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.
Kleinwort KJ, Amann B, Hauck SM, Feederle R, Sekundo W, Deeg CA.Recently, formation of tertiary lymphoid structures was demonstrated and further characterized in the R161H mouse model of spontaneous autoimmune uveitis. In the horse model of spontaneous recurrent uveitis, intraocular lymphoid follicle formation is highly characteristic, and found in all stages and scores of disease, but in depth analyses of immunologic features of these structures are lacking to date. Paraffin-embedded eye sections of cases with equine spontaneous recurrent uveitis (ERU) were characterized with immunohistochemistry to gain insight into the distribution, localization, and si...
Legacki EL, Corbin CJ, Ball BA, Wynn M, Loux S, Stanley SD, Conley AJ.Mammalian pregnancies need progestogenic support and birth requires progestin withdrawal. The absence of progesterone in pregnant mares, and the progestogenic bioactivity of 5α-dihydroprogesterone (DHP), led us to reexamine progestin withdrawal at foaling. Systemic pregnane concentrations (DHP, allopregnanolone, pregnenolone, 5α-pregnane-3β, 20α-diol (3β,20αDHP), 20α-hydroxy-5α-dihydroprogesterone (20αDHP)) and progesterone) were monitored in mares for 10days before foaling (n=7) by liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. The biopotency of dominant metabolites was assessed using luci...
Han X, Zhang P, Yu W, Xiang W, Li X.The Chinese EIAV vaccine is an attenuated live virus vaccine obtained by serial passage of a virulent horse isolate (EIAV) in donkeys (EIAV) and, subsequently, in donkey cells in vitro. In this study, we compare the env gene of the original horse virulent virus (EIAV) with attenuated strains serially passaged in donkey MDM (EIAV) and donkey dermal cells (EIAV). Genetic comparisons among parental and attenuated strains found that vaccine strains contained amino acid substitutions/deletions in gp90 that resulted in a loss of three potential N-linked glycosylation sites, designated g5, g9, and g1...
Leathwick DM, Sauermann CW, Donecker JM, Nielsen MK.Literature documenting the growth and development of Parascaris spp. infections was used to develop a model describing worm dynamics in the young horse. The model incorporates four main variables; the rate at which larvae migrate through host tissues to return to the small intestine, the proportion of migrating larvae which succeed in returning to the small intestine, the rate of growth in size of maturing and adult worms and the survival rate of maturing and adult worms. In addition, the number of eggs laid each day by adult female worms is calculated as a function of worm size (length) and i...
Scheuerle MC, Stear MJ, Honeder A, Becher AM, Pfister K.The selective treatment of horses is used to decrease the number of anthelmintic treatments by only treating a proportion of animals in the population. One way to select animals for treatment is to identify low and high egg-shedders using faecal egg counts (FEC); then to treat only the high egg-shedders. The value of this method is enhanced if differences among individuals in the level of egg-shedding remain consistent over time. One way to assess the stability of the rankings of animals over time is to measure the repeatability which is defined as the variance between horses divided by the to...
DiGiovanni DL, Rademacher N, Riggs LM, Baumruck RA, Gaschen L.Palmar/plantar annular desmitis is a common disease that may be associated with adhesions and structures affecting the flexor tendons, which requires tenoscopy to diagnose. The purpose of this descriptive study was to develop a dynamic sonographic technique for evaluating the motion of normal equine flexor tendons in relation to the palmar/plantar annular ligament and to compare findings with horses previously diagnosed with palmar/plantar annular desmitis. Ten healthy adult horses were examined prospectively and the images of four horses diagnosed with palmar/plantar annular desmitis were ret...
Menzies-Gow NJ, Harris PA, Elliott J.Certain individuals appear to be predisposed to recurrent pasture-associated laminitis. Previous studies have predominantly investigated risk factors only after disease occurrence. Objective: To investigate risk factors for pasture-associated laminitis prior to disease occurrence. Methods: Prospective cohort study. Methods: Non-laminitic ponies aged ≥7 years were recruited. Body condition score (BCS), height, weight, crest height and thickness were measured and an overnight dexamethasone suppression test performed. Plasma or serum adiponectin, leptin, triglyceride, basal insulin, insulin pos...
McKenzie EC, Eyrich LV, Payton ME, Valberg SJ.A previous report suggests a substantial incidence of exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER) in Arabian horses performing endurance racing. This study compared formalin histopathology and clinical and metabolic responses to a standardised field exercise test (SET) between Arabians with and without ER. Arabian horses with (n = 10; age 15.4 ± 5.6 years) and without (n = 9; 12.9 ± 6.1 years) prior ER were stall-rested for 24-48 h, after which paired ER and control horses were fitted with a telemetric ECG and performed a 47 min submaximal SET. Plasma glucose, lactate, electrolyte and...
Thomas AL, Schramme MC, Lepage OM, Segard EM.An awareness of magnetic susceptibility artifacts is important for interpreting prepurchase and postoperative magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) studies in horses. These artifacts occur when a metallic or a paramagnetic substance creates a local magnetic field deformity. Aims of the current experimental study were to determine prevalence of these artifacts after arthroscopy in a sample of nonlame horses, and to describe effects of time and type of pulse sequence on low-field MRI signal intensity and detection of the artifacts. Ten, nonlame Standardbred horses were prospectively recruited. All ho...
Tartor YH, El Damaty HM, Mahmmod YS.Rapid and accurate identification of dermatophytes is crucial for the effective control of disease outbreaks. Current methods based on culture and microscopic characteristics may require weeks before positive identification is made. Objective: To (i) identify the most common pathogenic dermatophytes affecting Arabian horses; (ii) compare the performance of direct microscopy (DM), culture, PCR using hair samples (PCRhair ) and PCR based on culture isolates (PCRculture ) for the diagnosis of dermatophytosis. Methods: Samples of hair and crusts of skin lesions from Arabian horses were collected o...
Wise LM, Bodaan CJ, Mercer AA, Riley CB, Theoret CL.Wounds in horses often exhibit sustained inflammation and inefficient vascularization, leading to excessive fibrosis and clinical complications such as "proud flesh". Orf virus-derived proteins, vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)-E and interleukin (ovIL)-10, enhance angiogenesis and control inflammation and fibrosis in skin wounds of laboratory animals. Objective: The study aimed to determine if equine dermal cells respond to VEGF-E and ovIL-10. Equine dermal cells are expected to express VEGF and IL-10 receptors, so viral protein treatment is likely to alter cellular gene expression an...
Vindas Bolaños RA, Cokelaere SM, Estrada McDermott JM, Benders KE, Gbureck U, Plomp SG, Weinans H, Groll J, van Weeren PR, Malda J.To investigate the effect of decellularized cartilage-derived matrix (CDM) scaffolds, by itself and as a composite scaffold with a calcium phosphate (CaP) base, for the repair of osteochondral defects. It was hypothesized that the chondral defects would heal with fibrocartilaginous tissue and that the composite scaffold would result in better bone formation. After an 8-week pilot experiment in a single horse, scaffolds were implanted in eight healthy horses in osteochondral defects on the medial trochlear ridge of the femur. In one joint a composite CDM-CaP scaffold was implanted (+P), in the...
Carossino M, Loynachan AT, James MacLachlan N, Drew C, Shuck KM, Timoney PJ, Del Piero F, Balasuriya UB.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is the causative agent of equine viral arteritis, a respiratory and reproductive disease of equids. EAV infection can induce abortion in pregnant mares, fulminant bronchointerstitial pneumonia in foals, and persistent infection in stallions. Here, we developed two RNA in situ hybridization (ISH) assays (conventional and RNAscope(®) ISH) for the detection of viral RNA in formalin-fixed paraffin-embedded (FFPE) tissues and evaluated and compared their performance with nucleocapsid-specific immunohistochemistry (IHC) and virus isolation (VI; gold standard) techniques...
Morsy K, Bashtar AR, Al Quraishy S, Adel S.Parasitic gastroenteritis (PGE) caused by infection of the gut with parasitic nematodes is one of the most important diseases of livestock animals from both financial and welfare perspectives. Parascaris equorum and Habronema microstoma are of the most endemic nematodes of the world which are currently the major cause of PGE of the domestic horses in Egypt. The present investigation introduced the first morphological description of these nematodes recovered from the domestic horse, Equus ferus caballus (Equidae), in Egypt by light and scanning electron microscopy. Seven P. equorum (fifth stage...
Pieńkowska-Schelling A, Handler J, Neuhauser S, Schelling C.The present case report describes a 6-year old subfertile pony mare, which became pregnant after the eleventh artificial insemination. The examination of the ovaries and the uterus did not reveal any abnormal clinical findings and the mare showed a regular oestrous cycle. Based on cytogenetic and molecular genetic analyses it became possible to elucidate the observed subfertility. The mosaic karyotype of the mare consisted of 63,X (20%) and 64,XX (80%) cells. A PCR analysis failed to amplify sequences from the equine SRY gene. The observed classic 63,X/64,XX mosaicism is a plausible explanatio...
Tirosh-Levy S, Blum SE, Steward KF, Waller AS, Steinman A.The purpose of this cross-sectional study was to determine the seroprevalence of Streptococcus equi in Israel, to monitor seropositive horses over time and to identify archived strains that were recovered from Israeli horses. A serological survey of 200 healthy horses on 20 farms throughout Israel was performed to detect recent exposure to S equi antigens A and C via indirect ELISA. Seroprevalence was 9.5 per cent (19/200) and positive horses were found in 30 per cent (6/20) of the farms. Sixteen horses that returned a positive serology result were retested three and six months later. Most (12...
Zhou M, Cao S, Sevinc F, Sevinc M, Ceylan O, Liu M, Wang G, Moumouni PF, Jirapattharasate C, Suzuki H, Nishikawa Y, Xuan X.Considering the scarce information on occurrences of Toxoplasma gondii and Neospora caninum in domestic animals from Turkey, the aim of this study was to investigate the seroprevalence of these parasite infections in cattle, horses, sheep, goats and dogs in Turkey. The specific antibodies against T. gondii and N. caninum were detected by iELISAs based on the recombinant TgSAG2 or NcSAG1 in a total of 2,039 serum samples from eleven provinces. The seroprevalence of T. gondii infections was 46.3%, 4.0%, 20.0%, 12.9% and 19.8%, that of N. caninum infections was 0.3%, 7.4%, 2.1%, 3.2% and 16.6% in...
Saey V, Vandecasteele T, van Loon G, Cornillie P, Ploeg M, Delesalle C, Gröne A, Gielen I, Ducatelle R, Chiers K.Acquired aortopulmonary fistulation is a rare condition in humans. It usually results as a late complication of a true or pseudoaneurysm of the thoracic aorta. It is most commonly associated with trauma or surgery, less commonly with atherosclerosis, inflammation, hypertension or Marfan's syndrome. Aortopulmonary fistulation is also seen as a rare complication of acute aortic dissection. On rare occasions, acquired aortopulmonary fistulation is reported in aged patients without any of the above mentioned triggering factors. Thus, these cases should be considered as idiopathic aortopulmonary fi...
Witte S, Dedman C, Harriss F, Kelly G, Chang YM, Witte TH.Superficial digital flexor (SDF) tendonitis is a common injury in Thoroughbred racehorses. Injuries require prolonged rehabilitation, with unpredictable outcomes and a high incidence of re-injury. This observational case-control study aimed to compare race outcomes after commonly advocated treatments for tendon healing. Clinical and racing records were evaluated for 127 National Hunt racehorses treated between 2007 and 2011 for an SDF tendon injury. Two age- and sex-matched control horses were selected for each case horse to analyse the effect on post-injury racing outcomes of pre-injury data,...
Bucci D, Giaretta E, Merlo B, Iacono E, Spinaci M, Gadani B, Mari G, Tamanini C, Galeati G.Alkaline phosphatase (AP) is present in equine seminal plasma and spermatozoa, but its functional role is not fully understood yet. Being that, sperm-oocyte interaction in equine species has been reported to be enhanced at a slightly basic pH, this work aimed at verifying whether exogenous alkaline phosphatase exerts any role on stallion spermatozoa and sperm-oocyte interaction at different pHs (7.4; 8.0; 9.0). Stallion spermatozoa were capacitated in Tyrode's medium at pH 7.4, 8.0, and 9.0 for 4 hours at 38 °C, 5% CO with 2.5-IU AP (AP group) or without AP (capacitated spermatozoa group); ...
Choi YH, Hinrichs K.There is a clinical demand for cryopreservation of both in vivo-recovered and in vitro-produced (IVP) equine embryos. We previously reported successful vitrification of expanded equine blastocysts in fine-diameter microloader pipette tips (MPTs) after blastocoel collapse, in a research setting. Here, we report the results of clinical application of the MPT vitrification technique for both in vivo-recovered and IVP blastocysts. In vivo-recovered blastocysts were obtained by referring veterinarians on Days 6 to 8 after ovulation, and shipped 1 to 10 hours to the laboratory before vitrificat...
Ziegler A, Marti E, Summerfield A, Baumann A.Dendritic cells (DC) are antigen-presenting cells that can be classified into three major cell subsets: conventional DC1 (cDC1), cDC2 and plasmacytoid DCs (pDC), none of which have been identified in horses. Therefore, the objective of this study was to identify and characterize DC subsets in equine peripheral blood, emphasizing on pDC. Surface marker analysis allowed distinction of putative DC subsets, according to their differential expression of CADM-1 and MHC class II. Equine pDC were found to be Flt3(+) CD4(low) CD13(-) CD14(-) CD172a(-) CADM-1(-) MHCII(low). The weak expression of CD4 on...
Karamendin K, Kydyrmanov A, Sayatov M, Strochkov V, Sandybayev N, Sultankulova K.A retrospective phylogenetic characterization of the hemagglutinin, neuraminidase and nucleoprotein genes of equine influenza virus A/equine/Kirgizia/26/1974 (H7N7) which caused an outbreak in Kirgizia (a former Soviet Union republic, now Kyrgyzstan) in 1977 was conducted. It was defined that it was closely related to the strain London/1973 isolated in Europe and it shared a maximum nucleotide sequence identity at 99% with it. This Central Asian equine influenza virus isolate did not have any specific genetic signatures and can be considered as an epizootic strain of 1974 that spread in Europe...
Pongratz MC, Junge HK, Riond B, Schwarzwald CC.To assess the accuracy and reliability of a point-of-care (POC) triglyceride analyzer and to establish reference intervals for blood ([TRIG]POC/WB ) and plasma triglyceride concentrations ([TRIG]POC/PL ) in horses, ponies, and donkeys. Methods: Prospective study. Methods: University teaching hospital. Methods: 120 adult healthy equids (78 horses and ponies, 42 donkeys) and 79 equids suffering from hypertriglyceridemia (73 horses and ponies, 6 donkeys). Methods: None. Results: [TRIG]POC/WB and [TRIG]POC/PL were measured using a POC analyzer and plasma triglyceride concentrations were measured u...
Visser HE, Diehl KA, Whitley RD, Myrna KE.To compare Schirmer tear test I (STTI) values collected in normal horses with and without an auriculopalpebral nerve block. Methods: Schirmer tear test I values were measured in 20 clinically normal horses (38 eyes) with a median age of 12 years. The order of eyes tested was randomized. Within 24-48 h, at the same time of day, tear measurements were collected again after administration of an auriculopalpebral nerve block. Each block was performed a minimum of 5 min prior to each STT I. A repeated-measures model was used to analyze differences between STT I values in eyes with and without nerve...
Horseman SV, Buller H, Mullan S, Whay HR.Despite growing concerns about the welfare of horses in Great Britain (GB) there has been little surveillance of the welfare status of the horse population. Consequently we have limited knowledge of the range of welfare problems experienced by horses in GB and the situations in which poor welfare occurs. Thirty-one in-depth interviews were conducted with a cross -section of equine stakeholders, in order to explore their perceptions of the welfare problems faced by horses in GB. Welfare problems relating to health, management and riding and training were identified, including horses being under...
Wilson CS, Brookes VJ, Hughes KJ, Trope GD, Ip H, Gunn AJ.In human subjects, arytenoid chondritis can be caused by chemical trauma of mucosa attributable to gastro-oesophageal reflux. Although a similar process may be involved in the aetiopathogenesis of arytenoid chondritis in horses, the oesophageal lumen pH in this species is poorly understood. Objective: To determine if gastro-oesophageal reflux occurs in horses by characterising oesophageal lumen pH. Methods: Blinded, randomised, placebo-controlled, crossover, experimental study. Methods: Luminal oesophageal pH in six yearling horses was recorded over four 24 h periods using an ambulatory pH rec...
Aboling S, Drotleff AM, Cappai MG, Kamphues J.Because the occurrence of Claviceps in European pastures may have been overlooked to cause serious health problem for grazing animals, we documented the degree of Claviceps contamination in two horse pastures and estimated whether the horses could have ingested a critical quantity of alkaloids. We counted the Claviceps sclerotia and determined alkaloid levels using high performance liquid chromatography with fluorescence detection. Depending on the location, the number of sclerotia varied from 0.09 to 0.19 per square meter (central area) and from 0.23 to 55.8 per square meter (border strips). ...
Plummer G, Bowling CP, Goodheart CR.Four equine herpesviruses (equine abortion virus, equine herpesvirus types 2 and 3, and equine cytomegalovirus) were compared. The equine abortion virus did not cross-neutralize with any of the other viruses, but the other three did show varying degrees of cross-neutralization among themselves. Equine abortion virus grew more quickly in tissue cultures than did the others, and attained higher titers of infectivity in the culture fluid; it also formed plaques in a wider range of tissue culture species, although the other three were not specific for one tissue culture system only, in that they w...
Wagnerová P, Sak B, Květoňová D, Maršálek M, Langrová I, Kváč M.A total of 9 (8 stallions and 1 mare) 1 year old ponies were used for the experimental infection caused by Encephalitozoon cuniculi genotype II (10(7) spores per animal). Subsequently, individual horses were slaughtered 7, 14, 21, 28, 35, 42, 49, 56, and 63 days post infection. Immediately after slaughter, tissues samples of stomach, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, caecum, colon, spleen, liver, kidney, bladder, heart, lungs, and brain were sampled. In addition, urine, feces and blood specimens were collected. Enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used for determination of humoral immune response and...
Potgieter AC, Cloete M, Pretorius PJ, van Dijk AA.The outer capsid protein VP2 of African horsesickness virus (AHSV) is a major protective antigen. We have cloned full-length VP2 genes from the reference strains of each of the nine AHSV serotypes. Baculovirus recombinants expressing the cloned VP2 genes of serotypes 1, 2, 4, 6, 7 and 8 were constructed, confirming that they all have full open reading frames. This work completes the cloning and expression of the first full set of AHSV VP2 genes. The clones of VP2 genes of serotypes 1, 2, 5, 7 and 8 were sequenced and their amino acid sequences were deduced. Our sequencing data, together with t...
Hassel DM, Rakestraw PC, Gardner IA, Spier SJ, Snyder JR.A prospective, unmatched case control study was performed to identify dietary and environmental risk factors for enterolithiasis in horses in California and to determine whether colonic ingesta analyses differed between horses with and without enteroliths. Forty-three horses with enterolithiasis were compared with 19 horses with surgical colic attributable to nonstrangulating obstruction of the colon without enteroliths. Colonic ingesta samples were collected at surgery from horses with enteroliths and control horses. Colonic pH and colonic concentrations of magnesium, phosphorus, sulfur, sodi...
Merrifield-Jones M, Tabor G, Williams J.Back pain is a significant factor for horses and is challenging for professionals to diagnose, with assessment frequently using subjective tools such as manual palpation. Reliable and valid objective measures are required and use of a pressure algometer (PA) has been investigated as an assessment tool; however, it has limitations, and other more realistic methods may be better suited for the task. The aim of the study was to establish inter- and intra-rater reliability for PA, FlexiForce Sensor (FFS), and manual palpation for equine epaxial soft tissue, measuring mechanical nociception thresho...
Meershoek LS, Lanovaz JL, Schamhardt HC, Clayton HM.To calculate forces in the flexor tendons and the influence of heel wedges in affected and contralateral (compensating) forelimbs of horses with experimentally induced unilateral tendinitis of the superficial digital flexor (SDF) tendon. Methods: 5 Warmblood horses. Procedure-Ground reaction force and kinematic data were obtained during a previous study while horses were trotting before and after induction of tendinitis in 1 forelimb SDF and after application of 6 degrees heel wedges to both forehooves. Forces in the SDF, deep digital flexor (DDF), and the suspensory ligament (SL) and strain i...
Acland HM, Gunson DE, Gillette DM.Seven foals aged 18 days to 3 1/2 months had either single or multiple full-circumference segments or long antimesenteric bands of necrotizing duodenitis, sharply delineated from adjacent viable duodenum. Perforation of the necrotic wall had occurred in all foals, leading to acute fibrinous peritonitis. On the mucosal surface severe diffuse, acute inflammation and ulceration involved the anterior half of the duodenum. Two further foals, aged 28 and 30 days, had lesions that are believed to be a chronic form of this disease. Both foals had a thickened duodenal wall, with large areas of mucosa r...
Naves JHFF, Oliveira FG, Bicalho JM, Santos PS, Machado-de-Ávila RA, Chavez-Olortegui C, Leite RC, Reis JKP.Equine infectious anemia (EIA) is a disease caused by a Lentivirus that is currently controlled exclusively by identification of seropositive animals. In most countries, including Brazil, the official diagnostic test for EIA is the agar gel immunodiffusion test (AGID). Although this assay has a high specificity it can produce false negative reactions or equivocal results due to weak precipitation lines, especially in samples from donkeys, mules or newly infected equids. In this pioneering study, it was used overlapping synthetic peptide pools to map and identify a consensus, widely recognised ...
Uzal FA, Robles CA, Olaechea FV.'Mal seco' is a grass sickness-like syndrome of horses in Argentina. A histopathological study was made of the coeliaco-mesenteric ganglia of four horses with 'mal seco' and of four horses that died from other causes. The severity and extent of the lesions found in the horses with 'mal seco' was greatest in the two with the shortest clinical course. Degenerative changes consisted mainly in the loss of Nissl substance, cytoplasmic vacuoles, neuronophagia, intercellular and intracytoplasmic eosinophilic bodies, and pyknotic and eccentric nuclei. The coeliaco-mesenteric ganglia of the control hor...
Johnson PJ, Kreeger JM, Keeler M, Ganjam VK, Messer NT.In order better to evaluate the extent to which degradation of the lamellar basement membrane (LBM) by matrix metalloproteinases (MMP) occurs in equine laminitis, we determined the concentration of type IV collagen and laminin in normal and laminitic horses, using specific immunoassays. Blood samples were obtained from both the jugular and the cephalic veins of horses (n = 10) before and after the induction of acute alimentary laminitis by carbohydrate overload. Jugular and cephalic venous blood samples were also obtained from horses affected with naturally occurring laminitis (n = 16) and non...
Vandenput S, Votion D, Duvivier DH, Van Erck E, Anciaux N, Art T, Lekeux P.The aim of this study was to evaluate the respiratory function of horses affected with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) when maintained in a barn on wood shavings and fed grass silage for a period of 6 weeks. The mechanics of breathing, blood gas analysis and bronchial reactivity were examined on five horses with COPD at the end of the environment-controlled period (Period B) and the results compared with values obtained after 2 months at pasture (Period A) and after the onset of clinical signs of acute crisis (Period C). The results showed that clinical and functional parameters w...
Fausto GC, Fausto MC, Vieira ÍS, Freitas SG, Carvalho LM, Oliveira IC, Silva EN, Campos AK, Araújo JV.Equine gastrointestinal nematodiosis contributes to the lower productivity of these animals. There are growing reports of the emergence of nematodes resistant to the drugs used for decades in anthelmintic treatments. An alternative to the emergence of resistance may be the use of nematophagous fungi as a complementary method of treatment. Therefore, the objective was to evaluate the effects of the use of the product Bioverm® as a carrier of Duddingtonia flagrans, on pasture contamination level and equine parasitic burden. Sixteen mares were used, divided into two groups, one control and one t...
Jonsdottir S, Svansson V, Stefansdottir SB, Mäntylä E, Marti E, Torsteinsdottir S.Insect bite hypersensitivity is an immunoglobulin (Ig)E-mediated dermatitis of horses initiated by bites of midges of the genus Culicoides. Culicoides spp. are not indigenous to Iceland and the prevalence of insect bite hypersensitivity is much higher in horses born in Iceland and exported as compared to Icelandic horses born in a Culicoides rich environment. Immunotherapy is therefore needed. Objective: The aim of the study was to express an allergen from Culicoides in barley grain and investigate whether an immune response could be obtained in healthy Icelandic horses by oral treatment with ...
Wagner ML, Valberg SJ, Ames EG, Bauer MM, Wiseman JA, Penedo MC, Kinde H, Abbitt B, Mickelson JR.Glycogen Branching Enzyme Deficiency (GBED), a fatal condition recently identified in fetuses and neonatal foals of the Quarter Horse and Paint Horse lineages, is caused by a nonsense mutation in codon 34 of the GBE1 gene, which prevents the synthesis of a functional GBE protein and severely disrupts glycogen metabolism. The aims of this project were to determine the mutant GBE1 allele frequency in random samples from the major relevant horse breeds, as well as the frequency with which GBED is associated with abortion and early neonatal death using the tissue archives from veterinary diagnosti...
Agneessens J, Engelen S, Debever P, Vercruysse J.Over a period of one year, from December 1995 to November 1996, larvae of Gasterophilus intestinalis were found in 193 horse stomachs (58%) of 330 that were examined in two Belgian slaughter houses. When August is excluded, 62% of the stomachs had bot larvae. No other Gasterophilus species were identified. The monthly prevalence ranged from 9% in August to 75% in November and December. The mean intensity of bot larvae varied from 8 in August to 29 in March, and the majority of the horses (67%) harboured less than 50 larvae. Prevalences and intensities were not affected by age, but mares were m...
Battut I, Colchen S, Fieni F, Tainturier D, Bruyas JF.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the exact age when the equine embryo reaches the uterus. The time of ovulation was determined by hourly ultrasound examinations starting 32 h after an injection of crude equine pituitary gonadotrophin or human chorionic gonadotrophin, or after the first of 4 injections of buserelin. Nonsurgical uterine flushings were carried out 144 h (Day 6), 156 h (Day 6.5) or 168 h (Day 7) after ovulation. Induction of ovulation was attempted in 101 oestrous cycles and 61 of 101 mares (60.4%) ovulated 32-44 h post injection. Sixty embryo collections were performed w...
Bleumink-Pluym NM, van Dijk L, van Vliet AH, van der Giessen JW, van der Zeijst BA.The 16S ribosomal DNA sequence of Taylorella equigenitalis (formerly Haemophilus equigenitalis), the causative organism of contagious equine metritis, was determined. A phylogenetic analysis of this sequence revealed a phylogenetic position of T. equigenitalis in the beta subclass of the class Proteobacteria apart from the position of Haemophilus influenzae, which belongs to the gamma subclass of Proteobacteria. A close phylogenetic relationship among T. equigenitalis, Alcaligenes xylosoxidans, and Bordetella bronchiseptica was detected; Spirillum volutans and Chromobacterium fluviatile (Iodob...
Szóstek-Mioduchowska AZ, Shiotani H, Yamamoto Y, Sadowska A, Wójtowicz A, Kozai K, Hojo T, Kimura K, Skarzynski DJ, Okuda K.Glucocorticoids (GCs) are known to play an important role in maintaining basal and stress-related homeostasis by interacting with endocrine mediators and prostaglandins (PGs). Although a growing body of evidence shows that GCs exert their regulatory action at a multitude of sites in the reproductive axis through corticosteroid receptors, little is known about the direct role of cortisol, an active form of GCs, in the equine endometrium. Thus, the study aimed to determine the effect of cortisol on PGF synthesis in the endometrial tissue and cells in vitro. In Exp.1, the immunolocalization and ...
Barrachina L, Remacha AR, Romero A, Zaragoza P, Vázquez FJ, Rodellar C.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) are a promising treatment for equine musculoskeletal injuries because of their ability to regulate the inflammation and to differentiate into other cell types. Since interest in allogeneic therapy is rising, concerns about MSC immunogenicity need to be addressed. Differentiated MSCs from several species increase their expression of immunogenic molecules and induce alloresponses, but equine MSC immunogenic profile after differentiation has not been reported. Therefore, the aim of this study was to assess the gene expression of immunogenic markers in tri-lineage dif...
Prieto D, Hernández M, Rivera L, García-Sacristán A, Simonsen U.The distribution of neuropeptide Y (NPY)-immunoreactive (IR) nerves, as well as the functional effects of NPY and the Y1- and Y2-receptor agonists, [Leu31,Pro34]NPY and NPY(13-36), respectively, have been investigated in vitro in both visceral and arterial smooth muscle of the horse intravesical ureter. NPY-IR nerve fibres were widely distributed along the entire length of the ureter, although the intravesical part was the most richly innervated region, and the only one where NPY-IR ganglion cells were found. NPY (10(-7) M) did not affect either basal tone or spontaneous rhythmic contractions ...
Hansen S, Sun L, Baptiste KE, Fjeldborg J, Horohov DW.Diseases of the lower airways represent some of the most common conditions affecting horses of all ages, but the type and severity tends to follow the horses' age. The age-related dysregulation of pro-inflammatory cytokines may, in part contribute to the development of the diseases. Therefore, we hypothesize that the expression of pro-inflammatory cytokines increases with age. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) cells from clinically healthy horses of different ages were used for the investigation. The cells were stimulated and the production of IFN-γ an...
Abdel-Moneim AS, Shehab GM, Abu-Elsaad AA.Phylogenetic and evolutionary patterns of the six internal genes of an equine H5N1 influenza A virus isolated in Egypt on 2009 were analyzed using direct sequencing. All of the internal genes of the equine H5N1 strain showed a genetic pattern potentially related to Eurasian lineages. Variable dendrogram topologies revealed an absence of reassortment in the equine strain while confirming its close relatedness to other Egyptian H5N1 strains from human and avian species. The equine strain is characterized by a variety of amino acid substitutions in six internal proteins compared to the available ...
Bailey CJ, Reid SW, Hodgson DR, Rose RJ.To determine whether sex or foaling period were associated with time to first race start and whether sex, age at time of first race start, or inter-race period were associated with career duration for Thoroughbred racehorses in Australia. Methods: 553 Thoroughbred racehorses. Methods: Race records through to the end of the 6-year-old racing season were obtained for each horse. Product-limit survival analysis was used to determine whether sex or foaling period was associated with time to first race start and whether sex or age at first race was associated with career duration. A Cox proportiona...
Desideri A, Stefanini S, Polizio F, Petruzzelli R, Chiancone E.Apoferritin has been selectively labeled with a maleimide nitroxide derivative at Cys-126, located in the hydrophilic 3-fold channels. Titration of this derivative with Fe(II), which gives rise to the initial Fe(III)-apoferritin complex, produces, at low metal-to-protein ratios, a decrease of the intensity of the label EPR signal due to the occurrence of a magnetic dipolar interaction. A label-metal distance ranging between 8-12 A can be estimated from titrations performed with VO(IV), which is known to bind in the 3-fold channels, and likewise produces a decrease in the label EPR signal. The ...
Linford RL, O'Brien TR, Wheat JD, Meagher DM.A lateral radiograph of the pharyngeal region provides a technique for identifying pharyngeal disorders, including entrapment of the epiglottic cartilage and dorsal displacement of the soft palate. Epiglottic cartilage length, predicted from radiographs by measurement from the body of the thyroid cartilage to the tip of the epiglottis (thyroepiglottic length), was well correlated to actual length at postmortem examination (r2 = 0.98). Thyroepiglottic length, corrected for magnification, was 8.76 +/- 0.44 cm in 24 healthy Thoroughbreds. Nine Thoroughbreds with entrapment of the epiglottic carti...
Riihimäki M, Lilliehöök I, Raine A, Berg M, Pringle J.The aim of this study was to assess clinical signs and altered pulmonary cell expression of cytokines related to eosinophil kinetics in horses with pulmonary eosinophilia. Pulmonary eosinophilia was detected by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) in a group of standardbreds in training. Horses had detailed clinical examination, bronchoscopy, endobronchial biopsy and BAL on three occasions at approximately 6 month intervals. During the second sampling period BAL eosinophils were significantly elevated (p>0.010), with five horses having from 5% to 37% eosinophils in BAL. Neither detailed clinical ex...
Giuliano EA.Neoplastic adnexal disease represents one of the most frequently encountered and therapeutically challenging ophthalmic problems of horses. This paper reviews current concepts in equine periocular neoplasia. Specifically, a literature-based review of the aetiopathogenesis of the most common tumours to affect the equine eyelid (squamous cell carcinoma, sarcoid, melanoma and lymphosarcoma) is provided. Current and emerging treatment modalities, including photodynamic therapy, are reviewed.
Belloli C, Crescenzo G, Lai O, Carofiglio V, Marang O, Ormas P.The objective of this study was to determine the pharmacokinetic behaviour of imidocarb in horses following a single i.m. injection at the dose commonly administered to treat Babesia caballi infections or to prevent babesiosis. Eight horses were injected i.m. with a single dose of 2.4 mg imidocarb dipropionate/kg bwt and blood, faecal, urine and milk samples were collected. For imidocarb determination, a high-performance liquid chromatographic method (HPLC) was used after weak cation-exchange solid phase, or liquid-liquid, extraction procedures. Twelve hours after treatment, no detectable plas...
Suske A, Pöschke A, Schrock P, Kirschner S, Brockmann M, Staszyk C.There is increasing interest in diseases of infundibula of equine maxillary cheek teeth. Imperfect infundibular cementogenesis has been recognized as an aetiopathological factor for the onset of infundibular necrosis. In this article, infundibular development was examined with particular attention to infundibular blood vessels and cementogenesis. Forty-one deciduous maxillary premolars prior to eruption were investigated using routine histological and immunohistological methods to visualize blood vessels and the enamel organ. Selected specimens were scanned by micro-computed tomography to anal...
McClellan A, Paterson YZ, Paillot R, Guest DJ.In horses and humans, tendon injuries are a significant problem. Not only can they occur in both athletes and nonathletes, they require lengthy periods of recuperation and undergo poor natural regeneration, which leads to high reinjury rates. Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) may provide a renewable source of allogeneic cells to use in clinical applications to aid tissue regeneration. Equine ESCs can undergo tenocyte differentiation in vivo and in vitro, but the immune properties of tenocytes isolated from either ESCs or tissues have not previously been characterized. Here, we demonstrate that equin...
