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.
Dyson SJ, Romero JM.A positive radiographic contrast agent was injected into the tarsometatarsal (TMT) joints of both hindlimbs of 10 horses. Lateromedial radiographic views were obtained at 5, 15 and 30 mins after injection. Injection was successful in 19 of 20 limbs. Communication between the centrodistal (CD) and TMT joints was identified in 7 limbs (35%). Contrast agent extended around the tendons of tibialis cranialis (TC) and fibularis tertius (FT) in 18 limbs, and in 7 limbs some contrast entered the tarsal sheath. Slight to moderate plantar and/or distal extension of contrast agent was identified in 13 li...
Salloum RM, Duckworth D, Madison JB, Souba WW.The sodium-dependent transporter system responsible for L-glutamine uptake by brush border membrane vesicles prepared from equine jejunum was characterized. Vesicle purity was ascertained by a 14- to 17-fold increase in activity of the brush border enzyme markers. Glutamine uptake was found to occur into an osmotically active space with negligible membrane binding. The sodium-dependent velocity represented approximately 80% of total uptake and demonstrated overshoots. Kinetic studies of sodium-dependent glutamine transport at concentrations between 5 microM and 5 mM revealed a single saturable...
Engelbert TA, Tate LP, Bowman KF, Bristol DG.The medical records of 19 horses referred for colic and subsequently found (18 confirmed, 1 suspected) to have small intestinal incarceration through the epiploic foramen were reviewed. These horses were of various ages and breeds; they had clinical signs of colic for an average duration of 13.5 hours before examination. Seventeen horses had nasogastric reflux, and 15 had palpable small intestinal distention. Three horses were killed during surgery because of severe intestinal damage. Of the remaining 16 horses, 13 required intestinal resection and anastomosis. The length of incarcerated small...
Beech J, Lindborg S, Fletcher JE, Lizzo F, Tripolitis L, Braund K.Muscle from horses with intermittent exercise associated rhabdomyolysis was examined to determine if calcium regulation was abnormal. In vitro studies on semimembranosus muscle fibre bundles showed the time to 50 per cent relaxation of caffeine-induced contractures was shorter and the electrically elicited twitch longer in horses with exercise associated rhabdomyolysis. Substitution of strontium for calcium eliminated the difference in caffeine contracture between the normal and rhabdomyolysis horses. The threshold of calcium-induced calcium release was lower than normal in terminal cisternae-...
Leach DH.Cells of the intertubular horn of the stratum medium of the equine hoof wall are joined by three types of junctions. Desmosomes and gap junctions were present in all strata. Septate-like junctions and an intercellular line were seen in the distal stratum spinosum subsequent to extrusion of the contents of membrane-coating granules. At a later stage of keratinization, non-membrane-bound acid phosphatase reaction product appeared to leak into the intercellular space except into areas occupied by septate-like junctions and the intercellular line. It is proposed that the formation of septate-like ...
Smith KC, Whitwell KE, Mumford JA, Gower SM, Hannant D, Tearle JP.Twelve Welsh Mountain pony mares in late gestation were infected intranasally with EHV-1 (AB4 isolate) at dose rates from 10(3) to 10(7.3) TCID50. This resulted in 3 cases of paresis, at Days 9, 10 and 12 after inoculation, and 5 abortions, at Days 6, 9, 18, 19 and 20. Euthanasia was performed between Days 6 and 21, with collection of uterine specimens for histopathology, virus isolation and immunoperoxidase staining from the pregnant horn, non-pregnant horn and body. EHV-1 replication in endometrial vessels was detected as early as Day 6 and was maximal at Days 9-11, when widespread thrombois...
Hong CB, Donahue JM, Giles RC, Petrites-Murphy MB, Poonacha KB, Roberts AW, Smith BJ, Tramontin RR, Tuttle PA, Swerczek TW.Placentas from aborted, stillborn, and premature foals were examined during the 1988 and 1989 foaling seasons, and 236 of 954 (24.7%) had placentitis. Microorganisms associated with placentitis were isolated or demonstrated from 162 of 236 (68.6%) placentitis cases. Leptospira spp. and a nocardioform actinomycete were 2 important, newly emerging bacteria associated with equine placentitis. Major pathogens identified in decreasing order were Streptococcus zooepidemicus, Leptospira spp., Escherichia coli, a nocardioform actinomycete, fungi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus equisimilis, Ente...
Pelegrino JL, Vázquez S, Morier L, Castillo A, Guzmán MG, Kourí G.We present the results attained in the identification of Eastern equine encephalomyelitis virus isolations in Vero and XL-2 cell systems, using a double-antibody ELISA technique and the indirect immunofluorescence method. The results attained through these two techniques coincided by 100% with identification through neutralization. With the former, the virus was detected within 6-8 hours after inoculation. Better results were attained with XL-2 cells.
Eades SC, Moore JN.Changes in lateral cecal arterial blood flow, mean internal carotid arterial pressure, and heart rate caused by nasogastric administration of fenoldopam (3, 6, and 9 mg/kg of body weight), a selective agonist of dopaminergic receptors, were recorded in 7 healthy horses. Cecal arterial blood flow was significantly increased within 30 minutes after administration of fenoldopam at all 3 dosages, with the peak increases from baseline (67.8 +/- 17.5 ml/min) being 125 +/- 28, 120 +/- 22, and 153 +/- 32 ml/min for 3, 6, and 9 mg/kg, respectively. Although carotid arterial pressure did not change sign...
Hank AM, Hoffmann WE, Sanecki RK, Schaeffer DJ, Dorner JL.Automated and semiautomated assays were developed and validated for the determination of equine alkaline phosphatase isoenzymes including intestinal (IALP), bone (BALP), and liver (LALP). The addition of levamisole selectively inhibited more than 97% of LALP while inhibiting only 55% of IALP. Because these percentages were highly reproducible in an automated system, the IALP activity could be calculated in a sample. Bone alkaline phosphatase isoenzyme was selectively precipitated by adding an equal volume of wheat germ agglutinin (5 mg/mL), incubating for 30 minutes at 37 degrees C, and centri...
Uzal FA, Robles CA.Mal seco is a grass sickness-like syndrome of horses which has mainly been observed in Patagonia, Argentina, although some reports indicate that the disease may exist in other Argentinian provinces and in the south of Chile. The aetiology of mal seco remains unknown but the disease seems to be restricted to animals grazing on natural pastures and not receiving supplementary feeding. Mal seco is clinically characterized by total or partial bowel stasis and the main findings at post-mortem examination are almost exclusively restricted to the bowel. The most striking histopathological changes fou...
Step DL, Cummings JF, de Lahunta A, Valentine BA, Summers BA, Rowland PH, Mohammed HO, Eckerlin RH, Rebhun WC.A 9-year-old Quarter Horse mare was examined because of progressive weight loss, weakness, muscle atrophy and tremors, and behavioral change. Selenium and glutathione peroxidase assays, blood lead analysis, erythrocyte transketolase analysis, pseudorabies and Borrelia burgdorferi serology, electromyography, and CSF analysis were performed. Motor neuron degeneration was diagnosed by microscopic examination of neural tissues. The cause of the disease was not substantiated, but several possibilities were excluded via diagnostic testing. Diagnosis of motor neuron degeneration in horses may be made...
Ross PF, Ledet AE, Owens DL, Rice LG, Nelson HA, Osweiler GD, Wilson TM.A study to evaluate the effects of dietary fumonisin B1 was conducted using 6 ponies (4 test and 2 control). A ration naturally contaminated with fumonisin B1 was fed in 3 phases: 1) 44 ppm fumonisin B1, 2) less than 1 ppm fumonisin B1, and 3) 88 ppm fumonisin B1. All ponies were monitored daily, weighed weekly, and limit fed at a rate of 0.8% body weight plus hay. Feed intake was measured daily, and a serum chemistry panel was completed once or twice weekly. Four to 7 days after initiation of the trial (Phase 1), all 4 test ponies had decreased feed consumption, and selected serum chemistry p...
van de Moer A, Rice M, Wilks CR.A type-specific monoclonal antibody was produced by immunizing mice with purified equid herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1). The EHV-1 specific mAb reacted with all the EHV-1 strains tested so far by indirect ELISA, immunofluorescence, and immunoperoxidase tests. No reactions were detected with the EHV-4, EHV-2, or EHV-3 strains tested. The indirect immunofluorescence and immunoperoxidase tests showed that the nuclei of infected cells were predominantly stained by this mAb. Triton treatment of the virus and immunogold labeling experiments indicated that the nucleocapsid of EHV-1 was the target antigen of th...
Lunn DP, Holmes MA, Duffus WP.This paper describes the characteristics of a monoclonal antibody (CVS10) that reacts with an equine leukocyte antigen. On the basis of tissue distribution and biochemical characteristics, this antigen is equine MHC II. The equine MHC II antigen was found on a large subset of T-lymphocytes in addition to all B-lymphocytes, as has been reported previously. In addition MHC II was found to be present on a large proportion of both the mutually exclusive equine T-lymphocyte subpopulations which express either the equine homologues of CD4, or CD8. In a study of changes in equine MHC II expression wi...
Cummings JF, de Lahunta A, Summers BA, Mohammed HO, Divers TJ, Valentine BA, Trembicki-Graves K.Equine motor neuron disease (EMND) is a sporadic, progressive neurodegenerative disorder that has been identified recently in horses of different breeds in North America. The cause is unknown. Pathologic changes which occur in spinal and certain brain stem motor neurons include chromatolysis, swelling, neurofilamentous accumulation, and development of eosinophilic cytoplasmic inclusions. Punctate eosinophilic inclusions, the type usually encountered in degenerating neurons, resembled Bunina bodies at the light microscopic level, but differed in their ultrastructural composition. These and less...
Webster RG, Thomas TL.A new H3N8 equine influenza virus [A/Equine/Jilin/1/89 (Eq/Jilin)] appeared in Northeastern China in 1989 and caused high mortality in horses; the available evidence indicates that it has not yet spread outside this region of the world. Serological analysis with postinfection ferret sera in haemagglutination inhibition (HI) tests confirmed that Eq/Jilin is antigenically distinct from H3N8 equine influenza viruses isolated between 1963 and 1991 and also showed that a current equine influenza virus [A/Equine/Alaska/1/91 (H3N8)] had undergone antigenic drift. In the present study we determine if ...
Tewari D, Gibson JS, Slater JD, O'Neill T, Hannant D, Allen GP, Field HJ.EHV-1 was inoculated into specific pathogen-free (SPF) foals in order to study uncomplicated primary responses. Infection resulted in a strong serological response recognizing EHV-1-specific antigens; this contrasts with a previous publication where a weak response was recorded in SPF animals. Antibodies to EHV-1 were readily detected by four techniques (virus neutralization, complement fixation, Western blots and immune precipitation), yet there was comparatively little cross-reaction to EHV-4 target antigen. Re-inoculation with the same virus strain stimulated antibodies to EHV-1 but no addi...
Kalsow CM, Dwyer AE, Smith AW, Nifong TP.There is no direct verification of pineal gland involvement in human uveitis. Specimens of pineal tissue are not available during active uveitis in human patients. Naturally occurring uveitis in horses gives us an opportunity to examine tissues during active ocular inflammation. We examined the pineal gland of a horse that was killed because it had become blind during an episode of uveitis. The clinical history and histopathology of the eyes were consistent with post-leptospiral equine recurrent uveitis. The pineal gland of this horse had significant inflammatory infiltration consisting mainly...
Nasci RS, Berry RL, Restifo RA, Parsons MA, Smith GC, Martin DA.During August and September of 1991, an epizootic of eastern equine encephalitis (EEE) virus in horses occurred in Wayne and Holmes countries, OH. This was the first recorded epizootic of EEE virus in the state. Twelve horses were confirmed positive for EEE virus through virus isolation or seroconversion, and seven additional horses with compatible symptoms were in close spatial and temporal proximity to the confirmed cases and were presumed to have died from EEE virus. The outbreak was centered around the Killbuck Wildlife Area, a 2,147-ha tract maintained by the state, half of which consists...
Pleasant RS, Baker GJ, Foreman JH, Eurell JA, Losonsky JM.Navicular bone intraosseous pressure, gross pathologic, histologic, and histochemical data were collected from 8 horses with navicular disease and 4 control horses. Simultaneous navicular bone intraosseous, medial palmar arterial, and saphenous venous pressures were measured for the left and right forelimbs of each horse under general anesthesia. Gross pathologic evaluation included grading of changes on the flexor surface of the navicular bone. Safranin-O-fast green-stained sections were used for histologic-histochemical grading of the hyaline articular and fibrocartilage surfaces of the navi...
Marr CM, McMillan I, Boyd JS, Wright NG, Murray M.The ultrasonographic and histopathological findings in 12 normal and 28 injured superficial digital flexor tendons, with lesions ranging in duration from 2 days to 15 months, were compared. A consistent relationship between the ultrasonographic and histological findings was demonstrated. The echogenicity of lesions, the distinctness of their delineation from the surrounding tissue, and the presence and arrangement of the linear echoes were useful features by which to assess the ultrasonograms. Acute lesions were anechoic, a complex mixture of anechoic and hypoechoic areas, or diffusely hypoech...
Engelking LR.It appears that different mechanisms responsible for fasting hyperbilirubinemia may be operative in different mammalian species (and subspecies). An increase in bilirubin production does not seem to occur in the horse, but a decrease in the hepatic uptake of bilirubin has been supported by a number of studies. Even though the delay in plasma elimination could also result from a decrease in hepatic blood flow, this possibility does not seem to play a major role since the hepatic uptake of compounds with low intrinsic hepatic clearance (e.g., ICG and bilirubin) appear to be affected more during ...
Riemersma DJ, van den Bogert AJ.A procedure is described by which the length of a tendon at the onset of loading is determined objectively. The procedure includes the fitting of third-order polynomial functions on the load-elongation data. The onset of loading is detected by an increasing fit of the polynomial by selective data reduction of the initial part of the load-elongation curve. The procedure results in an objective and reproducible definition of the zero strain level of a tendon.
Buchner F, Kastner J, Girtler D, Knezevic PF.The three-dimensional optoelectronic locomotion analysis system SELSPOT II was used for kinematic studies of hind limb locomotion patterns. Two groups, 11 sound horses and 15 horses suffering from hind limb lameness, were examined at the trot. Both graphical and quantitative analyses were compared in sound and lame horses. The parameter hip acceleration quotient (HAQ), using the different peaks of vertical acceleration of one hip during one stride, proved to be a suitable value for quantitative analysis of hind limb lameness. In sound horses the HAQ ranged from 1.03 to 1.54, lame horses showed...
Corstvet RE, Gaunt SD, Karns PA, Burgermeister D, McBride JW, Nicholson SM, Battistini RA.Four horses were inoculated with Ehrlichia risticii contained in either infected murine P388 D1 cells or heparinized blood from an infected horse. All 4 horses produced serum antibody, plasma antigen, and clinical signs of the disease. An enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay was used to detect antibody in the serum and was also used in conjunction with an anti-E. risticii monoclonal antibody to detect antigenemia. These laboratory and clinical findings were correlated to determine the efficiency of the antigen detection method for discerning E. risticii infection.
Griffiths IR, Lusk SA, Kyriakides E, Smith S.Neurofilaments (NF) are composed of three polypeptides of differing molecular size, termed NF-L, NF-M and NF-H. The NF-H and, to a lesser degree, NF-M components are phosphorylated. In the majority of normal neurones, the location of phosphorylated NF is confined to neuronal processes, particularly the axon, and excluded from the perikaryon. Cell bodies of autonomic neurones of the rat do not contain phosphorylated NF. In many disease states, phosphorylated NF accumulate in the neuronal cell body and therefore in most circumstances their presence indicates abnormality. This paper reports that ...
Meinert C, Silva JF, Kroetz I, Klug E, Trigg TE, Hoppen HO, Jöchle W.A small, biocompatible and short-term implant releasing 1.5 mg or 2.25 mg of the GnRH analogue deslorelin was evaluated in 140 Hanoverian (warm blooded) mares during the 1990 breeding season (Study I). Mares in oestrus and with a follicle 40 +/- 2 mm in diameter were assigned alternately to treatment (70) or remained as untreated controls. Implants were administered subcutaneously, and intervals to ovulation determined by rectal examination and ultrasound at 12-h intervals. Since results with both doses of deslorelin were similar, data were pooled. Deslorelin implantation resulted in ovulation...
Reisen WK, Meyer RP, Presser SB, Hardy JL.The extrinsic incubation rate (inverse of the time in days from infection to median transmission) of western equine encephalomyelitis (WEE) and St. Louis encephalitis (SLE) viruses by laboratory strains of Culex tarsalis Coquillett increased as a linear function of incubation temperatures from 10 to 30 degrees C. The estimated temperatures for zero transmission thresholds (intercept of the X axis) were 10.9 and 14.9 degrees C, and the number of degree days above these thresholds required for median transmission (inverse of the slope) was 67.6 and 115.2, respectively. Although the bodies of mos...
Collier MA, Haugland LM, Bellamy J, Johnson LL, Rohrer MD, Walls RC, Bartels KE.This study was performed to investigate the effects of holmium:yttrium-aluminum-garnet (Ho:YAG) laser energy on articular cartilage and subchondral bone adjacent to traumatically created cartilage lesions in a continuous weight-bearing model. The 2.1-microns wavelength was delivered efficiently and precisely in hand-controlled contact and near-contact hard tissue arthroscopic surgery in a saline medium. Bilateral arthroscopy was performed on normal antebrachiocarpal and intercarpal joints of four adult horses. One hundred twenty traumatic lesions were created on three weight-bearing articular ...
Enders AC, Meadows S, Stewart F, Allen WR.The mature preinvasive chorionic girdles of horse, mule, donkey and extraspecies donkey-in-horse conceptuses, and the very young endometrial cups on d 37 of gestation in mares carrying horse, mule and transferred donkey-in-horse conceptuses, were compared histologically and ultrastructurally to determine possible mechanisms underlying failure of endometrial cup development in the donkey-in-horse model of equine abortion. The progenitor chorionic girdle from the failing donkey-in-house pregnancy was similar in size to the normal donkey chorionic girdle but the trophoblast cells within the forme...
Blazyczek I, Hamann H, Ohnesorge B, Deegen E, Distl O.The objective of the present study was to analyse the importance of the influences of the sex, inbreeding coefficient and the additive genetic contribution to the occurrence of guttural pouch tympany in Arabian foals. Horses affected by guttural pouch tympany were ascertained in the Clinic for Horses, School of Veterinary Medicine Hannover. The data comprised 27 Arabian purebred foals with guttural pouch tympany. Of these 27 animals 22 were patients of the Clinic for Horses between 1994 and 2001 and 5 Arabian foals were sampled on the studs. Information on the pedigrees of these patients allow...
Archambault D, Laganière G, St-Laurent G.The genetic variation in equine arteritis virus (EAV) nonstructural (NS) protein-encoding open reading frames (ORF) 3 and 4 genes was investigated. Nucleotide and deduced amino acid sequences from seven different EAV isolates (one European, one American and five Canadian isolates) and the Arvac vaccine strain were compared with those of the Bucyrus reference strain. ORF 3 nucleotide and amino acid sequence identities amongst these isolates (including the Arvac vaccine strain) and the Bucyrus reference strain ranged from 85.6 to 98.8%, and 85.3 to 98.2%, respectively, whereas ORF 4 nucleotide a...
Orsolini MF, Verstraete MH, van Heule M, Orellana D, Ortega A, Meyers S, Dini P.Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) is the only method for in vitro embryo production (IVP) in horses. Besides oocyte developmental competence, the outcome of IVP is also highly dependent on sperm quality. Therefore, it is not only essential to employ superior methods of selecting high quality sperm, but also to be able to characterize which quantifiable properties of sperm quality are most indicative of its fertility. In men, a net negative surface charge, estimated by zeta potential (ZP) is highly correlated with sperm quality and in vitro embryo developmental outcomes. However, there ...
Xu J, Lasry JB, Svaren J, Wagner B, Darien BJ.P-selectin glycoprotein ligand-1 (PSGL-1, CD162) is a dimeric, mucin-like, transmembrane glycoprotein constitutively expressed on leukocytes. A high baseline level of P-selectin expression in circulating equine platelets suggests a primed state toward inflammation and thrombosis via P-selectin/PSGL-1 adhesion. To investigate the potential role of equine P-selectin in these events, we first identified the cDNA sequence of equine PSGL-1 (ePSGL-1) using degenerate PCR and RACE-PCR and then compared the predicted sequence with that of human PSGL-1 (hPSGL-1). ePSGL-1 protein subunit is predicted to...
Jackson K, Kelty E, Meylan M, Tennant M.Equine peripheral caries (PC) can cause significant dental pathology and appears to be increasing in prevalence and recognition in many areas [1, 2]. Previous studies have identified risk factors for the condition including the feeding of oaten hay [3]. It was hypothesized that this may be due to the higher water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) or "sugar" content of the hay. A randomized control trial involving 30 horses on three properties was completed. The horses were randomly assigned to two groups: high WSC (H-WSC) or low WSC (L-WSC) oaten hay and were then sedated and intraoral photographs an...
Naylor JM, Jones V, Berry SL.Of the 16 horses studied, 14 belonged to a family previously shown to be susceptible to hyperkalaemic periodic paralysis (HPP), and 8 were shown to have HPP. Diagnosis of HPP by electromyographic detection of myotonic discharges or by oral administration of KCl to induce clinical signs and hyperkalaemia had similar reliability and gave the same result in 80% of cases. KCl had to be administered at doses up to 0.2 g/kg bodyweight to produce signs in some horses. KCl challenge testing was more time consuming than EMG and resulted in one fatality. Overall, electromyography and potassium challenge...
Frosth S, Morris ERA, Wilson H, Frykberg L, Jacobsson K, Parkhill J, Flock JI, Wood T, Guss B, Aanensen DM, Boyle AG, Riihimäki M, Cohen ND....Streptococcus equi subspecies equi (S equi) is the cause of Strangles, one of the most prevalent diseases of horses worldwide. Variation within the immunodominant SeM protein has been documented, but a new eight-component fusion protein vaccine, Strangvac, does not contain live S equi or SeM and conservation of the antigens it contains have not been reported. Objective: To define the diversity of the eight Strangvac antigens across a diverse S equi population. Methods: Genomic description. Methods: Antigen sequences from the genomes of 759 S equi isolates from 19 countries, recovered between 1...
Della-Porta AJ.There has been concern that the present nomenclature system for the members of the Reoviridae family, and particularly the Orbivirus genus, does not represent the actual relationships exhibited between the members. In order to follow the conventions established by the International Committee for the Taxonomy of Viruses (ICTV), it is tentatively proposed that the present Reoviridae genera be upgraded in status to the following sub-families: reovirinae, orbivirinae, Fijivirinae, cypovirinae, rotavirinae, coltivirinae and phytoreovirinae. Below the sub-family level, divisions of genus (equivalent...
Sandersen C, Ceusters J, Fourez A, Tosi I, Graide H, Lejeune JP, Serteyn D.Recurrent laryngeal neuropathy (RLN) commonly affects horses and is characterized by abnormal respiratory sounds and exercise intolerance. The recurrent laryngeal nerve shows lesions of demyelination. The benefit of applying stem cells to demyelinated nerves has been demonstrated in various animal models. The aim of the study was to test the feasibility and safety of a peri-neuronal injection of autologous muscle-derived mesenchymal stem cells to the left recurrent laryngeal nerve in healthy horses by using an electrical nerve stimulator. Muscle-derived stems cell are obtained from five health...
Jacob RJ, Price R, Allen GP.Equine herpesvirus type 3 (EHV-3) DNA, isolated from purified virions of the large-plaque strain, was digested with the restriction endonucleases XbaI, Bg/II, EcoRI, and HindIII. Several lines of evidence indicated that the DNA extracted from purified virions was composed of long (L) and short (S) components and was present as two isomeric forms, P and IS. The evidence included: (i) after electrophoresis on agarose gels, the summed molecular weights of the digestion products exceeded that expected from intact, unit size DNA; (ii) quantitative measurements of radioactivity (molar ratios) indica...
Matiasovic J, Lukeszová L, Horín P.Primers based on GenBank sequences within the 5' untranslated region (UTR) of the human and horse tumour necrosis factor alpha (TNF-alpha) genes were designed and used to amplify a 522-bp product. Sequencing of five clones derived from five independent PCRs obtained from three different animals of three different breeds (Old Kladruber, Akhal-Teke and Shetland Pony) revealed a high level of sequence identity to the TNF-alpha promoter regions of other species. The existing GenBank horse sequences were confirmed and extended upstream by 230 nucleotides. Based on the sequence obtained, a new horse...
Jamieson CA, Hanzlicek AS, Payton ME, Holbrook TC.To determine reference intervals and the effect of sample agitation and rest time on Sonoclot analysis in healthy adult horses. Methods: Original prospective study. Methods: University veterinary medical teaching hospital. Methods: Sixty healthy adult horses. Methods: Blood was collected for assessment of complete blood count, serum biochemical analysis, and Sonoclot analysis. Results: Horses were determined to be healthy based upon physical examination, CBC, and serum biochemistry analysis. Blood was analyzed in a glass bead-containing cuvette using the Sienco Sonoclot analyzer following 2 re...
Waterman A.Disturbances of fluid and electrolyte balance may occur in the horse as a consequence of many disease processes. Disorders may be classified into 3 main categories, primary water loss, mixed water and electrolyte depletion and acid base disturbances. This paper reviews the changes which occur with each type of disorder and discusses methods of diagnosis and assessment of such imbalances. The principles of treatment are described and the management of fluid replacement therapy in 3 of the disorders, mainly acute intestinal obstruction, inability to drink and diarrohea is discussed.
Kokotovic B, Angen Ø, Bisgaard M.Genetic diversity detected by analysis of amplified fragment length polymorphisms (AFLPs) of 54 Actinobacillus lignieresii isolates from different hosts and geographic localities is described. On the basis of variances in AFLP profiles, the strains were grouped in two major clusters; one comprising strains isolated from horses and infected wounds of humans bitten by horses and another consisting of strains isolated from bovine and ovine hosts. The present data indicate a comparatively higher degree of genetic diversity among strains isolated from equine hosts and confirm the existence of a sep...
El-Hage C, Hartley C, Savage C, Watson J, Gilkerson J, Paillot R.During Australia's first and only outbreak of equine influenza (EI), which was restricted to two northeastern states, horses were strategically vaccinated with a recombinant canarypox-vectored vaccine (rCP-EIV; ProteqFlu™, Merial P/L). The vaccine encoded for haemagglutinin (HA) belonging to two equine influenza viruses (EIVs), including an American and Eurasian lineage subtype that predated the EIV responsible for the outbreak (A/equine/Sydney/07). Racehorses in Victoria (a southern state that remained free of EI) were vaccinated prophylactically. Although the vaccine encoded for (HA) belon...
Buckingham SH, Jeffcott LB, Anderson GA, McCartney RN.The in vivo precision of ultrasound velocity measurement and single photon absorptiometry for the assessment of equine bone quality is discussed. In vivo precisions for ultrasound velocity measurements were less than 0.5 per cent, whereas cortical cross-sectional area, compact bone density and modulus of elasticity were around 1 per cent, and bone mineral content and density were just over 2 per cent. Except for ultrasound velocity, substantial improvements could be achieved by taking the mean of five readings for each measurement. The long-term precision of the techniques was also high, with ...
Koupai-Abyazani MR, Esaw B, Laviolette B.Urine and serum samples collected from four standard-bred mares after and oral regimen administration of methocarbamol were extracted and analyzed. The method consisted of enzyme hydrolysis followed by a one-step liquid-liquid extraction, separation on a reversed-phase (RP-18) column, and detection using an ultraviolet (UV) detector. The confirmation was carried out using a liquid chromatography-atmospheric pressure ionization-mass spectrometry (LC-API-MS) system. Maximum methocarbamol concentrations of 1498, 1734, 1547, 2322 micrograms/mL in urine and 4.9, 1.7, and 3.6 micrograms/mL in serum ...
Menzies-Gow NJ, Bond R, Patterson-Kane JC, McGowan CM.Two mature large-breed horses with coronary band dystrophy and chorioptic mange are described. They both had clinical signs of coronary band scaling and crusting but were not lame. Coronary band dystrophy can be differentiated from similar clinical conditions on the basis of the histological appearance of skin biopsy specimens, and by the exclusion of other possible disease processes. Its aetiology is uncertain, but probably involves a localised defect of keratinisation affecting the specialised epithelium of the coronary band.
Palomba E, Martone F, Meduri A, Vaccaro A, Damiani N.A description is given of an outbreak of equine infectious anaemia (E.I.A.) in Campania [at Naples and Aversa (Caserta)]; it was diagnosed by clinical, pathological and serological examinations (Coggins test). Using the serum of 45 horses with E.I.A. and 11 healthy horses (controls), numerous investigations were carried out on: enzymes, intrinsic coagulation factors, lipids and other substances. The results obtained were very interesting and show that in this disease there are significant increases in many enzymes (LDH, LAP, gamma-GT, CPK, PK and ALD) and copper. Insignificant increases were f...
Holcombe SJ, Berney C, Cornelisse CJ, Derksen FJ, Robinson NE.To determine the effect of a commercially available nasal strip on airway mechanics in exercising horses. Methods: 6 horses (5 Standardbreds and 1 Thoroughbred). Methods: Horses exercised on a treadmill at speeds corresponding to 100 and 120% of maximal heart rate with and without application of a commercially available nasal strip. Concurrently, tracheal pressures, airflow, and heart rate were measured. Peak inspiratory and expiratory tracheal pressures, airflow, respiratory frequency, and tidal volume were recorded. Inspiratory and expiratory airway resistances were calculated by dividing pe...
Dawson K.Sourcing of horses naturally infected with parasites such as Anoplocephala perfoliata and Gasterophilus intestinalis for antiparasitic efficacy slaughter studies is often difficult, expensive, and usually excessive numbers of animals must be slaughtered before significant data can be obtained. To overcome this problem a "Modified Critical Treatment Method" was developed. This method does not require the horses to be sacrificed, but relies on the collection and processing of all faecal material containing expelled parasites from test animals. Efficacy is assessed by comparing, in the same horse...
Azizi S, Masoudi H.Colic is a clinical syndrome and has been defined as a visceral abdominal pain and/or acute abdominal disease. It is a common cause of morbidity and mortality in horses. The most common forms of colics are related to gastrointestinal tract in nature and most often linked to colonic disturbances. However, colics are not well understood in donkeys compared to those of in horses and the literature is poor regarding bowel strangulating obstruction in donkeys. This report described the clinical signs and post-mortem necropsy findings of an abdominal colic due to the left colon volvulus following a ...
Pearce SG, Firth EC, Grace ND, Fennessy PF.The effect of copper status on the evidence of bone and cartilage lesions was investigated in 21 Thoroughbred foals. The foals and their dams were grazed on pasture containing 4.4-8.6 mg Cu/kg dry matter (DM). Four treatment groups were created by randomly allocating mares and their foals to either copper supplemented (0.5 mg Cu/kg liveweight (LW)/day), or control (pasture only) groups. This experimental design allowed the effect of copper supplementation of mare and foal to be examined independently. Parameters of bone and cartilage development were assessed in the foals both in vivo, and at ...
Bouwman FG, van Ginneken MM, van der Kolk JH, van Breda E, Mariman EC.The aim of the study was to identify new biomarkers for acute tying-up in horses. Skeletal muscle biopsies were taken from 3 horses suffering from acute tying-up and 3 healthy horses. We performed 2D gel electrophoresis and mass spectrometry for identification of proteins that are differentially expressed in tying-up. 2D gel electrophoresis of skeletal muscle sequential extracts yielded more than 350 protein spots on each gel, of which 14 were differentially expressed more than two-fold (p<0.05). In-gel digestion followed by peptide mass fingerprinting enabled identification of three significa...
Hu Z, Zhu C, Chang H, Guo W, Liu D, Xiang W, Wang X.The objective of this study was to develop a novel EvaGreen (EG) based real-time PCR technique for the simultaneous detection of Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1) and Equine herpesvirus 4 (EHV-4) genomes from equine nasal swabs. Viral genomes were identified based on their specific melting temperatures (T m), which are 88.0 and 84.4 °C for EHV-1 and EHV-4, respectively. The detection limitation of this method was 50 copies/μl or 0.15 pg/μl for EHV-1 and 5 copies/μl or 2.5 fg/μl for EHV-4. This assay was 50-1,000 times more sensitive than the SYBR Green (SG)-based assay using the same primer...
Koch DW, Easley JT, Nelson BB, Delcambre JJ, McCready EG, Hackett ES.Auditory tube diverticula, also known as guttural pouches, are naturally occurring dilations of the auditory tube in horses that communicate with the nasopharynx through a small ostium. Infection and select other conditions can result in inflammation and narrowing of the nasopharyngeal ostium, which prevents drainage of fluid or egress of air and can lead to persistent infection or guttural pouch tympany. Auditory tube diverticulotomy allows continuous egress from the auditory tube diverticula and is a feature of disease treatment in horses, in which medical treatment alone is not successful. ...
Bailey MT, Christman SA, Wheaton JE, Troedsson MH, O'Brien TD, Ababneh MM, Santschi E.The aim of this study was to examine inhibin production in granulosa-theca cell tumours (GTCT). The experimental aims were: (i) to determine GTCT cell types that produce inhibin alpha- and betaA-subunits; (ii) to determine whether alpha- and betaA-subunit forms differ in GTCT fluid and normal equine follicular fluid (eFF); and (iii) to determine whether dimeric inhibin (alpha betaA) is present in GTCT plasma and tumour fluid. Plasma, tumour fluid and tumour tissue were collected from mares (n=6) with GTCT. Plasma and eFF were collected during the follicular phase from mares (n=4) undergoing no...
Winter J, Kershaw O, Schmitz R, Gehlen H.Equine leukaemic lymphoma is a rare disease of the haematopoetic tissue. It results from neoplastic degradation of B- and T-lymphocytes and their occurrence in the blood. Clinical signs are often unspecific and include chronic weight loss, ventral oedema at the thorax and abdomen and regional lymphadenopathy. Horses are often presented late in the course of the disease and therapy is rarely successful. This review summarizes the clinical pathologic findings of equine leukaemic lymphoma and the findings of laboratory testing and other diagnostic measures, and presents treatment options describe...
