Equine health encompasses the study and management of diseases, disorders, and overall well-being of horses. It involves understanding various physiological systems, preventive care, and treatment strategies to maintain optimal health in equine populations. Common areas of focus include nutrition, infectious diseases, orthopedic conditions, and reproductive health. Research in equine health aims to advance knowledge on diagnostic methods, therapeutic interventions, and management practices that improve horse welfare and performance. This page collects peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the diverse aspects of equine health, offering insights into current findings and advancements in the field.
de la Fuente A, Omyla K, Cooper C, Daels P, Meyers S, Dini P.Morphokinetic evaluation of embryo development has allowed the discovery of events occurring during blastulation. Here, we describe equine embryo pulsing, determined as continued expansion and contraction of both in vivo and in vitro produced blastocysts. Using time-lapse imaging, we demonstrated that pulsing starts during early blastocyst development of in vitro-produced embryos in horses. The median time for a complete contraction was 0.22h (0.08h-2h; min-max) where embryos reduced their sizes around 12.0% (median; 2.3%-27.0%) and the median time for an expansion was 3.3h (0.75-9.0h) where e...
Leclercq A, Lundblad J, Persson-Sjodin E, Ask K, Zetterberg E, Hernlund E, Haubro Andersen P, Rhodin M.The prevalence of vertical asymmetries is high in "owner-sound" warmblood riding horses, however the origin of these asymmetries is unknown. This study investigated correlations between vertical asymmetries and motor laterality. Young warmblood riding horses (N = 65), perceived as free from lameness were evaluated on three visits, each comprising objective gait analysis (inertial measurement units system) and a rider questionnaire on perceived sidedness of the horse. A subgroup (N = 40) of horses were also subjected to a forelimb protraction preference test intended as an assessment of motor l...
de Souza RP, Mousquer MA, Müller V, Barbosa JCR, Leite FPL, Guedes RMC, Curcio BDR, Nogueira CEW.The aim of the present study was to carry out a serological survey to identify the seroprevalence of Lawsonia intracellularis in six Thoroughbred farms in the Southern region of the state of Rio Grande do Sul, Brazil. During 2019 and 2020, blood samples from 686 Thoroughbred horses were obtained from six different breeding farms. Horses were divided into groups according to age: (1) broodmares (>5 years), (2) two-year-old foals, (3) yearlings, and (4) 0-6 months-old foals. Blood samples were collected by venipuncture of the external jugular vein. The detection of antibodies (IgG) against L. in...
Schinköthe J, Gerlach K, Ulrich RG, Brehm W.A 12-y-old Shetland Pony was presented with a mucus-secreting fistula in the right paralumbar fossa. Surgery was performed to unravel the origin of the fistula. The horse died under anesthesia and was forwarded to autopsy. The right kidney was markedly atrophic and fibrotic, consistent with unilateral end-stage kidney. The right ureter was markedly thickened, but with luminal continuity leading into the urinary bladder where a partial obstruction caused by nodular para-ureteral fat necrosis was evident. The lumen of the cutaneous fistula was continuous with the right ureter; therefore, we diag...
Pimenta J, Pires I, Prada J, Cotovio M.Melanocytic tumors are an important neoplastic disease in human and veterinary medicine, presenting large differences regarding tumor behavior between species. In horses, these tumors present a prolonged benign behavior, with rare invasiveness and metastases. In humans and small animals, invasion and metastasis have been associated with an Epithelial-Mesenchymal Transition, where the loss of E-cadherin expression plays a key role in tumor progression. This process and the role of E-cadherin have not yet been evaluated in equine melanocytic tumors. This study aimed to assess the immunolabeling ...
McCue PM, Bisiau C, Divine C, May E.Congential amastia, a medical condition in which mammary tissue fails to develop, was detected in a 3-year-old Quarter Horse mare. The dam of the mare was also afflicted with amastia, suggesting that the condition was due to an inherited genetic mutation as noted in other species. In addition, on presentation the mare had a purulent vaginal discharge secondary to a pyometra.
Gurgul A, Jasielczuk I, Szmatoła T, Sawicki S, Semik-Gurgul E, Długosz B, Bugno-Poniewierska M.Nanopore sequencing is a third-generation biopolymer sequencing technique that relies on monitoring the changes in an electrical current that occur as nucleic acids are passed through a protein nanopore. Increasing quality of reads generated by nanopore sequencing systems encourages their application in genome-wide polymorphism detection and genotyping. In this study, we employed nanopore sequencing to identify genome-wide polymorphisms in the horse genome. To reduce the size and complexity of genome fragments for sequencing in a simple and cost-efficient manner, we amplified random DNA fragme...
Fazio F, Aragona F, Piccione G, Pino C, Giannetto C.Cardiac biomarkers are useful to identify cardiac muscle variations in human and equine medicine. The aim of this study was to investigate the acute effect of a bout of show jumping training on serum activity of cardiac and muscular biomarkers in healthy athletic horses to include cardiac troponin (cTnI), myoglobin (MB), aspartate amino transferase (AST), alanine amino transferase (ALT), creatine phosphokinase (CPK) and lactate dehydrogenase (LDH). Serum samples were collected from seven Italian Saddle horses (three geldings and four mares; 10 ± 3 years; mean body weight 480 ±70 kg), regular...
Deride C, Chihuailaf R, Arnés V, Morán G, Uberti B.Microminerals are necessary for all bodily functions. In animal species, selenium (Se), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) all form part of antioxidant enzymes. Micromineral deficiencies, particularly Se, are well recognized in large animal species in Chile. Glutathion peroxidase (GPx) is a widely used biomarker for Se nutritional status and to diagnose Se deficiency in horses. Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a Cu and Zn-dependant antioxidant enzyme, although it is not commonly used as a proxy for the nutritional status of these minerals. Ceruloplasmin (CP) is used as a biomarker of Cu nutritional status...
Li L, Maboni G, Lack A, Gomez DE.Nontuberculous mycobacteria (NTM) infections are increasing in human and veterinary medicine. Although horses were initially thought to be resistant to NTM infection, reports of horses suffering from gastrointestinal, respiratory, and reproductive diseases associated with NTM have increased in the last few decades. The aim of this literature review is to summarize the mycobacteria species found in horses, describe clinical manifestations, diagnostic and treatment approaches, and public health concerns of NTM infection in horses. Clinical manifestations of NTM in horses include pulmonary diseas...
Gold JR, Grubb T, Court MH, Villarino NF.Acetaminophen is utilized in human infants for pain management and fever. Neonatal foals might benefit from administration of acetaminophen but effective and safe dosage regimens for neonatal foals remains to be determined. Unassigned: The objective was to determine the plasma pharmacokinetics of acetaminophen following oral administration of a single dose of 20 mg/kg or 40 mg/kg to neonatal foals. A secondary objective was to evaluate any changes in hematology and biochemistry profiles. Unassigned: Randomized study. Unassigned: Eight clinically healthy 7-9-day old Quarter Horse foals (3 c...
Acutt EV, Zhou T, Mama K, Nelson BB, Selberg KT, Barrett MF.Delivery of mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) via intravascular techniques to treat diffuse and/or inaccessible soft tissue injuries has grown in popularity. The purpose of the current prospective, analytical pilot study was to utilize CT to validate this novel technique and provide additional evidence to support its use for injectate delivery to specific soft tissue structures. Of particular interest was the proximal suspensory ligament, which presents a challenging injection target. Six adult horses without lameness underwent CT of the distal hindlimbs. Scans were obtained prior to ultrasound-gui...
de Melo UP, Ferreira C.Oral and dental diseases are common in horses, as evidenced by the results of incidence studies of dental diseases carried out on abattoir specimens or sports horses. Thus, periodic dental examinations in horses are essential to ensure the maintenance of dental health and proper use of ingested food. A retrospective study of the dental records of 416 Quarter Horses (256 males, 160 females), distributed in the western region of the Rio Grande do Norte, Brazil, was conducted. Horses were examined between July 2012 and August 2022. The variables collected were age, sex, type of diet, dental alter...
Wang XF, Zhang X, Ma W, Li J, Wang X.Equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is a member of the lentivirus genus in the Retroviridae family and is considered an animal model for HIV/AIDS research. An attenuated EIAV vaccine, which was successfully developed in the 1970s by classical serial passage techniques, is the first and only lentivirus vaccine that has been widely used to date. Restriction factors are cellular proteins that provide an early line of defense against viral replication and spread by interfering with various critical steps in the viral replication cycle. However, viruses have evolved specific mechanisms to overcom...
Acri G, Testagrossa B, Piccione G, Arfuso F, Giudice E, Giannetto C.The evaluation of the performance levels in athletic horses is of major importance to prevent sports injuries. Raman spectroscopy is an innovative technique that allows for a rapid evaluation of biomolecules in biological fluids. It also permits qualitative and quantitative sample analyses, which lead to the simultaneous determination of the components of the examined biological fluids. On the basis of this, the Raman spectroscopy technique was applied on serum samples collected from five Italian Saddle horses subjected to a standardized obstacle course preceded by a warm-up to evaluate the ap...
Hagen J, Brouwer J, Lux S, Weiske F, Jung FT.The aim of the current in vivo, observational study was to investigate the effects of different hoof manipulations on landing duration (LandD), location (IC) and angle of initial contact (IC) in the front feet of horses. A novel, hoof-mounted, inertial measurement unit sensor system (IMU) was used. Ten sound, crossbred horses were fitted with an IMU sensor at the dorsal hoof wall and examined barefoot and after trimming. Additionally, the application of 120 g lateral weights and 5° medial side wedges as well as steel, aluminium, egg bar, and lateral extension shoes were tested. Horses were gu...
Bourebaba L, Zyzak M, Sikora M, Serwotka-Suszczak A, Mularczyk M, Al Naem M, Marycz K.Sex hormone binding globulin (SHBG) deteriorated expression has been recently strongly correlated to increased level of circulating pro-inflammatory cytokines and insulin resistance, which are typical manifestations of equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). Despite previous reports demonstrated the potential therapeutic application of SHBG for liver-related dysfunctions, whether SHBG might modulate equine adipose-derived stem/stromal cells (EqASCs) metabolic machinery remains unknown. Therefore, we evaluated for the first time the impact of SHBG protein on metabolic changes in ASCs isolated from hea...
Wong KS, Cheung HW, Choi YC, To NS, Wan TSM, Ho ENM.Recombinant human follistatin (rhFST) is a potential performance-enhancing agent owing to its stimulating effect on muscle growth. Administration of rhFST to athletes is prohibited in human sports by the World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) and in horseracing according to Article 6 of the International Agreement on Breeding, Racing and Wagering published by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities (IFHA). For effective control of the potential misuse of rhFST in flat racing, methods for screening and confirmatory analysis are required. This paper describes the development and validat...
Gorji FF, Sadr S, Borji H.Eimeria is a genus of protozoan parasites that infect many animal species, including horses. We conducted a cross-sectional study of indigenous breeds of horses from the North and Northeast of Iran to establish the prevalence and distribution of Eimeria species. Methods: Using standard coprological techniques, 340 faecal samples from randomly selected horses (141 from North Iran and 199 from Northeast Iran) were examined for Eimeria oocyst. Results: Out of 340 samples, only three from north Iran were positive for coccidiosis. Infections occurred by Eimeria leuckarti. The mean intensity of oocy...
Talbot SE, Tallon R, Dunkel B.Gastric impactions (GI) have been identified as primary lesions (lone GI; LGI) or associated with other intestinal lesions (concurrent GI; CGI). Anecdotally, CGI resolve more rapidly with a better prognosis than LGI. Objective: To determine clinical, laboratory, and ultrasonographic findings, and short- and long-term survival in horses with GI. We hypothesized that LGI carries a worse prognosis than CGI. Methods: Seventy-one horses from 2 referral hospitals (2007-2022). Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Gastric impactions were defined as feed extending to the margo plicatus after ≥24 h...
McFadden A, Martin K, Foster G, Vierra M, Lundquist EW, Everts RE, Martin E, Volz E, McLoone K, Brooks SA, Lafayette C.Mutations causing depigmentation are relatively common in Equus caballus (horse). Over 40 alleles in multiple genes are associated with increased white spotting (as of February 2023). The splashed white phenotype, a coat spotting pattern described as appearing like the horse has been splashed with white paint, was previously associated with variants in the PAX3 and MITF genes. Both genes encode transcription factors known to control melanocyte migration and pigmentation. We report two novel mutations, a stop-gain mutation in PAX3 (XM_005610643.3:c.927C>T, ECA6:11,196,181, EquCab3.0) and a m...
Karasu GK, Rogers CW, Gee EK.Sustainability is the balancing act of optimizing the use of current resources without compromising the current or future environment. Within the agriculture sector the primary focus of sustainability has been to reduce environmental pollution, specifically greenhouse gasses (GHG) emissions, nitrogen emissions, and leaching. For the equine industry the first step towards sustainability is the documentation and critique of current feeding and management practices to permit modifications to enable the industry meet social and legislative obligations. As a monogastric hindgut fermenter on a per k...
Papapetrou MA, Arroyo LG, Meister TL, Baird JD, Steinmann E, Lillie BN.Equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) was first reported from the serum and liver tissue of a horse diagnosed with Theiler's disease in the United States in 2018. Theiler's disease, also known as equine serum hepatitis, is a severe hepatitis with fulminant hepatic necrosis. The disease has most frequently been reported following the administration of equine-origin biological products; however, it has also been reported in in-contact horses with no prior biologic administration. EqPV-H has been detected in clinically healthy horses in North America (USA, Canada), Europe (Germany, Austria, Sloven...
McCoy AM, Scolman KN.The aim of this study was to identify the radiographic prevalence of periarticular osteophytes of the distal tarsus in nonlame yearling Standardbred horses, and to evaluate its potential impact on race performance. Methods: Cross-sectional cohort study. Methods: Client-owned yearling Standardbred horses (n = 416). Methods: Bilateral tarsal radiographs were available from all horses for review. Osteophytes were measured on radiographs using clinical visualization software and categorized by size. Racing records were obtained from the United States Trotting Association. Regression analysis w...
De Paolis L, Armando F, Montemurro V, Petrizzi L, Straticò P, Mecocci S, Guarnieri C, Pezzolato M, Fruscione F, Passeri B, Marruchella G, Razzuoli E.Vulvar squamous cell carcinoma (VSCC) has been recently associated with Equus caballus papillomavirus type 2 (EcPV2) infection. Still, few reports concerning this disease are present in the literature. Objective: To describe a case of naturally occurring EcPV2-induced VSCC, by investigating tumour ability in undergoing the epithelial-to-mesenchymal transition (EMT). Methods: Case report. Methods: A 13-year-old Haflinger mare was referred for a rapidly growing vulvar mass. After surgical excision, the mass was submitted to histopathology and molecular analysis. Histopathological diagnosis was c...
Hain-Saunders NMR, Knight DR, Bruce M, Byrne D, Riley TV.Clostridioides difficile poses an ongoing threat as a cause of gastrointestinal disease in humans and animals. Traditionally considered a human healthcare-related disease, increases in community-associated C. difficile infection (CDI) and growing evidence of inter-species transmission suggest a wider perspective is required for CDI control. In horses, C. difficile is a major cause of diarrhoea and life-threatening colitis. This study aimed to better understand the epidemiology of CDI in Australian horses and provide insights into the relationships between horse, human and environmental strains...
Townsend KS, Johnson PJ, Kuroki K.Primary squamous cell carcinoma of the head and neck occurs in the skin or squamous epithelial lining tissues of the oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, and sinonasal tract. Although it is a common tumor in horses, distant metastatic spread to the lung is rare. This report describes a case of metastatic pulmonary squamous cell carcinoma in a 23-year-old Morgan gelding. The clinical signs displayed by this gelding in some ways mimicked the typical presentation of equine multinodular pulmonary fibrosis or thoracic lymphoma. The postmortem diagnosis in this case was head and neck squamous cell carcinom...
Suter A, Voelter K, Hartnack S, Spiess BM, Pot SA.To evaluate the most common bacterial pathogens associated with septic keratitis in veterinary patients from Switzerland. The second objective was to analyze antibiotic susceptibility test results of the identified bacterial pathogens. The third objective was to evaluate potential breed predispositions to septic keratitis. Methods: Two hundred and fifty-five cultures and antibiotic susceptibility reports from dogs, cats, and horses with septic keratitis that were presented to the University of Zurich Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital between 2009 and 2013 were reviewed. Odds ratios for the ...
Vokes J, Lovett A, Sykes B.Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome (EGUS) is a term that has been used since 1999, initially being used to describe all gastric mucosal disease in horses. Since this time, the identification of two distinct main disease entities of the equine gastric mucosa have been described under the umbrella of EGUS; these are Equine Squamous Gastric Disease (ESGD) and Equine Glandular Gastric Disease (EGGD). In 2015 the European College of Equine Internal Medicine (ECEIM) released a consensus statement defining these disease entities. This document highlighted the lack of evidence surrounding EGGD compared to ...
Alba A, Allepuz A, Napp S, Soler M, Selga I, Aranda C, Casal J, Pages N, Hayes EB, Busquets N.To enhance early detection of West Nile virus (WNV) transmission, an integrated ecological surveillance system was implemented in Catalonia (north-eastern Spain) from 2007 to 2011. This system incorporated passive and active equine surveillance, periodical testing of chicken sentinels in wetland areas, serosurveillance wild birds and testing of adult mosquitoes. Samples from 298 equines, 100 sentinel chickens, 1086 wild birds and 39 599 mosquitoes were analysed. During these 5 years, no acute WNV infection was detected in humans or domestic animal populations in Catalonia. WNV was not detect...
Fukushi H, Tomita T, Taniguchi A, Ochiai Y, Kirisawa R, Matsumura T, Yanai T, Masegi T, Yamaguchi T, Hirai K.A herpesvirus was isolated from Thomson's gazelle (Gazella thomsoni) kept at a zoological garden in Japan during an outbreak of epizootic acute encephalitis. The virus, gazelle herpesvirus 1 (GHV-1), was serologically related to equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV-1). However, DNA fingerprints of GHV-1 were different from those of EHV-1 and other equine herpesviruses. Southern hybridization with probes of cloned BamHI fragments derived from UL and US segments of EHV-1 revealed differences in the DNA restriction profiles throughout the entire genome. Nucleotide sequences were determined for a conserved r...
Lin Q, Rikihisa Y.Diverse p44 alleles at the p44 expression locus (p44Es) encoding surface-exposed major membrane proteins, P44s, of Anaplasma phagocytophilum were hypothesized to be garnered by recombination to enact antigenic variation. However, this hypothesis has not been proven so far, due to inability to clone this obligate intragranulocytic rickettsia. To define the p44E recombination, we developed a novel method to clone A. phagocytophilum. This isogenic cloned population containing a defined p44E was used to infect a naive horse and severe combined immunodeficiency (SCID) mice. During a 58-day infectio...
Dubey JP, Davis SW, Speer CA, Bowman DD, de Lahunta A, Granstrom DE, Topper MJ, Hamir AN, Cummings JF, Suter MM.Sarcocystis neuronan n. sp. is proposed for the apicomplexan taxon associated with myeloencephalitis in horses. Only asexual stages of this parasite presently are known, and they are found within neuronal cells and leukocytes of the brain and spinal cord. The parasite is located in the host cell cytoplasm, does not have a parasitophorous vacuole, and divides by endopolygeny. Schizonts are 5-35 microns x 5-20 microns and contain 4-40 merozoites arranged in a rosette around a prominent residual body. Merozoites are approximately 4 x 1 micron, have a central nucleus, and lack rhoptries. Schizonts...
Scoggin CF.Advancing age can adversely affect a thoroughbred brood-mare's reproductive efficiency and influence the commercial and athletic potential of her progeny. Causes for the decline in fertility include decreased oocyte and embryo quality, anatomical defects and endometrial degeneration. In addition, evidence exists that as the age of a dam increases, her foals will be at increased risk of morbidity and mortality during the neonatal period. Health issues can have lasting and deleterious effects on surviving foals, including decreased sale value and reduced athletic performance. The purpose of this...
de Paula LGF, do Nascimento RM, Franco AO, Szabó MPJ, Labruna MB, Monteiro C, Krawczak FDS.Amblyomma sculptum is a hard tick that is associated with domestic animals and the transmission of Brazilian spotted fever. This association has motivated several field studies on this ixodid tick within its distribution area in South America. Thorough knowledge of the seasonal dynamics of A. sculptum in different ecological scenarios is required in order to better understand the biological characteristics of this tick and develop techniques for the control and prevention of diseases transmitted by this vector. In this article, we systematically review the seasonal dynamics of A. sculptum and ...
Raspa F, Tarantola M, Muca E, Bergero D, Soglia D, Cavallini D, Vervuert I, Bordin C, De Palo P, Valle E.Horses reared for meat production are generally fed a diet rich in starch with the aim of maximizing production performances. This study evaluated the effects of two feeding management systems on horse welfare by analysing the relative time spent engaged in different behavioural activities. Nineteen Bardigiano horses aged 14.3 ± 0.7 months were randomly assigned to one of two group pens: one group was fed high amounts of starch-rich concentrates (HCG; = 10), the other was fed a fibre-based diet (HFG; = 9). Behavioural activities performed by each horse were video-recorded over a 96-h period...
Hansen MG, Christoffersen M, Thuesen LR, Petersen MR, Bojesen AM.Borrelia burgdorferi sensu lato and Anaplasma phagocytophilum are able to infect horses. However, the extend to which Danish horses are infected and seroconvert due to these two bacteria is unknown. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the seroprevalence of B. burgdorferi sensu lato and A. phagocytophilum in Danish horses. Methods: A total of 390 blood samples collected from all major regions of Denmark and with a geographical distribution corresponding to the density of the Danish horse population were analyzed. All samples were examined for the presence of antibodies against B. burgd...
Zembowicz A, Knoepp SM, Bei T, Stergiopoulos S, Eng C, Mihm MC, Stratakis CA.Pigmented epithelioid melanocytoma (PEM) is a recently described entity comprising most cases previously described as "animal-type melanoma" and epithelioid blue nevus (EBN) occurring in patients with the multiple neoplasia syndrome Carney complex (CNC). Mutations of the protein kinase A regulatory subunit type 1alpha (R1alpha) (coded by the PRKAR1A gene) are found in more than half of CNC patients. In this study, we investigated whether PEM and EBN are related at the molecular level, and whether changes in the PRKAR1A gene status and the expression of the R1alpha protein may be involved in th...
Szewc M, De Waal T, Zintl A.Gastrointestinal nematodes (GIN) are a cause of significant losses in animal production worldwide. In recent years, there have been important advances in the biological control of GIN of ruminants and horses. While these measures are still relatively under-utilised in practice, interest will undoubtedly grow due to the emergence of drug resistant parasite populations, the rise in demand for organically farmed products (which does not allow prophylactic use of drugs, including anthelmintics) and legislation, which regulates and restricts the use of anthelmintics. This review provides an overvie...
McClain AK, McCarrel TM.Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is a therapeutic biologic that is used for treatment of musculoskeletal pathologies in equine athletes. Due to the expense of PRP kits, and the volumes obtained, freezing aliquots for future dosing is common. Aliquots of PRP are also commonly frozen for later analysis of growth factor concentrations in in vitro research. A variety of freezing methods are used and storage duration until analysis is often not reported. The optimal frozen storage conditions and duration to maintain concentrations of commonly measured growth factors and enzymes in PRP are unknown. Our ob...
Muscatello G.Rhodococcus equi pneumonia is a worldwide infectious disease of major concern to the equine breeding industry. The disease typically manifests in foals as pyogranulomatous bronchopneumonia, resulting in significant morbidity and mortality. Inhalation of aerosolised virulent R. equi from the environment and intracellular replication within alveolar macrophages are essential components of the pathogenesis of R. equi pneumonia in the foal. Recently documented evidence of airborne transmission between foals indicates the potential for an alternative contagious route of disease transmission. In the...
Tyrnenopoulou P, Diakakis N, Karayannopoulou M, Savvas I, Koliakos G.Regenerative medicine has become one of the most promising therapies of equine osteoarthritis. Platelet lysate (PL) is rich in bioactive proteins and growth factors that play a crucial role in tissue healing. Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of intra-articularly injected autologous PL in equine athletes with naturally occurring osteoarthritis. Methods: Fifteen warmblood geldings aged 8-19 years with osteoarthritis of the distal interphalangeal joint were included in this study. They were randomly divided into two groups; 10 horses received intra-articular injections of PL and 5 of normal s...
Esteves CL, Sheldrake TA, Dawson L, Menghini T, Rink BE, Amilon K, Khan N, Péault B, Donadeu FX.Mesenchymal stem/stromal cells (MSCs) have been used in human and equine regenerative medicine, and interest in exploiting their potential has increased dramatically over the years. Despite significant effort to characterize equine MSCs, the actual origin of these cells and how much of their native phenotype is maintained in culture have not been determined. In this study, we investigated the relationship between MSCs, derived from adipose tissue (AT) and bone marrow (BM), and pericytes in the horse. Both pericyte (CD146, NG2, and αSMA) and MSC (CD29, CD90, and CD73) markers were detected in ...
Malisauskas M, Ostman J, Darinskas A, Zamotin V, Liutkevicius E, Lundgren E, Morozova-Roche LA.In amyloid diseases, it is not evident which protein aggregates induce cell death via specific molecular mechanisms and which cause damage because of their mass accumulation and mechanical properties. We showed that equine lysozyme assembles into soluble amyloid oligomers and protofilaments at pH 2.0 and 4.5, 57 degrees C. They bind thioflavin-T and Congo red similar to common amyloid structures, and their morphology was monitored by atomic force microscopy. Molecular volume evaluation from microscopic measurements allowed us to identify distinct types of oligomers, ranging from tetramer to oc...
Chavatte-Palmer P, Velazquez MA, Jammes H, Duranthon V.Epidemiological studies in humans and animal models (including ruminants and horses) have highlighted the critical role of nutrition on developmental programming. Indeed, it has been demonstrated that the nutritional environment during the periconceptional period and foetal development can altered the postnatal performance of the resultant offspring. This nutritional programming can be exerted by maternal and paternal lineages and can affect offspring beyond the F1 generation. Alterations in epigenetic mechanisms have been proposed as the causative link behind the programming trajectories obse...
Fureix C, Hausberger M, Seneque E, Morisset S, Baylac M, Cornette R, Biquand V, Deleporte P.Describing postures has always been a central concern when studying behaviour. However, attempts to compare postures objectively at phylogenetical, populational, inter- or intra-individual levels generally either rely upon a few key elements or remain highly subjective. Here, we propose a novel approach, based on well-established geometric morphometrics, to describe and to analyse postures globally (i.e. considering the animal's body posture in its entirety rather than focusing only on a few salient elements, such as head or tail position). Geometric morphometrics is concerned with describing ...
Merchant KA, Thompson DE, Xu QH, Williams RB, Loring RF, Fayer MD.Two-dimensional (2D) infrared vibrational echoes were performed on horse heart carbonmonoxymyoglobin (MbCO) in water over a range of temperatures. The A(1) and A(3) conformational substates of MbCO are found to have different dephasing rates with different temperature dependences. A frequency-frequency correlation function derived from molecular dynamics simulations on MbCO at 298 K is used to calculate the vibrational echo decay. The calculated decay shows substantial agreement with the experimentally measured decays. The 2D vibrational echo probes protein dynamics and provides an observable ...
León CA.The purpose of this study was the identification of possible sequelae of the infection of human individuals with Virus of Venezuelan Equine Encephalitis (VEE). Special emphasis was laid on exploring neurological, psychological and behavioural aspects and particularly on the search for a possible association of the disease with epileptic phenomena, brain damage and/or mental deficiency. A four-year period of observation was conducted on a sample of children from El Carmelo (Colombia) where an epidemic of VEE took place in 1967. A group of seven children who presented the encephalitic type of th...
Pihl TH, Nielsen MK, Olsen SN, Leifsson PS, Jacobsen S.Strongylus vulgaris is re-emerging in horses kept under surveillance-based parasite control regimens. Information on nonstrangulating intestinal infarction associated with S. vulgaris is needed to improve recognition of the condition. Objective: To describe the typical clinical presentation, laboratory findings, gross pathology, treatment and outcome of horses with nonstrangulating intestinal infarction. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Nonstrangluating intestinal infarction was diagnosed in 30 horses with a localised intestinal infarction with concurrent signs of S. vulgaris mig...
Silva JR, Romeiro MF, Souza WM, Munhoz TD, Borges GP, Soares OA, Campos CH, Machado RZ, Silva ML, Faria JL, Chávez JH, Figueiredo LT.Arboviruses are an important public health problem in Brazil, in especially flaviviruses, including the Saint Louis encephalitis virus (SLEV) and the Rocio virus (ROCV), are especially problematic. These viruses are transmitted to humans or other vertebrates through arthropod bites and may cause diseases with clinical manifestations that range from asymptomatic infection, viral hemorrhagic fever to encephalitis. Methods: A serological survey of horses from various regions of Brazil using an enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) with recombinant SLEV domain III peptides and ROCV E protein a...
Cribb NC, Cote NM, Bouré LP, Peregrine AS.To retrospectively evaluate the medical and surgical records of horses with acute small intestinal obstructions associated with Parascaris equorum infection; to describe the gastrointestinal lesions; and to determine the outcome of cases with such lesions. Methods: Records of 25 horses with acute small intestinal obstruction associated with P. equorum between 1985 and 2004 were reviewed to determine signalment, history, physical examination, surgical or post-mortem findings, and outcome. Results: All horses except one were less than 12 months old. Standardbreds were over-represented in the pop...
Snider TA, Sepoy C, Holyoak GR.The equine endometrial biopsy, an important tool in equine reproduction science, has experienced a rich period of increasing knowledge, development, and application over the past 40 y. Much of the foundational work in this field was conducted by Dr. Robert M. Kenney. In view of his recent passing, this review is dedicated to our alumnus, Dr. Robert M. Kenney (OSU, 1954). In this manuscript, we pay tribute to Kenney-eponymous for the equine endometrial biopsy grading system-by reviewing the procedure. We present this review in three parts: 1) how observational data are acquired; 2) how these da...
Hillmann A, Ahrberg AB, Brehm W, Heller S, Josten C, Paebst F, Burk J.Multipotent mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) have gained tremendous attention as potential therapeutic agents for the treatment of orthopedic diseases. Promising results have been obtained after application of MSCs for treatment of tendon and joint disease in the equine model, making it appear favorable to use these results as a basis for the translational process of the therapy. However, while the horse is considered a highly suitable model for orthopedic diseases, knowledge is lacking regarding the level of analogy of equine MSCs and their human counterparts. Therefore, the aim of this study...
Hultén C, Sandgren B, Skiöldebrand E, Klingeborn B, Marhaug G, Forsberg M.The acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) has proven potentially useful as an inflammatory marker in the horse, but the knowledge of SAA responses in viral diseases is limited. The aim of this study was to evaluate SAA as a marker for acute equine influenza A2 (H3N8) virus infection. This is a highly contagious, serious condition that inflicts suffering on affected horses and predisposes them to secondary bacterial infections and impaired performance. Seventy horses, suffering from equine influenza, as verified by clinical signs and seroconversion, were sampled in the acute (the first 48 h...
Bannai H, Ochi A, Nemoto M, Tsujimura K, Yamanaka T, Kondo T.As we reported previously, Getah virus infection occurred in horses at the Miho training center of the Japan Racing Association in 2014. This was the first outbreak after a 31-year absence in Japan. Here, we report a recurrent outbreak of Getah virus infection in 2015, sequential to the 2014 one at the same site, and we summarize its epizootiological aspects to estimate the risk of further outbreaks in upcoming years. Results: The outbreak occurred from mid-August to late October 2015, affecting 30 racehorses with a prevalence of 1.5% of the whole population (1992 horses). Twenty-seven (90.0%)...
Jeffcott LB.This paper reviews current developments in equine osteochondrosis complex and the clinical syndromes associated with it. Although the primary lesion has been defined as a failure of endochondral ossification, its definitive cause is unknown and appears to involve heredity, growth rate, nutrition, mineral imbalance, endocrinological dysfunction and biomechanical trauma. Despite the international importance of osteochondrosis in horses, surprisingly few controlled investigations have been performed on its pathogenesis. The studies that have been conducted suggest that local effects on differenti...
Södersten F, Ekman S, Eloranta ML, Heinegård D, Dudhia J, Hultenby K.The structure and organisation of the extracellular matrix, and in particular the axial alignment of type I collagen fibrils, are essential for the tensile strength of tendons. The resident tenocytes synthesize and maintain the composition of the extracellular matrix, which changes with age and maturation. Other components of the extracellular matrix include less abundant collagen types II, III, V, VI, XII, proteoglycans and glycoproteins. Cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) is an abundant non-collagenous pentameric glycoprotein in the tendon, which can bind to collagen types I and II. ...
