bourebaba L, Kucharczyk K, Röcken M, Marycz K.Mesenchymal stromal cells (MSC) have become a popular treatment modality in equine orthopaedics. Regenerative therapies are especially interesting for pathologies like complicated tendinopathies of the distal limb, osteoarthritis, osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) and more recently metabolic disorders. Main sources for MSC harvesting in the horse are bone marrow, adipose tissue and umbilical cord blood. While the acquisition of umbilical cord blood is fairly easy and non-invasive, extraction of bone marrow and adipose tissue requires more invasive techniques. Characterization of the stem cells a...
Labens R, Schramme MC, Murray RC, Bolas N.High-field MRI of the proximal metacarpal/metatarsal region has been associated with great diagnostic potential and clinical reports of standing low-field MRI of the forelimb suggest the same. To better understand diagnostic outcomes with standing low-field MRI of the proximal suspensory region, a prospective survey study was conducted and users of a widely available system questioned on their experience, operating procedures, and interpretation of standing low-field MRI findings. Response data included scores on a modified Likert scale from which weighted ratings were calculated for statistic...
Bond SL, Workentine M, Hundt J, Gilkerson JR, Léguillette R.Prolonged exposure to environmental antigens or allergens elicits an immune response in both healthy horses and those with mild asthma. Corticosteroids often are used to treat lower airway inflammation. Objective: To investigate the changes in equine herpesvirus (EHV)-1,2,4,5 glycoprotein B gene expression and changes in respiratory bacterial and fungal communities after nebulized dexamethasone treatment of horses with asthma. Methods: Horses with naturally occurring mild asthma (n = 16) and healthy control horses (n = 4). Methods: Prospective, randomized, controlled, blinded clinical trial. P...
Oladunni FS, Horohov DW, Chambers TM.Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) is one of the most important and prevalent viral pathogens of horses and a major threat to the equine industry throughout most of the world. EHV-1 primarily causes respiratory disease but viral spread to distant organs enables the development of more severe sequelae; abortion and neurologic disease. The virus can also undergo latency during which viral genes are minimally expressed, and reactivate to produce lytic infection at any time. Recently, there has been a trend of increasing numbers of outbreaks of a devastating form of EHV-1, equine herpesviral myeloenceph...
Ribitsch I, Gueltekin S, Keith MF, Minichmair K, Peham C, Jenner F, Egerbacher M.Aging is hypothesized to be associated with changes in tendon matrix composition which may lead to alteration of tendon material properties and hence propensity to injury. Altered gene expression may offer insights into disease pathophysiology and thus open new perspectives toward designing pathophysiology-driven therapeutics. Therefore, the current study aimed at identifying naturally occurring differences in tendon micro-morphology and gene expression of newborn, young and old horses. Age-related differences in the distribution pattern of tendon fibril thickness and in the expression of the ...
Rutkowska DA, Mokoena NB, Tsekoa TL, Dibakwane VS, O'Kennedy MM.African horse sickness (AHS) is a severe arthropod-borne viral disease of equids, with a mortality rate of up to 95% in susceptible naïve horses. Due to safety concerns with the current live, attenuated AHS vaccine, alternate safe and effective vaccination strategies such as virus-like particles (VLPs) are being investigated. Transient plant-based expression systems are a rapid and highly scalable means of producing such African horse sickness virus (AHSV) VLPs for vaccine purposes. Results: In this study, we demonstrated that transient co-expression of the four AHSV capsid proteins in agroin...
Rockwell H, Mack M, Famula T, Sandmeyer L, Bauer B, Dwyer A, Lassaline M, Beeson S, Archer S, McCue M, Bellone RR.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is characterized by intraocular inflammation that often leads to blindness in horses. Appaloosas are more likely than any other breed to develop insidious ERU, distinguished by low-grade chronic intraocular inflammation, suggesting a genetic predisposition. Appaloosas are known for their white coat spotting patterns caused by the leopard complex spotting allele (LP) and the modifier PATN1. A marker linked to LP on ECA1 and markers near MHC on ECA20 were previously associated with increased ERU risk. This study aims to further investigate these loci and identify a...
This research article provides an update on equine disease surveillance in the UK, collated from various diagnostic laboratories and veterinary practices, and highlights potential biases in the data due to […]
Brosnahan MM.The genus Equus is made up of donkeys, horses, and zebras. Despite significant variation in chromosome number across these species, interspecies breeding results in healthy, although infertile, hybrid offspring. Most notable among these are the horse-donkey hybrids, the mule and hinny. Donkeys presently are used for everything from companion animals to beasts of burden. Although closely related from an evolutionary standpoint, differences in anatomy and physiology preclude the assumption that they can be treated identically to the domestic horse. Veterinarians should be aware of these differen...
Aurich C, Müller-Herbst S, Reineking W, Müller E, Wohlsein P, Gunreben B, Aurich J.Warmblood fragile foal syndrome (WFFS) is a monogenetic defect with autosomal recessive inheritance. The WFFS homozygosity is non-compatible with extra-uterine life. Although as many as 15% of Warmblood horses are WFFS carriers, there has been little veterinary focus on this condition. The aim of this study was to determine outcomes and symptoms of clinical signs and pathological abnormalities during pregnancies when there were WFFS homozygous foetuses. Diagnostic material of 15 abortion or stillbirth cases with suspected diagnosis of WFFS was available for this study. Additionally, there were...
Cox S, Villarino N, Sommardahl C, Kvaternick V, Zarabadipour C, Siger L, Yarbrough J, Amicucci A, Reed K, Breeding D, Doherty T.The objective of this study was to determine if a single loading dose (LD), 3× the label dose of firocoxib oral paste, followed by nine maintenance doses at the current label dose achieves and maintains near steady state concentrations. Six healthy, adult mares were administered 0.3mg/kg of firocoxib on Day 0, and 0.1 mg/kg 24 h later on Day 1, and at 24 h intervals from Day 2 to Day 9, for a total of 10 doses. Blood samples were collected throughout the study. The mean firocoxib maximum plasma concentration and standard deviation was 199±97 ng/mL, 175±44 ng/mL and 183±50 ng/mL after the L...
Mugnier S, Dell'Aquila ME, Pelaez J, Douet C, Ambruosi B, De Santis T, Lacalandra GM, Lebos C, Sizaret PY, Delaleu B, Monget P, Mermillod P....The mechanism of fertilization remains largely enigmatic in mammals. Most studies exploring the molecular mechanism underlying fertilization have been restricted to a single species, generally the mouse, without a comparative approach. However, the identification of divergences between species could allow us to highlight key components in the mechanism of fertilization. In the pig, in vitro fertilization (IVF) and polyspermy rates are high, and spermatozoa penetrate easily through the zona pellucida (ZP). In contrast, IVF rates are low in the horse, and polyspermy is scarce. Our objective was ...
Pedersen SK, Cribb AE, Read EK, French D, Banse HE.In equids, phenylbutazone at high doses induces gastric disease, primarily in the glandular portion of the stomach. However, the mechanism of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug (NSAID)-induced gastric disease in horses has yet to be determined. While phenylbutazone-associated ulceration is often attributed to a decrease in basal gastric prostaglandins, this has not been demonstrated in the horse. Twelve horses were randomly assigned to treatment (n = 6; 4.4 mg/kg phenylbutazone PO in 20 ml molasses q 12 hr for 7 days) or placebo (n = 6; 20 ml molasses PO q 12 hr for 7 days) groups....
Stadler P, Deegen E.Dynamic compliance, airway resistance, viscous work and respiratory frequency were measured at intervals in horses over 12 h periods. Variation, daily averages and circadian patterns were recorded. Examinations were performed on 24 horses. They were divided into three groups: Normal horses, horses with chronic latent bronchitis and horses with manifest chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). Significant differences were found between the daily averages and the fluctuations when the normal group and the COPD group were compared. In most cases differences between all three groups were sign...
Payne SL, Pei XF, Jia B, Fagerness A, Fuller FJ.The molecular clones pSPeiav19 and p19/wenv17 of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) differ in env and long terminal repeats (LTRs) and produce viruses (EIAV(19) and EIAV(17), respectively) of dramatically different virulence phenotypes. These constructs were used to generate a series of chimeric clones to test the individual contributions of LTR, surface (SU), and transmembrane (TM)/Rev regions to the disease potential of the highly virulent EIAV(17). The LTRs of EIAV(19) and EIAV(17) differ by 16 nucleotides in the transcriptional enhancer region. The two viruses differ by 30 amino acids i...
Cheetham J, Perkins JD, Jarvis JC, Cercone M, Maw M, Hermanson JW, Mitchell LM, Piercy RJ, Ducharme NG.Bilateral vocal fold paralysis (BVCP) is a life-threatening condition that follows injury to the Recurrent Laryngeal nerve (RLn) and denervation of the intrinsic laryngeal musculature. Functional electrical stimulation (FES) enables restoration and control of a wide variety of motor functions impaired by lower motor neuron lesions. Here we evaluate the effects of FES on the sole arytenoid abductor, the posterior cricoarytenoid (PCA) muscle in a large animal model of RLn injury. Ten horses were instrumented with two quadripolar intramuscular electrodes in the left PCA muscle. Following a 12-wee...
Butt TD, Bailey JV, Dowling PM, Fretz PB.The purpose of this study was to compare the synovial fluid concentrations and pharmacokinetics of amikacin in the equine limb distal to the carpus following intraosseous and intravenous regional perfusion. The front limbs of 6 horses were randomly assigned to either intraosseous or intravenous perfusion. A tourniquet was placed distal to each carpus and the limb perfused with 500 mg of amikacin. Systemic blood samples and synovial fluid samples were collected over 70 min from the distal interphalangeal (DIP) joint, metacarpophalangeal joint, and digital flexor sheath. The tourniquet was remov...
Dixon PM, Parkin TD, Collins N, Hawkes C, Townsend N, Tremaine WH, Fisher G, Ealey R, Barakzai SZ.There is limited objective information available on the treatment and the long-term response to treatment of the different types of equine sinus disease. Objective: To document the treatments and long-term response to these treatments in 200 cases of equine sinus disease (1997-2009). Methods: The treatments of horses affected with subacute primary sinusitis (n = 52); chronic primary sinusitis (n = 37); dental sinusitis (n = 40); sinus cyst (n = 26); traumatic (n = 13); dental-related oromaxillary fistula (n = 8); sinus neoplasia (n = 10); mycotic sinus disease (n = 7); and intrasinus progressi...
Noronha LE, Harman RM, Wagner B, Antczak DF.The low-affinity Fc receptor CD16 plays a central role in the inflammatory and innate immune responses of many species, but has not yet been investigated in the horse. Using the predicted extracellular region of equine CD16 expressed as a recombinant fusion protein with equine IL-4 (rIL-4/CD16), we generated a panel of mouse monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) that recognize equine CD16. Nine mAbs were chosen for characterization based upon recognition of CD16, but not IL-4, in ELISA. All nine mAbs recognized full-length, cell-surface CD16 expressed as a GFP fusion protein by CHO cells, but not the c...
Valigura HC, Leatherwood JL, Martinez RE, Norton SA, White-Springer SH.Mitigation of exercise-induced stress is of key interest in determining ways to optimize performance horse health. To test the hypothesis that dietary supplementation of a Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation product would decrease markers of exercise-induced stress and inflammation in young horses, Quarter Horse yearlings (mean ± SD; 9 ± 1 mo) were randomly assigned to receive either no supplementation (CON; n = 8) or 21 g/d S. cerevisiae fermentation product (10.5 g/feeding twice daily; SCFP; n = 10) top-dressed on a basal diet of custom-formulated grain as well as ad libitum Coastal berm...
Marenzoni ML, Bietta A, Lepri E, Casagrande Proietti P, Cordioli P, Canelli E, Stefanetti V, Coletti M, Timoney PJ, Passamonti F.Herpesviral infections frequently occur in horses. The objective of this study was to investigate the possible association of equine herpesviruses (EHV-1, EHV-2, EHV-3, EHV-4, EHV-5) with other causes of abortion, neonatal mortality or placental disorder. Sixty-seven abortions, 22 stillbirths, 14 cases of neonatal foal mortality and 3 cases of placental disease were investigated for infectious and non-infectious causes. Type-specific nested PCR assays and virus isolation were performed to detect EHV infections. A cause of fetal loss or placental disease was reached in 68 out 116 (58.7%) cases....
LaFrentz S, Abarca E, Mohammed HH, Cuming R, Arias CR.The equine conjunctival microbiota has often been reported to be dominated by Gram-positive species such as Staphylococcus sp., Bacillus sp., and Corynebacterium sp. However, traditional culture-based methods can only recover a fraction of the bacterial species present in the sample. Objective: This pilot study aimed at exploring the diversity of the equine conjunctival microbiota using culture-independent methods. Methods: Eight horses were included in this study, and only eyes with normal ophthalmic examination (n = 15 eyes) were sampled. Methods: Conjunctival biopsies (culture-independent...
Busoni V, Heimann M, Trenteseaux J, Snaps F, Dondelinger RF.We describe the abnormal magnetic resonance (MR) imaging findings in the deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) and distal sesamoid bone in horses with radiographic changes compatible with navicular syndrome. Thirteen postmortem specimens were examined using a 1.5-T magnetic field, with spin echo (SE) T1-weighted, turbo SE (TSE) proton density-weighted (with and without fat saturation), and fat saturation TSE T2-weighted sequences. The limbs were then dissected to compare the MR findings with the gross assessment and histologic examination of the DDFT and distal sesamoid bones. Tendonous abnormalit...
Kaka JS, Klavano PA, Hayton WL.Ketamine HCl was administered IV to xylazine HCl-treated horses. The plasma concentration of ketamine was measured several times after administration of the drug and these data were used to develop a two-compartment pharmacokinetic model. The distribution and the elimination phase half-lives averaged 2.9 and 42 minutes. The volume of the central compartment averaged 212 ml/kg of body weight and the volume of the peripheral compartment was approximately threefold larger. The total body clearance of ketamine averaged 26.6 ml/minute/kg. Plasma protein binding of ketamine averaged 50% over the con...
Vinther AM, Heegaard PM, Skovgaard K, Buhl R, Andreassen SM, Andersen PH.Local inflammation may progress into systemic inflammation. To increase our understanding of the basic immunological processes during transition of equine local inflammation into a systemic state, investigation into the equine systemic immune response to local inflammation is warranted. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the innate peripheral blood leukocyte (PBL) immune response to local inflammation in horses, and to compare this response with the PBL immune response during the early phase of acute systemic inflammation. Expression of 22 selected inflammation-related genes w...
Fessler JF, Bottoms GD, Coppoc GL, Gimarc S, Latshaw HS, Noble JK.Endotoxin (LPS) was quantitated in experimental subjects and in horses with naturally occurring gastrointestinal strangulation obstruction and/or septicaemic diseases to establish the fate of LPS and the clinical usefulness of the Limulus amoebocyte lysate (LAL) assay. The assay was validated for sensitivity (10 pg/ml), recovery (90 to 106 per cent), intra-assay precision (CV = 5.5 per cent) inter-assay precision (CV = 11 per cent), and stability of diluted, heat treated, frozen samples (at least 90 days). Plasma concentrations of LPS after sublethal (3 micrograms/kg) jugular or portal vein bo...
Verheyen K, Newton JR, Talbot NC, de Brauwere MN, Chanter N.Three protracted outbreaks of strangles were investigated using endoscopic examination and a total of 14 asymptomatic carriers of Streptococcus equi were identified of which 13 showed evidence of carriage in the guttural pouch. Treatment was initiated to eliminate S. equi colonisation since these animals posed an infectious risk to susceptible horses. Two further horses were referred to us with severe guttural pouch pathology and from which S. equi was cultured, and treatment of these cases is also described. Treatment in the first instance was directed towards removal of gross guttural pouch ...
Barber TL, Walton TE, Lewis KJ.Twenty-nine horses were vaccinated with a trivalent (Venezuelan, eastern, and western) inactivated equine encephalomyelitis virus vaccine. The vaccine purchased for this study was the only one licensed and commercially available in May, 1975. Plaque-neutralizing and hemagglutinin-inhibiting antibodies in response to each of the 3 equine encephalomyelitis viruses were determined after vaccination. Horses had rising levels of plaque-neutralizing and hemagglutinin-inhibiting antibodies shortly after injection with the 1st and 2nd doses of the vaccine (given 3 weeks apart) and were refractory to c...
Brosnahan MM, Brooks SA, Antczak DF.The objective of this review is to introduce equine clinicians to the rapidly evolving field of clinical genomics with a vision of improving the health and welfare of the domestic horse. For 15 years a consortium of veterinary geneticists and clinicians has worked together under the umbrella of The Horse Genome Project. This group, encompassing 22 laboratories in 12 countries, has made rapid progress, developing several iterations of linkage, physical and comparative gene maps of the horse with increasing levels of detail. In early 2006, the research was greatly facilitated when the US Nationa...
Dixon PM, Parkin TD, Collins N, Hawkes C, Townsend N, Tremaine WH, Fisher G, Ealey R, Barakzai SZ.There is a lack of objective information on the value of ancillary diagnostic techniques used to investigate equine sinus disease, and also on which sinus compartments are commonly affected in this disorder. Objective: To record the ancillary diagnostic findings used to investigate equine sinus disease and to document which compartments are affected. Methods: The clinical case records of 200 consecutive cases of sinus disease, including subacute (2 months' duration) primary (n = 37); dental (n = 40); traumatic (n = 13); sinus cyst (n = 26); sinus neoplasia (n = 10); dental related oromaxillary...
Amilon KR, Cortes-Araya Y, Moore B, Lee S, Lillico S, Breton A, Esteves CL, Donadeu FX.Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have revolutionized human biomedicine through their use in disease modeling and therapy. In comparison, little progress has been made toward the application of iPSCs in veterinary species. In that regard, skeletal myocytes from iPSCs would have great potential for understanding muscle function and disease in the equine athlete. In this study, we generated skeletal myotubes by transducing equine iPSC-derived mesenchymal derivatives with an inducible lentiviral vector coding for the human sequence of the myogenic factor, MyoD. Myosin heavy chain-positive my...
Aktan I, Dunkel B, Cunningham FM.Activated platelets can contribute to host defense through release of products with bactericidal actions such as antimicrobial peptides and reactive oxygen species (ROS), as well as by forming heterotypic aggregates with neutrophils and enhancing their antimicrobial properties. Whilst release of vasoactive mediators from equine platelets in response to stimuli including bacterial lipopolysaccharide (LPS) has been documented, neither ROS production, nor the effects of activated platelets on equine neutrophil ROS production, have been reported. This study first sought evidence that activated equ...
van de Lest CH, Brama PA, van El B, DeGroot J, van Weeren PR.Osteochondrosis (OC) is the most important developmental orthopaedic disease in the horse. Despite some decades of research, much of the pathogenesis of the disorder remains obscure. Increasing knowledge of articular cartilage development in juvenile animals led to the presumption that the role of collagen in OC might be more important than previously thought. To study collagen characteristics of both cartilage and subchondral bone in young (5 and 11 months of age) horses, samples were taken of subchondral bone and articular cartilage from a group of 43 Dutch Warmblood foals and yearlings that...
Parma AE, Santisteban CG, Villalba JS, Bowden RA.Horses inoculated with either equine cornea or killed Leptospira interrogans serovars pomona, tarassovi, icterohaemorrhagiae, wolffi and hardjo, developed corneal opacity and produced antibodies which made it possible to demonstrate partial antigenic identity between equine cornea and four of those serovars employed. These antibodies were isolated by means of immunoadsorptions, purified by ion-exchange chromatography (DEAE-Sephadex A-50) and run by immuno-electrophoresis in agar gel. Both antibodies, anti-equine cornea and anti-leptospira, showed that they corresponded to the IgGb subclass. Th...
Hesselkilde EZ, Carstensen H, Haugaard MM, Carlson J, Pehrson S, Jespersen T, Buhl R, Platonov PG.Atrial fibrillatory cycle length has been considered one of the indices of atrial electrical remodelling during atrial fibrillation (AF), which can be assessed from surface ECG by computer-assisted calculation of atrial fibrillatory rate (AFR). Horses have been suggested as a bona fide model for AF studies since horses too, develop lone AF, however data on AF characteristics in horses are extremely sparse and non-invasive characterization of AF complexity using surface ECG processing has not been reported. Objective: The aim was to study characteristics of induced AF and its modification by fl...
Mureşan A, Mureşan C, Siteavu M, Avram E, Bochynska D, Taulescu M.Equine herpesviruses are important pathogens causing significant economic loss in equine and asinine populations. EHV-1/4 strains are mainly associated with respiratory distress. The aim of this study is to report the first EHV 4-associated respiratory disease in donkeys in Romania. Thirty-seven of three hundred jennies in an ecological donkey farm in southwest Romania started initially showing signs of severe upper respiratory tract disease, with ten concomitant late abortions/neonatal deaths and three neurological cases. There were nine fatalities. Pathological examination was performed, and...
Eriksson S, Grandinson K, Fikse WF, Lindberg L, Mikko S, Broström H, Frey R, Sundquist M, Lindgren G.There is a lack of knowledge about the genetic background of eczema due to insect bite hypersensitivity, also called summer eczema, in horses. The condition is known in several horse breeds and countries and it causes reduced welfare of the horse and economic losses to the owner. The aim of this study was to estimate genetic parameters for summer eczema in Swedish-born Icelandic horses. A questionnaire was sent to owners of horses sired by stallions with more than 50 offspring born in Sweden between 1991 and 2001. Variance components of summer eczema classified as healthy, mild, moderate or se...
Cheadle MA, Lindsay DS, Rowe S, Dykstra CC, Williams MA, Spencer JA, Toivio-Kinnucan MA, Lenz SD, Newton JC, Rolsma MD, Blagburn BL.An IFAT was used to determine the prevalence of Neospora-specific IgG antibodies in serum from Alabama horses. Serum samples (n = 536) were from asymptomatic horses routinely submitted for equine infectious anaemia virus infection testing. We also subjected a 13-year-old horse with CNS disease to necropsy examination for isolation and in vitro cultivation of protozoal organisms. In antemortem tests, this horse was positive for antibodies to Neospora sp. in the IFAT and western immunoblot. Results of the prevalence survey indicated that IgG antibodies to Neospora were present in 62 (11.5%) of t...
