In vivo studies involving horses refer to research conducted within living organisms to understand various biological processes, disease mechanisms, and therapeutic interventions in equine species. These studies provide insights into the physiological and pathological responses of horses under natural conditions. In vivo research encompasses a range of investigations, including pharmacokinetics, disease modeling, and the evaluation of treatment efficacy. It often involves the use of controlled environments to simulate real-life scenarios while observing the effects of specific variables on equine health. This page gathers peer-reviewed research articles and scholarly studies that explore the methodologies, findings, and implications of in vivo research in horses, contributing to the advancement of equine science and veterinary medicine.
Jann HW, Stein LE, Good JK.Size 3-0 polydioxanone was used as a single strand, single braid (3 strands), or double braid (6 strands) to create six suture material-pattern combinations for equine tenorrhaphy: single-strand locking loop, single-braid locking loop, double-braid locking loop, single-strand three-loop pulley, single-braid three-loop pulley, and double-braid three-loop pulley. Maximum load to failure for the single-strand locking loop (46.1 +/- 2.9 newtons [N]) was less than for all other sutures (range, 103-155 N). The load required to form a 2 mm gap between tendon ends was greater for the single-braid thre...
Cox JE, Redhead PH.The long term effect of a single injection of 6,000 iu of human chorionic gonadotrophin (hCG) was studied in two pony stallions. Peripheral plasma samples were analysed for testosterone and oestrone sulphate. Testosterone concentrations were markedly elevated for five days after injection in both stallions. No adverse effects of these high concentrations were observed on concentrations later in the experiment. There was an initial increase in oestrone sulphate in one stallion, after which concentrations decreased to below pre-injection levels. The other stallion (whose initial oestrone sulphat...
Forster HV, Murphy CL, Brice AG, Pan LG, Lowry TF.The major objective was to determine in ponies whether factors in addition to changes in blood PCO2 contribute to changes in plasma [H+] during submaximal exercise. Measurements were made to establish in vivo plasma [H+] at rest and during submaximal exercise, and CO2 titration of blood was completed for both in vitro and acute in vivo conditions. In 19 ponies arterial plasma [H+] was decreased from rest 4.5 neq/l (P less than 0.05) during the 7th min of treadmill running at 6 mph, 5% grade (P less than 0.5). A 5.6-Torr exercise hypocapnia accounted for approximately 2.9 neq/l of this reduced ...
Schatzmann U, Gugelmann M, Von Cranach J, Ludwig BM, Rehm WF.Carprofen, flunixin meglumine and placebo in the form of a physiological solution of sodium chloride were tested in an open randomised cross-over trial for analgesic efficacy in horses with two external skin-stimulation systems. Both systems, the withers model and the "heating element" model, were compared in order to find an optimal way to measure pain perception after stimulating the skin with high temperature. No analgesic effect of flunixin or carprofen could be demonstrated when using the withers model. In the "heating element" model, a 1.1 mg/kg i.v. dose of flunixin meglumine failed to ...
Gill KK, Kroeger EA.Equine airway smooth muscle is innervated by vagal efferents and, in addition, displays spontaneous mechanical activity. The preparation thus appears to contain at least two discrete excitable components, the cholinergic neural elements and the smooth muscle membrane. Indomethacin (INDO), a cyclooxygenase (CO) inhibitor, exerts a considerable potentiation of function in this preparation. The latter may be effected indirectly, through loss of the inhibitory effect of endogenous prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) on neural acetylcholine release and through direct effects on smooth muscle of the generally a...
Morris EA, McDonald BS, Webb AC, Rosenwasser LJ.Interleukin-1 (IL-1) is a protein secreted by stimulated cells of the monocyte-macrophage line, which has a number of important biologic activities. Interleukin-1 has been implicated in the induction and augmentation of the pathologic processes involved in arthritis and articular cartilage destruction. Horses develop osteoarthritis with a frequency and degree of severity similar to human beings. To further document the similarity of the osteoarthritic process in people and horses, the synovial fluid from 5 horses with clinical osteoarthritis was tested for IL-1 bioactivity. Interleukin-1 activ...
Lavoie JP, Madigan JE, Cullor JS, Powell WE.The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of experimentally induced sublethal endotoxaemia in equine neonates. Four foals, between two and five days of age, were infused intravenously with 0.5 microgram/kg bodyweight of Salmonella typhimurium endotoxin (LPS) over a 5 h period. A four-day-old and a five-day-old foal, similarly infused with sterile isotonic saline, served as controls. Clinical signs were monitored, blood samples obtained for evaluation of selected haematological and biochemical parameters; and haemodynamic parameters were recorded hourly during the infusion, as well ...
Lane PJ, Lees P, Fink-Gremmels J.In a crossover study in seven New Forest ponies the actions of dexamethasone, at a dose rate of 0.06 mg kg-1 administered intravenously, were compared with those of a placebo treatment. Dexamethasone exerted expected effects on plasma and inflammatory exudate concentrations of cortisol and on blood glucose concentration and circulating leucocyte numbers, but it failed to affect exudate concentrations of the eicosanoids, prostaglandin E2, thromboxane B2, 6-keto-PGF1 alpha and leukotriene B4. These findings do not support the hypothesis that the anti-inflammatory actions of dexamethasone in the ...
Naden J, Squires EL, Nett TM.Puberty was studied using 15 fillies of Quarter Horse phenotype. Fillies were from dams treated daily from Days 20 to 325 of gestation with: (1) 2 ml neobee oil per 50 kg body weight (controls); or (2) 2 ml altrenogest (2.2 mg/ml) per 50 kg body weight. The clitoris was measured at birth and approximately every 12 weeks until 84 weeks of age. Blood samples were collected from 9 fillies (5 treated, 4 controls) every 4 days over a 28-day period at 8-week intervals from 4 to 68 weeks of age; sampling continued every 4 days after 72 weeks of age until first oestrus. Blood samples were collected da...
Meijer AE, van den Hoven R.In this communication, the results of a histochemical and biochemical enzyme study on gluteus medius muscle of horses, sensitive to exertional myopathy, during attacks of rhabdomyolysis are presented. For the biochemical study the biopsy specimens investigated were selected by means of histological and enzyme histochemical staining methods. Dissected specimens were used which contained groups of muscle fibres with a high or low activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase. The activity of glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase, phosphogluconate dehydrogenase, glutathione reductase, glutathione per...
Welsch U, Schumacher U, Buchheim W, Schinko I, Jenness P, Patton S.A specific secretory product of the lactating mammary gland are triglyceride fat globules which are enveloped by a very complex membrane, the milk fat globule membrane (MFGM). In different mammalian species (man, rhesus monkey, horse, goat, sheep, cow, grey seal, camel, alpaka) the glycoproteins of this membrane have been analyzed by gel electrophoresis, Western blotting and lectin histochemistry. A remarkable intra- and interspecific variability of these glycoproteins has been detected pointing to so far unknown physiological adaptions, which may play a role in the intestine of the new born. ...
Oehler UM, Janzen EG, Betteridge K, Fyfe C, Towner RA, Savage N, Scodras J.Results are presented which illustrate the usefulness of Magnetic Resonance Imaging as applied to the study of living embryos. Nitroxide spin labels were employed as contrast agents to study the structure and properties of the embryos. These spin labels offer the additional advantage that they may potentially be bound to biologically important molecules thereby imparting the ability to produce contrast in the MR images to these new molecules. The horse conceptus was chosen over other embryos due to its large size. Whereas the embryos of cattle and swine are sub-millimetre in size, the horse co...
DiPietro JA, Lock TF, Todd KS, Davis JL.Eighteen pony foals inoculated with 1,500 +/- 109 infective Parascaris equorum eggs were given 0.02 ml of ivermectin vehicle (liquid)/kg of body weight, PO, (control); 0.2 mg of ivermectin paste/kg, PO; or 0.2 mg ivermectin liquid/kg, PO, on postinoculation day (PID) 28. Foals were euthanatized on PID 42, and the small intestinal contents were examined for P equorum larvae. The mean number of fourth-stage P equorum larvae in foals treated with ivermectin paste and liquid were 3.5 and 6, respectively. Significantly (P less than 0.01) higher mean numbers of larvae (1,250) were detected in foals ...
Schumacher J, Hanselka DV.Free autogenous skin grafting of the horse is indicated for wounds too large to heal by contraction and epithelization. Techniques of pinch, punch, tunnel, and sheet grafting are described. Allografting and storage of skin for delayed grafting are discussed.
Winder NC, Pellegrini A, von Fellenberg R.A peroxidase antiperoxidase technique was used to identify alpha 2-macroglobulin in formalin-fixed sections of normal equine lung and liver and in tissue sections and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid from horses with various lung diseases. Equine peripheral blood leucocytes and bronchoalveolar lavage samples from clinically normal horses were negative for alpha 2-macroglobulin. It was concluded that liver and pulmonary macrophages may be potential sources of alpha 2-macroglobulin. Although alpha 2-macroglobulin may play a role in various chronic bronchointerstitial pneumonias of the horse, it is d...
Hinchcliff KW, McGuirk SM, MacWilliams PS, Cooley AJ.Changes in renal function, determined by pharmacokinetics of phenolsulfonphthalein (PSP), and renal morphologic features were examined in adult pony mares given 20 mg of gentamicin sulfate/kg of body weight, IV, q 8 h (group A) n = 7 or isotonic saline solution, IV, q 8 h, n = 5 (group B) for 14 days. Susceptibility of ponies to gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicosis was varied. Two group-A ponies developed acute renal failure and were euthanatized before treatment day 14, whereas 5 group-A A ponies did not develop physical or behavioral abnormalities after 14 days of gentamicin administration. Al...
Clark ES, Moore JN.Lateral cecal arterial blood flow, carotid arterial pressure, heart rate, and mechanical activity in the duodenum, right ventral colon, cecal body, and cecal apex were measured in 6 conscious healthy horses for 60 minutes during and for 120 minutes after IV infusion of 0.9% NaCl solution (control) or fenoldopam. There were no significant changes in these measurements during or after infusion of 0.9% NaCl (saline) solution. Fenoldopam, a selective dopamine-1 receptor agonist, was administered in saline solution at dosages of 0.01, 0.05, and 0.1 micrograms/kg/min. Intravenous infusion of fenoldo...
Estrada R, Gutiérrez JM, Alvarado J, Robles A, Avila C, González N.The development of antibody response against phospholipase A2 activity of Bothrops asper venom was studied in a group of adult and healthy horses used in the production of the polyvalent antivenom at the Instituto Clodomiro Picado. Simultaneously, the general condition of the animals during the immunization schedule was also studied. There was a great individual variability in the immune response, although most of the horses studied reached the highest neutralizing titer after injection of doses of venom of 30 mg and 50 mg. On the other hand, in horses that had been previously immunized and we...
Löfman CO, Brännström M, Holmes PV, Janson PO.Surface cell changes at the apices of preovulatory follicles and ovulations were documented in isolated perfused ovaries from immature rats treated with pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (20 IU) and 48 h later with human chorionic gonadotropin (hCG) (10 IU). A video camera coupled to an inverted microscope and a video recorder captured the preovulatory and ovulatory events at a cellular level. At around 8 h post-hCG, the follicular apex changed from a smooth and optically homogeneous appearance into a rough surface with bleb formation and extrusions of single cells through minute perforations (...
Bello TR.A controlled test was performed to titrate the anthelmintic dosage of dienbendazole in 24 mixed-breed ponies naturally infected with Strongylus vulgaris, S edentatus, and small strongyle species, as determined by parasitic egg and larval counts in feces. Comparison of results of treatment was made among 3 dienbendazole dosages--2.5, 5, and 10 mg/kg of body weight--and a gum (excipient) mixture given by nasogastric intubation. All ponies were euthanatized and necropsied at 7 or 8 days after treatment. Trichostrongylus axei, Habronema muscae, S vulgaris, S edentatus, small strongyles, and Oxyuri...
Lundin C, Sullins KE, White NA, Clem MF, Debowes RM, Pfeiffer CA.Twenty-two foals were divided into groups of intestinal distension and intestinal ischaemia as methods to induce peritoneal adhesions. In the first group, the lumen of a segment of distal small intestine was occluded without extramural vascular compromise and distended with lactated Ringer's solution to a constant pressure of 25 cm H2O for 2 h within the abdomen. The ischaemic group underwent 70 mins total vascular occlusion of identical segments of bowel. Serosal biopsies were obtained before and after each experimental procedure and following 60 mins of reperfusion. Similar biopsies were har...
Rijkenhuizen AB, Németh F, Dik KJ, Goedegebuure SA, Van de Brom WE.The clinical, radiographic, arteriographic, scintigraphic and histological effects of experimental occlusion of the Ramus navicularis (R. Navicularis) and its branching arteries are evaluated. Occlusion of the R. navicularis and its branching arteries creates changes, arteriographically and histologically, which resemble those of navicular disease. The increased bone remodelling, the shift in arterial pattern, the formation of collaterals and the increased connective tissue in the synovial membrane and nutrient foramina, as a reaction to the reduction of the distal arterial supply of the navic...
Halldorsdottir S, Larsen HJ, Mehl R.Twenty-three Icelandic horses were challenged with extracts of four species of biting midges: Culicoides pulicaris, C chiopterus, C obsoletus and C impunctatus. Fourteen of the tested horses were affected with summer eczema. The horses were challenged intradermally with 0.1 ml of whole-body extracts of midges at a concentration of 0.01 or 0.005 per cent weight/volume. The skin reactions were measured after 30 minutes, 60 or 180 minutes and four, 24 and 48 hours after injection. Antigen titration showed that the reaction was dependent on the antigen concentration. Eight of nine unaffected horse...
Mück WM, Henion JD.The performance of microbore high-performance liquid chromatography and capillary zone electrophoresis, both equipped with on-line tandem mass spectrometric detection capability, was evaluated critically for the determination of endogenous amounts of leucine enkephalin and methionine enkephalin in equine cerebrospinal fluid. Using an identical sample clean-up and enrichment procedure, capillary zone electrophoresis-mass spectrometry is limited in its concentration detection capacity owing to its much smaller injection volume. Leucine enkephalin was identified in post-mortem equine cerebrospina...
Harrison IW.Cecal torsion in horses is relatively rare. This clinical report describes cecocolic fold hypoplasia, producing increased cecal mobility, as a predisposing cause of cecal torsion in a horse.
Juzwiak JS, Brown MP, Gronwall R, Houston AE.Cephapirin (20 mg/kg of body weight, IV) was administered before and after 3 doses of probenecid (25, 50, or 75 mg/kg, intragastrically, at 12-hour intervals) to 2 mares. Clearance and apparent volume of distribution, based on area under the curve, were negatively correlated with probenecid dose. Clearance of cephapirin was decreased by approximately 50% by administration of 50 mg of probenecid/kg. Serum, synovial fluid, peritoneal fluid, CSF, urinary, and endometrial concentrations of cephapirin were determined after 5 doses of cephapirin (20 mg/kg, IM, at 12-hour intervals) without and with ...
Takehana K, Abe M, Iwasa K, Hiraga T.Complex carbohydrates were examined in glandular cells of the horse duodenal gland by using lectin histochemical techniques. In the horse, the duodenal gland was distributed in the area from the uppermost part of the small intestine to a point about 6m caudal to the pylorus. It consisted of two types of cells, mucous and serous cells. The former was found in glands distributed almost all over this part, but the latter was present in glands distributed restrictedly to the uppermost part of the small intestine at a point about 10 cm caudal to the pylorus. The cytoplasm of the mucous cell contain...
Vachon A, McIlwraith CW, Trotter GW, Norrdin RW, Powers BE.Periosteal autografts were obtained from the medial aspect of the proximal portion of the tibia, and perichondrial autografts were obtained from the sternum. Using arthroscopic visualization, each autograft was placed as a loose body into 1 tarsocrural joint in 6 young horses (2 to 4 years old). Horses were hand-walked daily, starting the day after surgery, for a total of 6 h/wk for 8 weeks. Eight weeks after autograft implantation, radiographs were taken of each tarsocrural joint and were interpreted with regard to mineralization in the transplanted autografts. Autografts were then surgically...
Noschka E, Moore JN, Peroni JF, Lewis SJ, Morrow JD, Robertson TP.Inflammation and vascular dysfunction occur concurrently during the prodromal stages of equine laminitis. The aim of this study was to provide insights into the role that thromboxane and isoprostanes may play in the development of black walnut heartwood extract (BWHE)-induced laminitis. Horses were divided into two groups, either control or BWHE-administered horses. Plasma concentrations of thromboxane increased transiently after administration of BWHE and coincided with the nadir in white blood cell counts, whereas plasma concentrations of iso-prostaglandin PGF(2alpha) (iso-PGF(2alpha)) did n...
BRAYE ET, HINSMAN EJ, RILEY WF.No horse receiving combined streptokinase, streptodornase, and human plasminogen alone in either 125,000-unit or 375,000-unit doses manifested any clinical reaction. Untoward reactions occurred in 2 horses receiving both the combined streptokinase, streptodornase, and human plasminogen (125,000 units), and chlortetracycline. The reaction was transitory and subsided without treatment.
Schubert R, Flachowsky G, Bochröder B.Chopped wheat straw was homogeneously mixed with urine of horses (5.75 gN per 1, 16.88 atom-% 15N-excess) and airtightly stored in plastic containers for 6 months. Three rumen fistulated sheep and goats each were fed with untreated or urine treated straw. Concentrate was added to straw. Untreated and urine treated straw were given in nylon bags and incubated in the rumen of sheep and goats for 1, 3, 6, 12, 24, 48 and 72 hours. A three compartment exponential function was used to fit the measurements of 15N-excess and 15N-amount of bag content. The curves and the calculated partial Y-values of ...
Careddu GM, Evangelisti MA, Columbano N, Masala G, Manunta ML, Passino ES.Progressive ethmoid hematoma is frequently reported among the pathologies of the upper airways in horses. While several hypotheses have been proposed such as repeated trauma, inflammatory processes and/or chronic infections, congenital phenomena, complication of hemangiomas, and neoplastic processes, the aetiology of this condition is yet unknown. Clinical symptoms are non-specific and includes haemorrhagic nasal discharge, respiratory noise not related to physical exercise and, in most severe cases, phenomena of coughing. The purpose of this case report is to contribute to a correct diagnosti...
Amorim GB, Segabinazzi LG, Oliveira OM, Perecmanis S, Arruda R, Canisso IF.Misoprostol, a synthetic PGE1, is becoming a common therapy for mares with suspected uterine tube obstruction. Recently, there have been concerns that uterine administration of misoprostol induces exacerbated uterine inflammation; however, this has not been critically evaluated. This study aimed to assess the inflammatory response and potential systemic reactions after uterine administration of misoprostol, either during prebreeding or immediately after postembryo flushing. Privately owned embryo donor mares (n = 11) were randomly assigned in a crossover design to receive misoprostol (3 mL +...