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Topic:Equine Diseases
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.
Ophthalmic imaging. The last two decades have seen a revolution in ophthalmic imaging. In this review we present an overview of the breadth of ophthalmic imaging modalities in use today and describe how the role of ophthalmic imaging has changed from documenting abnormalities visible on clinical examination to the detection of clinically silent abnormalities which can lead to an earlier and more precise diagnosis. Methods: This review is based on published literature in the fields of ophthalmic imaging and with focus on most commonly used imaging modalities. Results: New imaging techniques enable non-invasive eva...
Pharmacokinetics, pulmonary disposition and tolerability of liposomal gentamicin and free gentamicin in foals. Although gentamicin is highly active against Rhodococcus equi in vitro, its clinical efficacy has been limited presumably due to poor cellular uptake. Encapsulation of drugs in liposomes enhances their cellular uptake. Objective: To compare the disposition of liposomal gentamicin (LG) and free gentamicin (FG) in the plasma, pulmonary epithelial lining fluid and bronchoalveolar cells of healthy foals after i.v. administration or by nebulisation, and to assess the tolerability of the drug after repeated i.v. dosing. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Eight healthy foals received a single i.v....
Suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (vorinostat): its role on equine corneal fibrosis and matrix metalloproteinase activity. To explore the effect of suberoylanilide hydroxamic acid (SAHA) (i) on corneal fibroblast differentiation, morphology, and viability; and (ii) on the expression levels of matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) 2 and 9 using an in vitro model of equine corneal fibrosis. Methods: Healthy donor corneas were used to generate primary cultures of equine corneal fibroblasts. The fibroblasts were exposed to 5 ng/mL TGFβ1 to induce myofibroblast formation. The cultures were treated with either 5 μm or 10 μm SAHA for 72 h in the presence of TGFβ1. Real-time PCR and immunocytochemistry were used to determi...
Local photodynamic therapy delays recurrence of equine periocular squamous cell carcinoma compared to cryotherapy. (i) To report the successful treatment of 10 cases of equine periocular squamous cell carcinoma (PSCC) with surgical excision and photodynamic therapy (PDT) using verteporfin. (ii) To evaluate time to first tumor recurrence between PDT-treated horses and horses treated with surgical excision and cryotherapy. Methods: A total of 24 equine PSCC cases were included: group 1 (n = 14) had excision and cryotherapy (1993–2003), group 2 (n = 10), excision and local PDT (2006–2010). Evaluated data: signalment, treatment method, tumor location, size, and time to first recurrence. Groups were compare...
Histopathological features of equine superficial, nonhealing, corneal ulcers. To evaluate corneal changes associated with chronic, nonhealing, superficial, corneal ulcers in horses via common histopathological stains. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: Twenty-four horses diagnosed with chronic, nonhealing, superficial, corneal ulceration. Methods: The medical records of horses evaluated at North Carolina State University's Veterinary Teaching Hospital (NCSU-VTH) from 2005 to 2011, diagnosed with a chronic, nonhealing, superficial, corneal ulcer and treated with superficial keratectomy (SK) were reviewed. Inclusion criteria were superficial corneal ulceration, no cel...
Saddle fit and management: An investigation of the association with equine thoracolumbar asymmetries, horse and rider health. No previous studies have investigated interrelationships between saddle fit/management, equine thoracolumbar asymmetries, rider and horse health. Objective: To assess associations between data obtained by clinical assessment and those provided by riders via a questionnaire. Methods: Clinical assessment of a convenience sample of horses and riders compared with a Web-based questionnaire survey (n = 205). Methods: Horse thoracolumbar asymmetries at predetermined sites, the presence of lameness (in hand and/or ridden), saddle slip, saddle fit/management and rider straightness were assessed. Kappa...
Hirudotherapy in veterinary medicine. The saliva of medicinal leeches, e.g., Hirudo medicinalis and Hirudo verbana commonly used in hirudotherapy, contains more than 100 bioactive substances with various therapeutic effects, including anticoagulant, vasodilator, thrombolytic, anti-inflammatory and anaesthetic properties. Recently, leeches have been used very successfully in veterinary medicine to treat many diseases of animals, especially dogs, cats and horses. The most common indications for the use of leeches are hip and elbow dysplasia, acute and chronic arthritis, diseases associated with inflammation of tendons, ligaments, an...
Concomitant inhibition of primary equine bronchial fibroblast proliferation and differentiation by selective β2-adrenoceptor agonists and dexamethasone. Altered airway cell proliferation plays an important role in the pathogenesis of human bronchial asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) as well as the equine recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) with consistent changes, i.e. narrowing the airway wall, explained by proliferation and differentiation of fibroblasts. In permanent cell lines, it has been suggested that β2-adrenoceptor agonists and glucocorticoids regulate cell proliferation via the β2-adrenoceptor pathway; indeed, no study was carried out in fresh isolated primary equine bronchial fibroblasts (EBF). We characterize...
The palmar metric: A novel radiographic assessment of the equine distal phalanx. Digital radiographs are often used to subjectively assess the equine digit. Recently, quantitative and objective radiographic measurements have been reported that give new insight into the form and function of the equine digit. We investigated a radio-dense curvilinear profile along the distal phalanx on lateral radiographs we term the Palmar Curve (PC) that we believe provides a measurement of the concavity of the distal phalanx of the horse. A second quantitative measurement, the Palmar Metric (PM) was defined as the percent area under the PC. We correlated the PM and age from 544 radiograph...
Infection of equine monocyte-derived macrophages with an attenuated equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) strain induces a strong resistance to the infection by a virulent EIAV strain. The Chinese attenuated equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) vaccine has successfully protected millions of equine animals from EIA disease in China. Given that the induction of immune protection results from the interactions between viruses and hosts, a better understanding of the characteristics of vaccine strain infection and host responses would be useful for elucidating the mechanism of the induction of immune protection by the Chinese attenuated EIAV strain. In this study, we demonstrate in equine monocyte-derived macrophages (eMDM) that EIAVFDDV13, a Chinese attenuated EIAV strain, indu...
Viability of equine mesenchymal stem cells during transport and implantation. Autologous mesenchymal stem cell (MSC) injection into naturally-occurring equine tendon injuries has been shown to be safe and efficacious and protocols inform translation of the technique into humans. Efficient transfer of cells from the laboratory into tissue requires well-validated transport and implantation techniques. Methods: Cell viability in a range of media was determined over 72 hours and after injection through a 19G, 21G or 23G needle. Viability, proliferation and apoptosis were analysed using TrypanBlue, alamarBlue® and AnnexinV assays. Results: Cell viability was similar in all...
Technical and physiological determinants of airway smooth muscle mass in endobronchial biopsy samples of asthmatic horses. Morphometric analyses of endobronchial biopsies are commonly performed in asthma research but little is known about the technical and physiological parameters contributing to measurement variability. We investigated factors potentially affecting biopsy size, quality, and airway smooth muscle (ASM) content in heaves, an asthma-like disease of horses. Horses with heaves in clinical exacerbation (n = 6) or remission (n = 6) from the disease and six controls were studied using a crossover design. The effect of disease status, age, bronchodilation, biopsy forceps type, and carina size on total biop...
Gastrointestinal ultrasonography of normal Standardbred neonates and frequency of asymptomatic intussusceptions. Ultrasonographic appearance of the gastrointestinal (GI) tract of equine neonates has not been completely described. Objective: To describe (1) sonographic characteristics of the GI segments in normal nonsedated equine neonates, (2) intra- and interobserver variation in wall thickness, and (3) the sonographic appearance of asymptomatic intussusceptions, and (4) to compare age and sonographic findings of foals with and without asymptomatic intussusceptions. Methods: Eighteen healthy Standardbred foals ≤5 days of age. Methods: Prospective, cross-sectional blinded study. Gastrointestinal sonogr...
Importance of wetlands management for West Nile Virus circulation risk, Camargue, Southern France. To assess environmental and horse-level risk factors associated with West Nile Virus (WNV) circulation in Camargue, Southern France, a serosurvey was conducted on non-vaccinated horses (n = 1159 from 134 stables) in 2007 and 2008. Fifteen Landsat images were examined to quantify areas with open water and flooded vegetation around sampled horses. Mean percentages of areas of open water and flooded vegetation, as well as variations in these percentages between 3 periods (November to February = NOT, March to July = END and August to October = EPI), were calculated for buffers of 2 km radius aroun...
Morphologic and morphometric features of the calcaneal insertions of the superficial digital flexor tendon in the horse. Accurate description of the calcaneal insertions of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) is lacking and inconsistent. The aim of this study was to undertake morphologic and morphometic evaluations of these structures to assist in elucidating their functional and pathogenic roles in displacement of the SDFT from the calcaneal tuber. Methods: Dissections were performed on 10 normal cadaveric hindlimbs. The anatomy was photographed to allow measurements at repeatable locations and differences in SDFT dimensions at the various locations were compared using a paired student t-test. Results:...
Multipotency of equine mesenchymal stem cells derived from synovial fluid. Cartilage regeneration with cell therapy following arthroscopic surgery could be used in racehorses with intra-articular fractures (IAF) and osteochondritis dissecans (OCD). The aims of this study were to investigate the origin and multipotency of stromal cells in the synovial fluid (SF) of horses with intra-articular injury and synovitis, and to provide a new strategy for regeneration of lost articular cartilage. Mesenchymal stromal cells were isolated from SF of horses with IAF and OCD. Multipotency was analysed by RT-PCR for specific mRNAs and staining for production of specific extracellul...
Focus on: vaccination against equine grass sickness. Jo Ireland of the Animal Health Trust describes a new field trial of a potential vaccine against equine grass sickness.
Histomorphometric parameters and fractal complexity of the equine placenta from healthy and sick foals. Computer-based digital image analysis of tissue samples shows promise both to reduce the subjectivity of traditional manual tissue assessments and potentially to shorten the time required to analyze each sample. The present study used digital image analysis to investigate the histomorphometric parameters and fractal complexity of the equine placenta from healthy and sick foals. We hypothesized that the placentas of sick foals could have a different growth pattern and complexity that could be objectively estimated by their fractal dimension (FD). Fourteen placentas from 30 mares were selected i...
Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction does not necessarily impair insulin sensitivity in old horses. Equine pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) has been associated with reduced insulin sensitivity in comparison with younger adult horses; however, the difference in insulin sensitivity between horses with PPID and aged-matched controls has not been well characterized. The objective of the study was to determine if aged horses with PPID had reduced insulin sensitivity and alterations in the insulin-mediated signaling pathways in the skeletal muscle when compared with healthy aged horses. Isoglycemic hyperinsulinemic clamp procedures were conducted in 12 horses that were classified as ei...
Gene expression of matrix metalloproteinases and LH receptors in mare follicular development. The period from the emergence of a dominant follicle until its formation requires tissue remodeling. Enzymes promoting collagen lysis, such as matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs), are fundamental for the process of extracellular matrix remodeling, which allows changes in ovarian tissue architecture during follicular growth. It has been suggested that the production of these enzymes may be affected by the rise in circulating concentrations of LH, which acts on the ovarian surface epithelium (OSE). The aim of this study was to determine the expression of MMP-1, MMP-2, and LH receptor (LHR) in the o...
