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.
Reiners SR, Jann HW, Stein LE, Good JK, Claypool PL.To compare the healing and mechanical strength of a multiple split autologous tendon graft (MG) to a whole autologous tendon graft (WG) in the deep digital flexor tendon of ponies. Methods: In vitro evaluation of two different tendon-grafting techniques. Methods: Six ponies of mixed gender and age. Methods: Tenotomies performed in forelimb deep digital flexor tendons (DDFT) distal to the insertion of the accessory ligament (AL-DDFT) were repaired with free autologous grafts from the hindlimb lateral digital extensor tendon (LDET). Grafts were either whole (WG) or split into three longitudinal ...
Dunowska M, Meers J, Johnson RD, Wilks CR.Representational difference analysis (RDA) was used to compare gene expression in equine mononuclear cells either infected with equine herpesvirus-2 (EHV-2) or adsorbed with inactivated EHV-2. Seven clones identified in non-infected cells after three rounds of selective subtraction and enrichment for differentially expressed genes contained sequences homologous to equine monocyte chemoattractant protein 1 (MCP-1). This suggested that EHV-2 may down-regulate MCP-1 transcription in infected cells. These findings correlate well with similar findings described for human cytomegalovirus and support...
Choi YH, Love CC, Love LB, Varner DD, Brinsko S, Hinrichs K.This study was undertaken to evaluate the development of equine oocytes in vitro and in vivo after intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) with either fresh or frozen-thawed spermatozoa, without the use of additional activation treatments. Oocytes were collected from ovaries obtained from an abattoir and oocytes classified as having expanded cumulus cells were matured in M199 with 10% fetal bovine serum and 5 microU FSH ml(-1). After 24-26 h of in vitro maturation, oocytes with a first polar body were selected for manipulation. Fresh ejaculated stallion spermatozoa were used for the experiment...
Marsh AE, Hyun C, Barr BC, Tindall R, Lakritz J.Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM), caused by a protozoal parasite infection of the central nervous system, is the most commonly diagnosed neurologic disease of horses in North America. In specific regions of the United States approximately 50% of the horse population is seropositive to Sarcocystis neurona. However, not all seropositive horses develop clinical signs. Detailed clinical examination, along with cerebrospinal fluid antibody evaluation are often used to diagnose EPM. Postmortem evaluation of the brain stem and spinal cord for histopathologic lesions compatible with nonsuppura...
Grady JK, Zang J, Laue TM, Arosio P, Chasteen ND.Sodium dodecyl sulfate-capillary gel electrophoresis (SDS-CGE) was used to characterize the H- and L-subunit ratios of several mammalian ferritins and one bacterioferritin. Traditionally, SDS-PAGE has been used to characterize the H- and L-subunit ratios in ferritin; however, this technique is relatively slow and requires staining, destaining, and scanning before the data can be processed. In addition, the H- and L-subunits of ferritin are fairly close in molecular weight (approximately 21,000 and approximately 20,000, respectively) and are often difficult to resolve in SDS-PAGE slab gels. In ...
Dixon S, Haswell M, Harrington D, Sutcliffe IC.We have investigated the surface localisation of the phosphotransferase system protein HPr in the equine pathogen Streptococcus equi subsp. equi using immunogold localisation and transmission electron microscopy. Like the LppC acid phosphatase lipoprotein, a reference surface antigen, the S. equi HPR could be clearly detected on the surfaces of intact cells. This study is consistent with previous reports that some streptococcal HPr is cell surface associated and suggests that the extracytoplasmic mobilisation and transfer of phosphate groups by streptococci warrant further investigation.
Bjöersdorff A, Bagert B, Massung RF, Gusa A, Eliasson I.We report the isolation and partial genetic characterization of two equine strains of granulocytic Ehrlichia of the genogroup Ehrlichia phagocytophila. Frozen whole-blood samples from two Swedish horses with laboratory-verified granulocytic ehrlichiosis were inoculated into HL-60 cell cultures. Granulocytic Ehrlichia was isolated and propagated from both horses. DNA extracts from the respective strains were amplified by PCR using primers directed towards the 16S rRNA gene, the groESL heat shock operon gene, and the ank gene. The amplified gene fragments were sequenced and compared to known seq...
Ball BA, Vo A.The lipophilic fluorescent probe, 4,4-difluoro-5-(4-phenyl-1 ,3-butadienyl)-4-bora-3a,4a-diaza-s-indacene-3-undecanoic acid (C11-BODIPY581/591) was used to evaluate changes in lipid peroxidation in equine spermatozoa during both short-term exposure to ferrous sulfate and sodium ascorbate in the presence of cumene hydroperoxide as well as during storage of spermatozoa at 5 degrees C for 48 hours. Peroxidation of C11-BODIPY581/591 was accompanied by a shift in fluorescence from red to green, and the relative amount of nonoxidized probe was determined as the ratio of red:(red + green) fluorescenc...
Tanaka Y, Taniyama H, Tsunoda N, Shinbo H, Nagamine N, Nambo Y, Nagata S, Watanabe G, Herath CB, Groome NP, Taya K.Immunolocalization of the inhibin (a) and inhibin/activin (beta3A and betaB) subunit proteins in equine fetal testes was investigated to determine the ability of the fetal testis to produce inhibins at 120, 150, 200, and 250 days of gestation. In addition, concentrations of immunoreactive (ir)-inhibin, inhibin pro-aC, and inhibin A in both the maternal and fetal circulation were measured. It was found that plasma concentrations of ir-inhibin, inhibin pro-alphaC, and inhibin A were much higher (P < .05) in the fetal than in the maternal circulation at any stage of gestation examined. Similar...
Al-Zi'abi MO, Fraser HM, Watson ED.In mares, little information is available on the type of cell death that occurs during natural and induced luteal regression. Corpora lutea were collected from mares in the early luteal phase, days 3-4 (n = 4); mid-luteal phase, day 10 (n = 5); early regression, day 14 (n = 4); late regression, day 17 (n = 4); and 12 and 36 h (n = 3 per group) after PGF2alpha administration on day 10. Histological and ultrastructural sections were examined and TUNEL was used to detect DNA fragmentation. In early luteal regression, there were more pyknotic luteal cells and extracellular round dense bodies compa...
Stout TA, Allen WR.A growing equine conceptus must suppress the cyclical release of PGF(2 alpha) from the endometrium to effect maternal recognition of its presence in the uterus. Paradoxically, the conceptus itself secretes PGF(2 alpha), together with other prostaglandins. In this study, the PGF(2 alpha) and PGE(2) content of, and production in vitro by, day 10-32 equine conceptuses were measured and the influence of pregnancy on the concentrations of these prostaglandins in the uterine lumen was examined. In vitro, the release of both prostaglandins per mg conceptus tissue was very high on day 10 after ovulati...
Ott DE, Coren LV, Sowder RC, Adams J, Nagashima K, Schubert U.Some retroviruses contain monoubiquitinated Gag and do not bud efficiently from cells treated with proteasome inhibitors, suggesting an interaction between the ubiquitin-proteasome system and retrovirus assembly. We examined equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) particles and found that approximately 2% of the p9(Gag) proteins are monoubiquitinated, demonstrating that this Gag protein interacts with an ubiquitinating activity. Different types of proteasome inhibitors were used to determine if proteasome inactivation affects EIAV release from chronically infected cells. Pulse-chase immunoprecip...
Tung JT, Fenton JI, Arnold C, Alexander L, Yuzbasiyan-Gurkan V, Venta PJ, Peters TL, Orth MW, Richardson DW, Caron JP.Interleukin-1 is considered a central mediator of cartilage loss in osteoarthritis in several species, however an equine recombinant form of this cytokine is not readily available for in vitro use in equine osteoarthritis research. Equine recombinant interleukin-1beta was cloned and expressed and its effects on the expression and activity of selected chondrocytic proteins implicated in cartilage matrix degradation were characterized. Reverse transcriptase polymerase chain reaction methods were used to amplify the entire coding region of the equine IL-1beta mRNA, which was cloned into an expres...
Balasuriya UB, Heidner HW, Davis NL, Wagner HM, Hullinger PJ, Hedges JF, Williams JC, Johnston RE, David Wilson W, Liu IK, James MacLachlan N.Replicon particles derived from a vaccine strain of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) virus were used as vectors for expression in vivo of the major envelope proteins (G(L) and M) of equine arteritis virus (EAV), both individually and in heterodimer form (G(L)/M). The immunogenicity of the different replicons was evaluated in horses, as was their ability to protectively immunize horses against intranasal and intrauterine challenge with a virulent strain of EAV (EAV KY84). Horses immunized with replicons that express both the G(L) and M proteins in heterodimer form developed neutralizing ant...
McConnico RS, Argenzio RA, Roberts MC.The objective of this project was to determine early tissue biochemical events associated with increased colonic secretion during the acute stage of castor-oil-induced colitis by measuring cecal mucosal and submucosal malondialdehyde (MDA) and prostaglandin E2 (PGE2), levels in ponies. Intestinal tissue (inflamed or healthy) samples were obtained from 4 age- and sex-matched Shetland ponies. Biochemical methods were used to determine MDA and PGE2 levels in intestinal tissue samples from inflamed and healthy equine intestine. Inflamed tissue MDA and PGE2 levels increased with time after castor o...
Raudsepp T, Mariat D, Guérin G, Chowdhary BP.A total of 32 loci comprising specific genes, microsatellites and anonymous BAC clones from horse and cattle were mapped on donkey chromosomes. Of these, 13 markers were also mapped for the first time in the horse. This information, together with that previously available in donkey and horse updates the comparative status of the karyotypes of the two species. The findings of the present study for the first time show correlation between eleven equine acrocentric autosomes and the donkey chromosomes and in part enable detection of rearrangements between them. There are still 7-8 pairs of chromos...
Inagaki M, Kikuchi M, Orino K, Ohnami Y, Watanabe K.Lactoferrin with a molecular mass of 80 kDa was purified from equine seminal plasma by heparin-Agarose affinity chromatography and Sephacryl S-200 gel filtration. Purified lactoferrin was found to be highly homogeneous on the bases of its migration as a single band on sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis and of the monospecificity of rabbit antibodies to the purified protein in immunoblotting of seminal plasma proteins. A sandwich enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was developed for quantifying lactoferrin in equine seminal plasma. Seminal plasma lactoferrin concentrations ...
Frisbie DD, Ghivizzani SC, Robbins PD, Evans CH, McIlwraith CW.Osteoarthritis in horses and in humans is a significant social and economic problem and continued research and improvements in therapy are needed. Because horses have naturally occurring osteoarthritis, which is similar to that of humans, the horse was chosen as a species with which to investigate gene transfer as a potential therapeutic modality for the clinical treatment of osteoarthritis. Using an established model of equine osteoarthritis that mimics clinical osteoarthritis, the therapeutic effects resulting from intra-articular overexpression of the equine interleukin-1 receptor antagonis...
Van Wulfen KK, Bowker RM.To localize substance P (SP) and neurokinin A (NKA) and their receptors in the insertion of the distal sesamoidean impar ligament (DSIL), deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT), and dorsal hoof wall of healthy feet of horses. Methods: 18 healthy feet from horses. Methods: Samples from the dorsal hoof wall and insertion of the DSIL and DDFT of 10 feet were processed for immunocytochemical analysis, using rabbit polyclonal antisera raised against SP and NKA. Tissue sections from 8 feet were incubated with 125-labeled SP to localize tachykinin receptors and their specificity and with control solutions...
Vollmerhaus B, Roos H, Knospe C.The enamel cups of equids originated phylogenetically through several phases in Oligocene and Miocene horses, which readjusted from hard to soft leaf food and from double nutrition (leaves and grass) to a pure grass intake. This has been proved experimentally. The resulting construction of the incisor is continually changed on its occlusal surface by erosion according to the pattern of the enamel crests. Referring to the whole incisor tooth, this results in an equid life cycle in which the good grip of the occlusal surface and the efficiency of ingestion favours the young, sexually mature hors...
Lucchesi PM, Parma AE, Arroyo GH.Horses infected with Leptospira present several clinical disorders, one of them being recurrent uveitis. A common endpoint of equine recurrent uveitis is blindness. Serovar pomona has often been incriminated, although others have also been reported. An antigenic relationship between this bacterium and equine cornea has been described in previous studies. A leptospiral DNA fragment that encodes cross-reacting epitopes was previously cloned and expressed in Escherichia coli. Results: A region of that DNA fragment was subcloned and sequenced. Samples of leptospiral DNA from several sources were a...
Morotomi M, Yuki N, Kado Y, Kushiro A, Shimazaki T, Watanabe K, Yuyama T.Lactobacillus equi sp. nov. is described on the basis of 18 strains isolated as one of the predominant intestinal lactobacilli from horse faecal specimens. These 18 strains were isolated from 10 horses of 6 different farms out of 20 horses of 10 farms examined. They were gram-positive, facultatively anaerobic, catalase-negative, non-spore-forming, non-motile, lactic-acid-homofermentative rods. The DNA G+C content was 38.9+/-0.8 mol %. DNA-DNA hybridization failed to associate these strains closely with any of the validly described type strains used. Analysis of the 16S rRNA gene sequence of re...
Allen WR, Wilsher S, Stewart F, Stewart F, Ousey J, Ousey J, Fowden A.Within-breed artificial insemination and between-breed embryo transfer were carried out in small pony (P) and large Thoroughbred (Tb) mares to create 4 types of horse pregnancy in which the fetus experienced spatial and nutritional deprivation (Tb-in-P; n=8), luxury (P-in-Tb; n=7) or normality (Tb-in-Tb; n=7 and P-in-P; n=7) in utero. Measurement of equine chorionic gonadotrophin (eCG), total conjugated oestrogens and progestagen concentrations in serial peripheral serum samples recovered from all the mares throughout gestation showed that the amount of eCG produced during the first half of ge...
Bruemmert JE, Coy RC, Squires EL, Graham JK.Stallion spermatozoa maintain high fertilizing capacity if cooled to 5 degrees C and inseminated within 24 h. However, if spermatozoa are stored for 48 h, fertilizing capacity declines. Therefore, multiple shipments of semen are often required to inseminate mares that remain in estrus for days. Therefore, experiments were designed to determine if adding antioxidants to stallion spermatozoa stored at 5 degrees C for 48 h could maintain motility and fertilizing ability. In the first experiment stallion spermatozoa were incubated in a skim milk (SM) or a skim milk-egg yolk medium in combination w...
Pfister JA, Stegelmeier BL, Cheney CD, Ralphs MH, Gardner DR.Locoweed (Oxytropis sericea) is a serious poisoning problem for horses grazing on infested rangelands in the western United States. Our objectives were to determine 1) whether lithium chloride or apomorphine would condition aversions to palatable foods, and at what doses, and 2) whether horses could be averted to fresh locoweed in a pen and grazing situation. Apomorphine was not an acceptable aversive agent because at the dose required to condition an aversion (> or = 0.17 mg/kg BW), apomorphine induced unacceptable behavioral effects. Lithium chloride given via stomach tube at 190 mg/kg BW...
Wong DM, Alcott CJ, Wang C, Hay-Kraus BL, Buchanan BR, Brockus CW.To evaluate the effects of various flow rates of oxygen administered via 1 or 2 nasal cannulae on the fraction of inspired oxygen concentration (FIO2) and other arterial blood gas variables in healthy neonatal foals. Methods: 9 healthy neonatal (3- to 4-day-old) foals. Methods: In each foal, a nasal cannula was introduced into each naris and passed into the nasopharynx to the level of the medial canthus of each eye; oxygen was administered at 4 flow rates through either 1 or both cannulae (8 treatments/foal). Intratracheal FIO2, intratracheal end-tidal partial pressure of carbon dioxide, and a...
Hardy J, Bertone AL, Muir WW.To determine oxygen metabolism, permeability, and blood flow in isolated joints in response to interleukin 1beta (IL-1beta) and contribution of innervation. Methods: One metacarpophalangeal (MCP) joint of 24 adult horses. Methods: The MCP joint was isolated for 6 hours in a pump-perfused, auto-oxygenated, innervated or denervated preparation. Isolated joints were assigned to the following 4 groups: control, control-denervated, inflamed, and inflamed-denervated, and inflammation was induced by intra-articular injection of IL-1beta. Circuit arterial and venous pressures, flows, and blood gas ten...
Saville WJ, Hinchcliff KW, Moore BR, Kohn CW, Reed SM, Mitten LA, Rivas LJ.The clinical and clinicopathologic characteristics of fatal necrotizing enterocolitis were examined in 16 horses (age 4 months to 12 years). At initial presentation, 8 of 16 horses were pyrexic (median temperature, 38.4 degrees C; range, 33.8 to 40.6 degrees C); all 16 were tachycardic (median heart rate, 93 bpm, range, 66 to 138 bpm); 13 of 16 were tachypneic (median heart rate, 36 bpm, range, 16 to 80 bpm), dehydrated, and had discolored mucous membranes. All horses that were pyrexic were also tachycardic and tachypneic. PCV was high (> 45%) in 14 horses. Six horses were leukopenic (< 5,000 ...
Hobbs SJ, Mather J, Rolph C, Bower JA, Matuszewski B.Strains during stance on the hoof wall surface have been measured by a number of authors in vitro and in vivo. Histological structure and mechanical properties vary through the wall thickness (radially); radial strain measurements may therefore aid the understanding of mechanical function of the capsule and adjacent tissues. Objective: To develop instrumentation capable of measuring internal hoof strain, and to carry out a preliminary comparison of normal and laminitic hooves. Methods: Six forelimbs from 4 horses, including 2 with laminitis from the same horse, were tested using an Instron tes...
Borkent D, Smith S, Dixon PM.Peripheral caries (PC) has recently been shown to affect over half of UK and Australian horses. Objective: To examine affected cheek teeth histologically and ultrastructurally, to assess the possible route(s) of carious infection into the dental tissues and to further describe the pathological changes in affected teeth. Methods: Descriptive pathological study. Methods: Four control and 16 cheek teeth with different grades of PC were examined grossly, histologically and by electron microscopy. Results: Cariogenic bacteria from plaque entered peripheral cementum perpendicular to the sides of tee...
Molla AM, Jemberu WT, Fentahun T.Epizootic lymphangitis (EZL) is a chronic, contagious disease of equids caused by the fungus Histoplasma capsulatum var. farciminosum. The disease is often prevalent in cart pulling equids in developing countries. This study was undertaken in Central and South Gondar zones of Amhara region, Ethiopia with the objectives of estimating the prevalence of EZL in cart pulling horses and mules and identifying the risk factors of the disease. Two towns, one high altitude and one mid altitude, from each of the two zones were included for the study. A total of 528 cart pulling horses and mules from the ...
Sullivan SN, Altmann NN, Brokken MT, Durgam SS.Primary deep digital flexor tendon (DDFT) pathologies and those accompanying degenerative changes of navicular bone fibrocartilage are major causes of lameness associated with navicular disease. Intrasynovial corticosteroids are mainstay in the treatment due to the anti-inflammatory effects, but their effect on DDFT cell biosynthesis are unknown. The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of methylprednisolone acetate (MPA) on cells isolated from the dorsal fibrocartilaginous region of forelimb DDFTs (DDFT-derived cells) of 5 horses (aged 11-17 years). Non-adherent aggregate c...
ERas is a new gene of the Ras family found in murine embryonic stem (ES) cells. Its human ortholog is not expressed in human ES cells. So far ERas gene has only been found to be expressed in the tissues of adult cynomolgus monkeys and cattle; however, information about ERAS expression or its potential functions in equine tissues is lacking. This study was performed to investigate whether Eras is an equine functional gene and whether ERAS is expressed in the tissues of adult horses and determine its potential physiological role. Expression of the ERas gene was detected in all examined adult tis...
Arrighi S, Domeneghini C.An immunohistochemical study was carried out on specimens of testis, excurrent duct including the male accessory glands and urethra in its various tracts in the horse and the donkey, in order to localize nine regulatory peptides. Immunoreactivities were tested by means of Labelled Strept Avidin-Biotin (LSAB) method. The study has shown that Equine male genitalia are supplied by many peptide immunoreactive nerves containing NPY-, VIP-, leu- and met-Enkephalin-, Substance P-, CGRP- and Bombesin/GRP-like peptides, each of them having a characteristic distribution pattern. These neurotransmitters ...
Varegg MS, Kløverød KM, Austnes MK, Siwinska N, Slowikowska M, Zak A, Niedzwiedz A.Bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) is a method for the recovery of respiratory secretion from the lower airways. Objective: To investigate if the administration of a single dose of a bronchodilatator in horses with a suspected or confirmed severe equine asthma could improve recovery of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF). Methods: Twenty-eight horses with severe equine asthma. Methods: Horses were divided into 2 groups: group "treated" was given salbutamol before endoscopic examination and BALF collection, whereas group "not treated" was not given. BAL was performed with BAL-catheter by instilling 3...
Levasseur A, Arsenault J, Paré J.West Nile virus (WNV) became notifiable in horses in 2003 in Canada and has been reported every year since. The objective of this study was to describe the spatiotemporal distribution of WNV in horses between 2003 and 2020 in Canada. Methods: The 848 symptomatic and laboratory-confirmed WNV cases in horses reported to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency between 2003 and 2020. Methods: Canada was divided into eastern and western regions for analysis. For each case, location and date of notification were captured. Triennial maps were made to describe the spatiotemporal distribution and expansion...
Larsdotter S, Ley C, Pringle J.An 8-month-old Arabian-warmblood cross colt was evaluated for overt hematuria. The horse was severely anemic on presentation. A unilateral intrarenal vascular anomaly with unilateral pyelonephritis was diagnosed. Nephrectomy was attempted but was unsuccessful, and postmortem examination demonstrated the presence of an intrarenal pseudoaneurysm. Un poulain arabe de race croisée âgé de 8 mois a été évalué pour une hématurie patente. Le cheval était gravement anémique à la présentation. Une anomalie vasculaire unilatérale intrarénale avec une pyélonéphrite unilatérale a été di...
Manuja A, Manuja BK, Singha H.Significant structural differences in the extracellular domain of toll-like receptor 9 (TLR9) account for species-specific recognition of its ligand CpG-ODN sequences. TLR9 is extensively studied in human, mice and some domestic animals. The recognition ability appears to be utilized differently by various species and breeds, but so far no comprehensive study exists about the equine TLR9 gene. We characterized TLR9 sequences of Marwari and Zanskari breeds of horses and Poitu donkey. We sequenced and identified the protein coding regions of equine TLR9 and compared with other animals and human ...
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...
McCann JL, Dixon PM, Mayhew IG.Disorders of the equine sphenopalatine sinus, including empyema and neoplasia, have been reported to cause damage to cranial nerves II and V. However, the clinical anatomy of these sinuses is not well described in horses. Objective: To examine the anatomy of the sphenopalatine sinuses in a range of equidae and, in particular, to examine the relationship of these sinuses to adjacent major nerves and vessels. Methods: The anatomy of the sphenoidal and palatine paranasal sinuses was examined in 16 equidae, primarily using transverse skull sections. Relevant structures were documented and photogra...
Heffron B, Taddei L, Benoit M, Negrusz A.The use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs in racehorses is allowed under most jurisdictions. Furosemide is administered to treat exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage. To help distinguish between therapeutic and illegal uses, racing regulatory bodies have set thresholds in serum for several drugs. The method for the simultaneous detection and quantification of furosemide, flunixin, ketoprofen, phenylbutazone and oxyphenbutazone using 500 µL of serum, and liquid extraction using diethyl ether : hexanes : dichloromethane followed by liquid chromatography tandem mass spectrometry quantitati...
Gorman JK, Gabriel M, MacLachlan NJ, Nieto N, Foley J, Spier S.This pilot study evaluated protection of an equine autogenous bacterin-toxoid vaccine against Corynebacterium pseudotuberculosis infection. Twenty-four BALB/c mice were inoculated with two doses of bacterin-toxoid vaccine or two injections of a placebo. Clinical, microbiologic, and pathologic outcomes were assessed after intradermal infection with one of two equine-origin C. pseudotuberculosis strains. Mice receiving bacterin-toxoid from fast-growing C. pseudotuberculosis showed significant protection from challenge infection, as evidenced by a higher survival rate, fewer gross and histopathol...
Flaminio MJ, Rush BR, Davis EG, Hennessy K, Shuman W, Wilkerson MJ.This paper describes a method for simultaneously measuring phagocytosis and oxidative burst activity in equine peripheral blood leukocytes by flow cytometry. Opsonized propidium iodide-labelled Staphylococcus aureus (PI-Sa) was used to measure the uptake of bacteria by equine phacocytes and the oxidative burst activity by oxidation of dihydrorhodamine 123. The requirements to achieve optimal activity of phagocytosis and oxidative burst are described. The advantage of the simultaneous technique is that it provides both independent and comparative values for phagocytosis and the oxidative burst,...
Roszkowska K, Witkowska-Pilaszewicz O, Przewozny M, Cywinska A.Whole body and partial body cryotherapies (WBC and PBC) have been successfully used in human medicine, and currently also are being proposed in veterinary practice.In horses, only the partial body cryotherapy provided in cryosauna is considered, due to the technical conditions. These therapies have been dedicated to human patients with rheumatic and inflammatory diseases as well as an assistance during training in athletes. The anti-inflammatory effects have been demonstrated clinically and indicated by the changes in several hematological and immunological parameters, however, various pattern...
Smit IH, Hernlund E, Persson-Sjodin E, Björnsdóttir S, Gunnarsdottir H, Gunnarsson V, Rhodin M, Serra Braganca FM.Lameness assessment in the gaited Icelandic horse is complex. We aimed to describe their kinematic and temporal adaptation strategies in response to forelimb lameness at walk, trot and tölt. Methods: In vivo experiment. Methods: Ten clinically non-lame Icelandic horses were measured before and after reversible forelimb lameness induction. Upper body and limb kinematics were measured using 11 inertial measurement units mounted on the poll, withers, pelvis (tubera sacrale) and all four limbs and hoofs (Equimoves®, 500 Hz). Horses were measured on a straight line at walk and trot in-hand and ...
Gaynor JS, Hubbell JA.Local and regional anesthetic techniques are useful tools for the equine practitioner. These techniques allow surgery to be performed without the risk and cost of general anesthesia. There are, however, risks associated with the local and regional techniques. Neurotoxicity, although rare, may occur when 200 mL or more of a local anesthetic are infiltrated in a short period of time to a 450-kg horse. More likely, horses may become ataxic after nerve blockade in the limbs. This ataxia may lead to self trauma because the horse may not know where the limbs are actually being placed. Although local...
Rabba S, Petrucci V, Petrizzi L, Giommi DW, Busoni V.Information concerning B-mode ultrasonographic abnormalities and power Doppler (PD) signal in suspensory ligament branches of nonlame working Quarter Horses are not reported. The aims of this study were to investigate the prevalence of B-mode ultrasonographic abnormalities and PD signal in suspensory ligament branches in a group of nonlame working Quarter Horses and to compare B-mode findings with PD findings of horses in two different training (barrel racing and team roping). Twenty-one Quarter Horses in training, 14 barrel racing (Group B) and seven team roping horses (Group R), were assesse...
Yadav SC, Kumar R, Kumar J, Singh M, Bera BC, Kumar R, Tatu U, Tehri K.Trypanosoma evansi is a haemo-protozoan parasite responsible for the disease surra, an economically important disease of wide range of domestic and wild animals. The present diagnostic methods using soluble antigens have inherent problems like lack of standardized and reproducible antigens, as well as ethical issues. This entails further efforts for search of defined antigenic molecules with satisfying sensitivity and specificity for sero-epidemiology of trypanosomosis. In present investigation, we have identified and purified 52-55kDa immuno-dominant protein cluster in molecular mass ranges b...
Goulden BE, Anderson LJ.Some clinical features of laryngeal hemiplegia in 127 horses are described. Possible aetiologic factors were found in only 11% of affected animals. The onset of clinical signs was either sudden or insidious. The majority of cases were presented because of an abnormal respiratory noise made at exercise. Other clinical signs, particularly those usually attributed to laryngopalatal dislocation, were observed in a substantial proportion of affected animals. In all cases surveyed the left arytenoid was affected, although in 3 animals a bilateral laryngeal dysfunction was noted. Thirty of 65 animals...
Tydén E, Olsén L, Tallkvist J, Tjälve H, Larsson P.Gene and protein expression as well as catalytic activity of cytochrome P450 (CYP) 3A were studied in the nasal olfactory and respiratory mucosa and the tracheal mucosa of the horse. We also examined the activity of NADPH cytochrome P450 reductase (NADPH P450 reductase), the amount of cytochrome b(5) and the total CYP content in these tissues. Comparative values for the above were obtained using liver as a control. The CYP3A related catalytic activity in the tissues of the upper airways was considerably higher than in the liver. The CYP3A gene and protein expression, on the other hand, was hig...
Wright AL, Earley ET, Austin C, Arora M.Equine Odontoclastic Tooth Resorption and Hypercementosis (EOTRH) is a common, painful and poorly understood disease. Enamel, dentin and cementum accumulate both essential and toxic trace elements during mineralization. Characterization of the spatial accumulation pattern of trace elements may provide insight into the role that toxic elements play and inform biological processes affecting these hard dental tissues for future research. Laser ablation-inductively coupled plasma-mass spectrometry (LA-ICP-MS) was used to map the distribution of multiple trace elements and heavy metals across equin...
Merritt AM, Campbell-Thompson ML, Lowrey S.Six healthy six to eight-month-old horses were surgically prepared with Ag bipolar electrodes sutured to the gastric antrum and duodenum. Leads from the electrodes were exteriorised through a stab incision in the flank. During experimental sessions the horses were lightly restrained in stocks and electrode leads were connected to a physiograph to record antroduodenal myoelectrical activity. Intravenous (i.v.) injection of 0.05 mg/kg bodyweight (bwt) of the opioid agonist/antagonist, butorphanol was followed within 2 to 3 mins by a normal appearing period of repetitive spike activity, or phase ...
Nielsen MK, Lyons ET.Cyathostomins (small strongyles) are ubiquitous in grazing horses and are known pathogens as cause of larval cyathostominosis. As part of their life cycle, cyathostomin larvae invade the mucosal walls of the large intestines and undergo encystment. Newly ingested third stage larvae are known to undergo arrested development and this can lead to an accumulation of encysted burdens over the course of a grazing season. It is believed that the host immune system plays a significant role in triggering this arrestment. Little is known about the development and progression of larval stages in foals th...
Lv K, Zhang Y, Yang Y, Liu Z, Deng L.Equine piroplasmosis (EP) is a type of blood protozoan disease caused by tick-borne parasites, (), () and . While many studies have been conducted on EP diagnosis, diagnostic methods exhibiting high sensitivity and specificity remain lacking. Therefore, nested PCR (nPCR) and duplex real-time fluorescence quantitative PCR (qPCR) that can simultaneously detect both and causing agents were established and compared. The two techniques were used to analyze 36 horse blood samples for EP. This set of samples was also detected by a multinested PCR (mnPCR) targeting the gene of and the gene of ....
Henriksen ML, Dwyer AE, Krarup Nielsen R, Bäcklund S, Dahlmann Christensen N, Holberg Pihl T.To describe the most common ocular abnormalities in the Icelandic horse with focus on equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) and association between ocular abnormalities and summer eczema and coat colors. Methods: A descriptive cross-sectional study. A complete physical and ophthalmic examination as well as measurement of serum titers for Leptospira serovariants was performed on Icelandic horses from Denmark (DK) and the United States (USA). Results: One hundred and twelve Icelandic horses living in DK and 26 Icelandic horses living in the United States were included in this study (total of 138 horse...