Inflammation is a biological response of the horse's body to harmful stimuli, such as pathogens, damaged cells, or irritants. It is a complex process that involves the activation of immune cells, the release of inflammatory mediators, and changes in blood flow. In horses, inflammation can manifest in various forms, affecting different tissues and organs, including the joints, respiratory system, and skin. The inflammatory response is an essential component of the horse's immune system, aiming to eliminate the initial cause of cell injury, clear out damaged cells and tissues, and establish tissue repair. This topic page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the mechanisms, effects, and management of inflammation in equine health.
Borges AS, Divers TJ, Stokol T, Mohammed OH.Detection of systemic inflammation, which is important for proper diagnosis and prompt treatment, can be challenging. Objective: Measurement of plasma iron concentration is a sensitive method for detecting systemic inflammation in horses compared with measurements of plasma fibrinogen concentration, a traditional marker for inflammation in the horse. Methods: Ninety-seven horses hospitalized with diseases causing systemic inflammation, 22 horses with localized inflammation, and 12 clinically normal horses were included in this study. Methods: A retrospective study was made on hospitalized hors...
Lewis SS, Valberg SJ, Nielsen IL.Although immune-mediated myositis (IMM) is commonly reported in other species, this condition is poorly described in horses. Objective: IMM occurs in horses. Methods: Thirty-seven horses with suspected IMM were included in the study. Methods: The database of the Neuromuscular Diagnostic Laboratory was reviewed to identify 37 horses with muscle biopsies characterized by lymphocytic infiltrates. A retrospective standardized questionnaire regarding clinical signs and response to treatment was answered by horse owners. Results: Horses with suspected IMM were predominantly of Quarter Horse bloodlin...
Gold JR, Perkins GA, Erb HN, Ainsworth DM.Septicemia initiates the production of pro-inflammatory (interleukin [IL] 1-beta [IL-1beta], interferon-gamma [IFN-gamma], IL-6), and anti-inflammatory (IL-4) cytokines. The transcription of some of these proteins (IL-8, IL-6) is linked to endotoxin-induced activation of the toll-like receptor 4 (TLR4) on peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMC). Objective: Septic foals fail to increase gene expression of IFN-gamma. Nonsurviving septic foals exhibit distinctive cytokine profiles. Methods: Twenty-one septic and 20 healthy neonatal foals. Methods: Using real-time polymerase chain reaction, gene...
Climent F, Carmona JU, Cuenca R, Prades M.Eosinophilic synovitis (ES) is a rare disease described in human and veterinary medicine. Only three cases have been reported in the horse. A case of tarsocrural synovitis in an Hispano-Arabian gelding is presented in this report. The patient presented with severe joint effusion and lameness of the right tarsocrural joint on admission. Synovial fluid analysis revealed an increased WBC of 12800 leukocytes/microliter with 76% of eosinophils. Lavage of the diseased joint and medical treatment with antibiotics and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs produced remission of the clinical problem.
Sun WC, Moore JN, Hurley DJ, Vandenplas ML, Murray TF.To assess the anti-inflammatory effects of an adenosine analogue on lipopolysaccharide (LPS)-stimulated equine neutrophils. Methods: Neutrophils obtained from 10 healthy horses. Methods: An adenosine analogue (5'-N-ethylcarboxamidoadenosine [NECA]) was tested for its ability to inhibit production of reactive oxygen species (ROS) in LPS-stimulated equine neutrophils. Selective adenosine receptor antagonists were used to identify the receptor subtype responsible for effects. To assess the mechanism of action of NECA, cAMP concentrations were measured, and effects of dibutyryl cAMP (a stable anal...
Little D, Brown SA, Campbell NB, Moeser AJ, Davis JL, Blikslager AT.To determine the effect of meloxicam and flunixin meglumine on recovery of ischemia-injured equine jejunum. Methods: 18 horses. Methods: Horses received butorphanol tartrate; were treated IV with saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (SS; 12 mL; n = 6), flunixin meglumine (1.1 mg/kg; 6), or meloxicam (0.6 mg/kg; 6) 1 hour before ischemia was induced for 2 hours in a portion of jejunum; and were allowed to recover for 18 hours. Flunixin and SS treatments were repeated after 12 hours; all 3 treatments were administered immediately prior to euthanasia. Selected clinical variables, postoperative pain scores...
Robertson TP, Moore JN, Noschka E, Lewis TH, Lewis SJ, Peroni JF.To determine the effects of the protein kinase C (PKC) inhibitor, Ro-31-8220, on agonist-induced constriction of laminar arteries and veins obtained from horses. Methods: Laminar arteries and veins obtained from 8 adult mixed-breed horses. Methods: Laminar arteries and veins were isolated and mounted on small vessel myographs for the measurement of isometric tension. Concentration-response curves were then obtained for the vasoconstrictor agonists phenylephrine, 5-hydroxytryptamine, prostaglandin F(2), and endothelin-1. All responses were measured with or without the addition of Ro-31-8220 (3 ...
Kawcak CE, Frisbie DD, McIlwraith CW, Werpy NM, Park RD.To evaluate the use of a combination of avocado and soybean unsaponifiable (ASU) extracts for the treatment of experimentally induced osteoarthritis in horses. Methods: 16 horses. Methods: Osteoarthritis was induced via osteochondral fragmentation in 1 middle carpal joint of each horse; the other joint underwent a sham operation. Horses were randomly allocated to receive oral treatment with ASU extracts (1:2 [avocado-to-soybean] ratio mixed in 6 mL of molasses; n = 8) or molasses (6 mL) alone (placebo treatment; 8) once daily from days 0 to 70. Lameness, response to joint flexion, synovial eff...
Donovan DC, Jackson CA, Colahan PT, Norton N, Hurley DJ.Using an established standardized exercise test on a high-speed treadmill, thirteen Thoroughbred racehorses were exercised to fatigue (failure); blood samples were obtained before exercise, at failure, and at 2, 6, 24, 48, and 72 h after exercise. The exercise test induced a systemic inflammatory response characterized by a mild transient endotoxemia, leukocytosis, increased leukocyte expression of mRNA for tumor necrosis factor-alpha (TNF-alpha), IL-1 beta, and IL-6, and increased circulating concentrations of TNF-alpha and prostaglandin F2 alpha (PGF 2 alpha), with the most pronounced change...
Moore JN, Norton N, Barton MH, Hurley DJ, Reber AJ, Donovan DC, Vandenplas ML, Parker TS, Levine DM.Endotoxaemia currently is associated with a poor prognosis in horses. The results of recent trials in other species indicate that phospholipid emulsions reduce the deleterious effects of endotoxin (LPS). However, in a previous study in horses, a 2 h infusion of emulsion caused an unacceptable degree of haemolysis. Objective: Rapid administration of a lower total dose of emulsion would reduce the effects of LPS and induce less haemolysis; the emulsion would reduce inflammatory effects of LPS in vitro. Methods: Twelve healthy horses received an i.v. infusion either of saline or a phospholipid em...
Ewart SL, Robinson NE.This review highlights the critical importance of phenotype definition in the understanding of the pathogenesis of respiratory disease in horses. The general approach to genetic studies is discussed and comparative studies of recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) conditions, such as asthma, described in the context of learning more about equivalent equine conditions. The availability of methods to study genetic tests have previously relied on DNA sequence knowledge from man, laboratory and domesticated animals, but recent data from the horse genome sequence are now available. This should facilita...
Porter RM, Akers RM, Howard RD, Forsten-Williams K.Alginate hydrogel culture has been shown to reestablish chondrocytic phenotype following monolayer expansion; however, previous studies have not adequately addressed how culture conditions affect the signaling systems responsible for chondrocyte metabolic activity. Here we investigate whether chondrocyte culture history influences the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) signaling system and its regulation by interleukin-1 (IL-1). Articular chondrocytes (ACs) from equine stifle joints were expanded by serial passage and were either encapsulated in alginate beads or maintained in monolayer cult...
Huang H, Lavoie-Lamoureux A, Moran K, Lavoie JP.Little is known concerning the possible contribution of T helper 2 (Th2)-type cytokines to the recruitment of neutrophils into the lung tissue. In the present study, endothelial cells from equine pulmonary arteries were cultured in the presence of recombinant equine (re) IL-4 and reIL-5, and the cytokine mRNA expression of molecules implicated in the chemotaxis and migration of neutrophils was studied using real-time RT-PCR. The functional response of reIL-4-induced endothelial cell stimulation on neutrophil migration was also studied using a chemotaxis chamber. ReIL-4 either increased the exp...
David F, Farley J, Huang H, Lavoie JP, Laverty S.To evaluate mRNA expression of several proinflammatory and anti-inflammatory cytokines and chemokines in equine unstimulated and interleukin-1beta (IL-1beta)-stimulated chondrocytes. Methods: In vitro experiment using equine chondrocyte cultures. Methods: Whole articular cartilage from metacarpophalangeal joints (n=5 horses; 10 fetlocks). Methods: Chondrocyte monolayer cultures were established from digested adult equine articular cartilage and stimulated with 5 ng/mL of recombinant human IL-1beta. RNA was extracted from the cells 24 hours after stimulation. IL-1beta, IL-4, IL-6, IL-8, tumor n...
Gorvy DA, Barrie Edwards G, Proudman CJ.The objectives of this study were (1) to determine the prevalence of pathological abdominal adhesion formation following exploratory laparotomy; (2) to establish the site of adhesion formation and its relationship to the initial lesion; (3) to ascertain whether the development of intra-abdominal adhesions decreases long-term survival and (4) to identify risk factors for adhesion formation. Of 1014 horses treated surgically for acute gastrointestinal disease, 113 (10.1%) were subjected to repeat laparotomy, with surgical records available for 99 of these cases. Pathological adhesions were the m...
Hauck SM, Schoeffmann S, Amann B, Stangassinger M, Gerhards H, Ueffing M, Deeg CA.Spontaneous equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is an incurable autoimmune disease affecting the eye. Although retinal-autoantigen specific T-helper 1 cells have been demonstrated to trigger disease progression and relapses, the molecular processes leading to retinal degeneration and consequent blindness remain unknown. To elucidate such processes, we studied changes in the total retinal proteome of ERU-diseased horses compared to healthy controls. Severe changes in the retinal proteome were found for several markers for blood-retinal barrier breakdown and whose emergence depended upon disease seve...
Couëtil LL, Hoffman AM, Hodgson J, Buechner-Maxwell V, Viel L, Wood JL, Lavoie JP.The purpose of this consensus statement is to provide a review of current knowledge and opinions concerning inflammatory airway disease (IAD) and to help practitioners differentiate IAD from heaves (or recurrent airway obstruction; RAO) and other inflammatory respiratory diseases of horses.
Durando MM, Martin BB, Davidson EJ, Birks EK.There are limited data on the correlations between arterial blood gas (ABG) values, tracheal wash (TW) cytology and upper respiratory tract (URT) abnormalities. Objective: To identify horses with abnormal exercising ABG, and compare the proportions of horses with abnormal ABG and TW cytology, mucus or URT dysfunction with those with normal ABG results and abnormal TW cytology, mucus or URT dysfunction. Methods: Medical records of 813 horses presenting to the treadmill facility that had a complete treadmill examination, including ABG analysis, TW and URT endoscopy were selected. Diagnoses, ABG ...
Walker HJ, Evans DL, Slocombe RF, Hodgson JL, Hodgson DR.Intrapulmonary blood causes an inflammatory response. Modifying this inflammatory response may be useful in the treatment of exercise induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH). Objective: To evaluate the efficacy of 3 treatments, an oral bronchodilator, inhaled steroid and oral steroid in modifying the cellular response to intrapulmonary blood inoculation. Methods: Experimental design was a randomised block divided into 4 experimental segments of 2 weeks. Eight normal horses were randomly assigned to pairs and treatments. Autologous blood was inoculated into the lungs on 4 occasions over an 8 week ...
Tennent-Brown BS.Spinal cord injury (SCI) in horses may arise from rearing and falling backward, collisions, kicks, and slipping. The pathophysiology of SCI comprises a primary mechanical injury followed by a cascade of secondary events. These secondary events include microvascular ischemia, oxidative stress, excitotoxicity, ion dysregulation, and inflammation. It is often the severity of secondary injury that limits the restoration of neurologic function. Clinical signs after SCI depend on the location of the lesion and the relative amount of damage to the gray and white matter. Acute management of SCI should...
Koch C, Straub R, Ramseyer A, Widmer A, Robinson NE, Gerber V.Although endoscopic scoring of the tracheal septum thickness is used as a diagnostic tool for evaluation of lower airway disease, its clinical relevance and reliability have never been critically assessed in the horse. Objective: To investigate if septum thickness scores (STS) are reliable and serve as a clinically useful indicator of lower airway disease status and/or inflammation. Methods: The variance of STS attributable to the horse, observer and changes over time was determined. The distribution of STS in a population of clinically normal horses and correlations of STS with age, gender, a...
Marsh PS.Although not common in horses, fire and smoke inhalation trauma may require veterinary assistance at several levels. Most commonly, the equine clinician is called on to provide care of potentially complex and emotionally charged cases. Thermal injury, along with smoke inhalation, can cause local and diffuse lesions. Massive tissue edema may occur, which can be a challenge to manage as well as creating organ dysfunction at distant sites. Further complications of severely affected patients are varied and include life-threatening sepsis. This article reviews some of the important features of this...
Joyce J.Injuries to synovial structures are common in horses and may be life threatening or career ending if severe. Early recognition and initiation of aggressive treatment in the form of appropriate systemic and local antimicrobial therapy and surgical treatment improve the likelihood of a good outcome. Chronic injuries and delayed treatment may result in progression of infection into tendons, bone, and other structures, thus complicating treatment and resulting in a poorer prognosis for return to function.
Soffler C.Oxidative stress refers to the cellular injury and pathologic change that occurs when there is an imbalance favoring oxidants over antioxidants within a living organism. In human medicine, oxidative stress has been implicated in numerous disease processes, which has led to further research into the clinical benefits and efficacy of antioxidant therapy. The evaluation of oxidative stress in the horse has been limited primarily to ischemia-reperfusion injury of the gastrointestinal tract, recurrent airway obstruction, exercise, osteoarthritis, equine motor neuron disease, and pituitary pars inte...
Oikawa M, Ohnami Y, Koike M, Park CH, Oyamada T.To evaluate the effects of endotoxin on the morphology of the equine central, autonomic and enteric nervous system and intestinal muscularis, six Thoroughbred horses with experimentally induced endotoxaemia were examined. The lesions in the central nervous system consisted of perivascular oedema around arterioles, suggesting brain oedema, and ring haemorrhages around veins, similar to those in human patients with septic shock. In the cranial mesenteric ganglia, neuronal cell bodies became pink or red, with shrinkage of cytoplasm indicative of ischaemic changes; intramural and perivascular infi...
Parsons CS, Orsini JA, Krafty R, Capewell L, Boston R.To identify risk factors for development of acute laminitis in horses during hospitalization for illness or injury. Methods: Retrospective case-control study. Methods: 73 horses that developed laminitis (case horses) and 146 horses that did not develop laminitis (control horses) during hospitalization. Methods: Case and control horses were matched in a 2:1 ratio by the date on which each horse was evaluated. Potential risk factors investigated included age, breed, and sex; highest and lowest values recorded during hospitalization for fibrinogen concentration, WBC count, PCV, and total solids c...
Künzle F, Gerber V, Van Der Haegen A, Wampfler B, Straub R, Marti E.Recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) is a common condition in stabled horses characterized by small airway inflammation, airway neutrophilia and obstruction following exposure of susceptible horses to mouldy hay and straw and is thus regarded as a hypersensitivity reaction to mould spores. However, the role of immunoglobulin E antibodies (IgE) in the pathogenesis of RAO is unclear. We hypothesized that the number of cells with receptor-bound IgE in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) and IgE levels in serum would be higher in RAO-affected than in healthy horses living in the same environment. Th...
Coudry V, Thibaud D, Riccio B, Audigié F, Didierlaurent D, Denoix JM.To evaluate the efficacy of tiludronate for the treatment of horses with signs of pain associated with lesions of the thoracolumbar vertebral column. Methods: 29 horses with clinical manifestations of pain associated with lesions of the thoracolumbar vertebral column and abnormal radiographic findings indicative of osteoarthritis of the articular processes-synovial intervertebral joints. Methods: Horses were initially examined in accordance with a standardized protocol, which included radiographic, ultrasonographic, and scintigraphic examinations. Fifteen horses were randomly assigned to recei...
Scudamore CL, Pemberton A, Watson ED, Miller HR.Studies have demonstrated that as a result of proteolytic inactivation or complex formation (with neutrophil elastase), human alpha-1-proteinase inhibitor (API) becomes a potent chemoattractant for human neutrophils. The present study aimed to investigate the in vitro chemotactic response of equine neutrophils to an equivalent complex of equine API and neutrophil elastase. No evidence of neutrophil migration was observed towards purified complex derived from equine neutrophil elastase and the Spi 1 isoform of equine API, or to crude mixtures of porcine pancreatic elastase and unseparated equin...
Frean SP, Gettinby G, May SA, Lees P.Proteoglycan (PG) release, in response to recombinant human interleukin-1beta (rh-IL-1beta), was measured in cartilage explants obtained from the equine distal sesamoid bone (navicular bone). Fibrocartilage from the surface of the navicular bone apposing the deep digital flexor tendon and hyaline cartilage from the surface of the navicular bone articulating with the middle phalanx were labelled with 35SO4. Hyaline cartilage from the distal metacarpus was used as a control tissue. Following radiolabel incorporation, the three cartilage types were treated with rh-IL-1beta (100 U/mL) in the prese...
Pearson W, Orth MW, Lindinger MI.Herbs are an increasingly popular treatment option for horses with cartilage inflammation, despite a relative paucity of research demonstrating efficacy. The research objective was to evaluate the differential anti-inflammatory and chondroprotective efficacy of a simulated digest of indomethacin and a commercially available herbal product in a cartilage model of osteoarthritis. Cartilage explant was integrated with simulated digestion of indomethacin and the herbal product in order to account, at least in part, for the actions of major digestive enzymes and pH. The resulting digests were ultra...
Ceusters JD, Mouithys-Mickalad AA, Franck TJ, Derochette S, Vanderplasschen A, Deby-Dupont GP, Serteyn DA.Horses are particularly sensitive to excessive inflammatory reaction where myeloperoxidase, a marker of inflammation, may contribute to mitochondrial dysfunctions. This study investigated the interaction between myeloperoxidase and cultured primary equine skeletal myoblasts, particularly its effect on mitochondrial respiration combined or not with anoxia followed by reoxygenation (AR). We showed that active myeloperoxidase entered into the cells, interacted with mitochondria and decreased routine and maximal respirations. When combined with AR, myeloperoxidase caused a further decrease of thes...
Higgins AJ, Lees P, Sedgwick AD, Buick AR, Churchus R.In a two-part cross-over experiment in six ponies, an acute inflammatory reaction was generated by injecting carrageenin solution into subcutaneously-implanted tissue-cages lined with fibrovascular granulation tissue. In each part of the cross-over, half of the ponies received a novel phenylpyrazoline anti-inflammatory agent (BW540C) orally and half received a placebo treatment. BW540C inhibited platelet cyclo-oxygenase for 24 h but the reductions in exudate eicosanoid concentrations were less pronounced. A significant suppression in the rise of surface skin temperature in BW540C-treated ponie...
Meschter CL, Craig D, Hackett R.This investigation examines the histological and ultrastructural lesions of the colonic mucosa during terminal experimental infarction and subsequent reperfusion. Four ponies were anaesthetised and subjected to surgical torsion of the colon. Biopsies were collected at hourly intervals for 3 h, at which point the torsions were corrected. Circulation was re-established for 2 h and the bowel was re-biopsied at hourly intervals. The ponies were killed while under anaesthesia. During the 3 h experimental infarction, the bowel became macroscopically thickened and dark purple. Histologically, the muc...
Van Hoogmoed LM, Snyder JR, Nieto JG, Harmon FA, Timmerman BL.To determine effect of leukocyte depletion on hematologic, morphologic, and metabolic variables of equine jejunum after induction of arterial low-flow ischemia and reperfusion by use of an extracorporeal circuit. Methods: 14 healthy adult horses. Methods: A segment of jejunum was surgically removed and maintained in an isolated circuit for 3 hours (control group), arterial flow was reduced to 20% of baseline for 40 minutes followed by 1 hour of reperfusion (low-flow group), or leukocyte depletion was filter-induced, and low-flow ischemia and reperfusion were conducted as in the low-flow contro...
Leiva M, Peña T, Armengou L, Cesarini C, Monreal L.Septicemia in humans is described as a leading cause of uveitis, which eventually can induce blindness. Objective: Uveal inflammatory findings could be related to sepsis severity in newborn foals and might be used as an indirect indicator for survival. Methods: Seventy-four septic foals, 54 nonseptic foals, and 42 healthy foals. Methods: Prospective observational clinical study. A detailed blinded, ophthalmic examination was performed by boarded ophthalmologists on all admitted newborn foals. Foals were grouped as septic (when blood culture resulted positive or the sepsis score was > or =14...
Medeiros do Nascimento RC, Graboschii ACG, da Fonseca LS, Silva AR, Souto PC, da Fonseca LA, Goulart MOF, Escodro PB.In most animals, pain can compromise physiological functions and delay healing so, rapid detection of pain through behavior and inflammatory reaction with biomarkers are necessary. This study aimed to evaluate pain, physiological variations and Acute Phase Proteins (APP) in donkeys undergoing orchiectomy technique by inguinal access. For this research, 15 male northeastern donkeys kept in extensive management were selected, with a mean age of 4.5±3.1 years. All animals had the same anesthetic protocol, using dissociative anesthesia and local block with lidocaine, followed by orchiectomy by in...
Sharkey LC, DeWitt S, Stockman C.A 23-year-old Thoroughbred gelding was referred for the evaluation of acute onset of ataxia and depression, and a 2-day history of fever. On physical examination, the gelding was profoundly depressed and 10-12% dehydrated. The horse appeared very unstable, with a wide-based stance in the hind limbs, severe symmetric ataxia in all 4 limbs, and proprioceptive deficits in both hind limbs. Nasogastric intubation produced 4 L of brown, fetid reflux, and rectal examination revealed mild small intestinal and cecal distention. Hematologic abnormalities included neutropenia with toxic change, compatibl...
Weiss DJ, Evanson OA, McClenahan D, Fagliari JJ, Dunnwiddie CT, Wells RE.To determining whether inhibition of platelet aggregation prevents development of carbohydrate overload-induced alimentary laminitis. Methods: 22 healthy adult ponies. Methods: Acute laminitis was induced by oral administration of corn starch/wood flour to 16 ponies, 8 of which were treated with a synthetic analogue of the platelet fibrinogen receptor antagonist peptide (RPR) RGDS (arginine-glycine-aspartic acid-serine) 110885; 6 ponies served as negative controls. Blood was collected before and at 4, 8, 12, 24, 28, and 32 hours after administration of carbohydrate overload, and PCV, total pla...
Díez de Castro E, Zafra R, Acevedo LM, Pérez J, Acosta I, Rivero JL, Aguilera-Tejero E.Equine motor neuron disease (EMND) is a neuromuscular disorder that affects adult horses. Although EMND has been linked to vitamin E deficiency, its etiopathogenesis is poorly understood. Objective: To describe clinical features, laboratory results, and postmortem findings in a series of young horses with motor neuron disease (MND). Methods: A herd of 15 young Andalusian horses with weakness, weight loss, muscle atrophy, and muscle fasciculations related to restricted intake of green forage. Methods: A case series is presented in which horses were subjected to a clinical examination and plasma...
Clarke EJ, Gillen A, Turlo A, Peffers MJ.Horses are used in a variety of equestrian disciplines predisposing them to musculoskeletal injury or disease including osteoarthritis and tendinopathy. As a result, a number of preventative measures are used within equine medicine and husbandry, ranging from therapeutic shoeing to the use of nutraceuticals. Despite their popularity and routine use evidence base and clinical outcomes are variable, bringing into question the efficacy of these prophylactic measures. In recent years a small number of studies have been performed examining the effect of specific strategies in order to quantify the ...
Aoki T, Kimura Y, Oya A, Chiba A, Ishii M, Nambo Y.Heavy draft mares potentially have a higher risk of suffering from postpartum fever (PF) than light breed mares. The purpose of this study was to compare hematological and biochemical features between clinically healthy mares (n=40) and PF-affected mares (n=16). Mares were classified as having PF when their rectal temperature rose to >38.5°C within 96 hr of foaling. The numbers of leukocytes, lymphocytes, and neutrophils and the serum magnesium level were significantly lower in PF-affected mares. The serum SAA and NEFA levels were significantly higher in PF-affected mares. Strong inflammation...
Hermans H, Ensink JM.Distichiasis is very uncommon in horses and treatment options and outcome remain unknown. Objective: To describe treatment and long-term follow-up of distichiasis in the horse. Methods: Retrospective clinical study. Methods: Case records of horses admitted for diagnosis and treatment of uni- or bilateral distichiasis between 2003 and 2012 were reviewed. Long-term (>6 months after last treatment) follow-up was by telephone conversation with the owner or referring veterinarian. Data were analysed using a Chi-squared test. Results: Eighteen cases were identified, of which 17 were Friesians. All h...
Farnsworth KD, White NA, Robertson J.To determine the effect of intra-articular gentamicin-impregnated polymethylmethacrylate (PMMA) beads inserted in the equine tarsocrural joint on the synovial fluid, synovial lining, and cartilage, and to determine the peak and sustainable gentamicin concentrations in synovial fluid and plasma. Methods: Pharmacokinetic, cytologic, and histologic study of the effect of gentamicin-impregnated PMMA on normal equine tarsocrural joints. Methods: Five healthy adult horses. Methods: Gentamicin-impregnated PMMA bead strands (3 strands each of 40 beads, with each strand containing 100 mg gentamicin) we...
Barsuren E, Namkhai B, Kong HS.The objective of this study was to assess differences in serum protein expression profiles of Przewalski's (Mongolian wild horse) and thoroughbred horses using proteome analysis. The serum proteins were separated by two-dimensional electrophoresis (2-DE) and five different gene products were identified. Proteins represented by the five spots were identified by matrix-assisted laser desorption ionization-time-of-flight (MALDI-TOF) mass spectrometry (MS)/MS technology. The identities of all proteins were deduced based on their similarity to proteins in the human plasma protein database. Three pr...
Votion D, Vandenput S, Duvivier DH, Lambert P, Art T, Lekeux P.This study proposed a standardized method for measuring alveolar epithelium membrane permeability in the horse. The normal rate of clearance (%.min-1) from lung into blood of nebulized 99mTc-DTPA has been established for healthy horses (Group A) compared with values obtained with horses suffering from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD; Group B). The 99mTc-DTPA clearance was measured in the caudoventral (R1) and in the half caudal (R2) parts of the left lung during different time intervals. The two regions aimed to define the influence of the airways on measured clearance (R2 containe...
Foster AP, McCabe PJ, Sanjar S, Cunningham FM.Eosinophils are believed to play an important part in the pathogenesis of equine diseases such as helminth infestation and the allergic skin disease, sweet itch. It has been shown that adherence of human eosinophils to the connective tissue matrix protein fibronectin enhances cell activation and survival time. If adherence causes similar changes in the properties of equine eosinophils, cell-induced tissue damage at a site of parasitic infestation or allergic response would be exacerbated. However, investigation of this hypothesis requires identification of mediators that cause equine eosinophi...
Matsuda K, Suzuki H, Tsunoda N, Taniyama H.A 22-year-old Thoroughbred stallion had severe left jugular thrombophlebitis. Macroscopic and microscopic examinations revealed extension of the lesions from a penetrating ulcer on the left buccal mucosa to the underlying muscle and local vein, and sequentially to the left jugular vein. This was a rare case of equine jugular thrombophlebitis caused by direct extension of infection from a traumatic oral lesion.
Haseler CJ, Jarvis GE, McGovern KF.Intrasynovial corticosteroid injections are commonly used in the treatment of equine orthopaedic disease, but corticosteroid administration is widely considered a risk factor for the development of laminitis. Despite a list of putative mechanisms and a number of case reports of steroid-induced laminitis, no case-control or cohort studies investigating the association between use of intrasynovial corticosteroids and acute laminitis have been published. Objective: To quantify the risk of laminitis posed by intrasynovial triamcinolone acetonide (TA) administration in a mixed population of horses....
Wagner IP, Rees CA, Dunstan RW, Credille KM, Hood DM.To determine whether systemic immunologic hyperreactivity exists in horses with chronic laminitis, compared with responses for nonlaminitic horses. Methods: 7 nonlaminitic horses and 7 CL horses. Methods: In experiment 1, intradermal testing (IDT) was performed on 7 nonlaminitic and 7 CL horses to evaluate the response to a combination of 70 allergens at 15 and 30 minutes and 4 and 24 hours after injection. Three nonlaminitic and 3 CL horses used in experiment 1 were used in experiment 2 to determine whether histologic differences existed between the 2 groups. The H&E-stained tissue sectio...
Farley J, Sirois J, MacFarlane PH, Kombé A, Laverty S.To characterize expression of cyclooxygenase-2 (COX-2) and microsomal prostaglandin E synthase-1 (mPGES-1) and regulation of prostaglandin E2 (PGE2) production by equine articular chondrocytes. Methods: Articular cartilage from the metacarpophalangeal joints of 7 adult horses. Methods: Equine chondrocyte monolayer cultures were stimulated with different concentrations (2.5, 5, 10, and 20 ng/mL) of recombinant human interleukin-1beta (rhIL-1beta) for 24 hours and then with rhIL-1beta (5 ng/mL) for 3, 6, 9, 12, and 24 hours. Concentration of PGE2 in the media was measured via radioimmunoassay. T...
Kilcoyne I, Nieto JE, Watson JL, Galuppo LD, Borjesson DL.Endotoxemia is a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in the equine industry, with colic being the most common cause of endotoxemia in horses. The objective of this study was to evaluate the safety and potential efficacy of a single dose of allogeneic equine bone marrow derived mesenchymal stem cells (BM-MSCs) in horses after the IV administration of lipopolysaccharide (LPS). Six horses were administered an IV infusion of 30 ng/kg LPS (O55:B5 Escherichia coli) in 500 ml saline over 30 min. Immediately after infusion test horses (n = 3) were administered 100 × 10 allogeneic BM-MSCs diluted...
Moore RM, Muir WW, Bertone AL, Beard WL, Stromberg PC.Thirty horses were randomly assigned to 1 of 5 groups. All horses were anesthetized and subjected to ventral midline celiotomy, then the large colon was exteriorized and instrumented. Colonic arterial blood flow was reduced to 20% of baseline (BL) and was maintained for 3 hours. Colonic blood flow was then restored, and the colon was reperfused for an additional 3 hours. One of 5 drug solutions was administered via the jugular vein 30 minutes prior to colonic reperfusion: group 1, 0.9% NaCl; group 2, dimethyl sulfoxide: 1 g/kg of body weight; group 3, allopurinol: 25 mg/kg; group 4, 21-aminost...
Fukuda K, Mita H, Tamura N, Kuroda T, Kuwano A, Takahashi T, Sato F.Persistent synovitis damages the articular cartilage in horses. To evaluate the effectiveness of treatment for synovitis using a model induced by intra-articular administration of monoiodoacetic acid (MIA), it is necessary to identify inflammatory biomarkers characteristic of the MIA model. Synovitis was induced by administering MIA into the unilateral antebrachiocarpal joints of five horses, and saline was injected into the contralateral joints as a control on day 0. Clinical and ultrasonographic examinations and synovial fluid collection were performed on days 0, 1, 2, 7, 14, 21, 28, and 35....
Jaworska J, Ropka-Molik K, Kowalczyk-Zięba I, Boruszewska D, Wocławek-Potocka I, Siemieniuch M.Physiological parturition is characterized by sterile, inflammatory-like processes. During parturition, the placenta expresses various proinflammatory mediators, such as chemokines and IL-17. Nevertheless, inflammatory processes present in the parturient mare are poorly characterized. The aim of this study was to investigate the expression of selected chemokines and IL-17 in the allantochorion and the endometrium of mares that retained fetal membranes (RFM) and expelled them physiologically. We hypothesized that the expression of these mediators may be altered in the placenta of mares with RFM...
Elemmawy YM, Senna NA, Abu-Seida AM, Youssef AF.Injury of suspensory ligament (SL) branch is a frequently diagnosed problem in horses of different ages and disciplines. This case reports for the first time the ultrasonography, computed tomography (CT), magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) findings in a 10-year-old draught horse with traumatic chronic SL branch desmitis of 8 months duration. The horse had a grade 3 of 5 left hindlimb lameness with a moderately hot, painful, and diffuse swelling from the tarsus till the hoof. Ultrasonography, both SL branches appeared as enlarged hyperechogenic structures with poor demarcation of their margins a...
Hussein H, Boyaka P, Dulin J, Bertone A.Cathepsin K (CatK) is an important enzyme regulating bone degradation and has been shown to contribute to the immune response. We have studied two inflammatory models in equine bone marrow nucleated cells (BMNCs); the LPS and the unmethylated CpG stimulation with the following objectives to: 1.determine whether CatK inhibition will alter the cytokine secretion by stimulated BMNCs; specifically IL-1β, IL-6, and TNF-α, and 2.determine the changes in BMNCs surface markers' expression and MHC II molecule under CatK inhibition. Cathepsin K inhibition promoted BMNCs viability and reduced cell apop...
Venugopal CS, Moore RM, Holmes EP, Koch CE, Seahorn TL, Beadle RE.To compare responses of bronchial rings obtained from healthy horses and horses affected with summer pasture-associated obstructive pulmonary disease (SPAOPD) to selected mediators of airway hyperreactivity in vitro. Methods: Bronchial rings from 6 healthy horses and 6 horses affected with SPAOPD. Methods: Bronchial rings obtained from each group of horses were mounted in organ baths and attached to force transducers interfaced with a polygraph. After applying 2g of tension, each ring was allowed to equilibrate for 45 minutes in Tyrode's solution at 37 C. Cumulative concentration-response rela...
