Joint health in horses involves the study of anatomical structures such as cartilage, synovial fluid, ligaments, and bones that contribute to the function and mobility of equine joints. Research in this area focuses on understanding the physiology of equine joints, the mechanisms of joint disorders, and the effects of wear and tear over time. Common joint issues in horses include osteoarthritis, synovitis, and joint effusion, which can impact performance and quality of life. Diagnostic techniques often involve imaging, synovial fluid analysis, and clinical evaluation to assess joint condition. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the anatomy, pathology, diagnostics, and therapeutic approaches related to joint health in horses.
King MR, Colla S.Rehabilitation following muscle injury is critical in restoring the equine athlete to full function. Rehabilitation protocols should be tailored to each patient's global functional assessment, taking into account sports-specific demands, goals for return-to-performance, and overall prognosis. Rehabilitation protocols are often designed to modulate pain, enhance repair, improve proprioception, increase flexibility, restore muscle strength, joint range-of-motion, and neuromotor control. This article will review mechanisms of muscle injury, various physical modalities commonly employed in the reh...
Walters M, Skovgaard K, Heegaard PMH, Fang Y, Kharaz YA, Bundgaard L, Skovgaard LT, Jensen HE, Andersen PH, Peffers MJ, Jacobsen S.MicroRNAs, a class of small noncoding RNAs, serve as post-transcriptional regulators of gene expression and are present in a stable and quantifiable form in biological fluids. MicroRNAs may influence intra-articular responses and the course of disease, but very little is known about their temporal changes in osteoarthritis. Objective: To identify miRNAs and characterise the temporal changes in their abundance in SF from horses with experimentally induced osteoarthritis. We hypothesised that the abundance of miRNA would change during disease progression. Methods: In vivo experiments. Methods: R...
Ahmad I, Ijaz S, Usman MM, Safdar A, Khan IU, Zeeshan M, Bukhari SSUH.Measuring limb joint angles is crucial for understanding horse conformation, performance, injury diagnosis, and prevention. While Thoroughbred horses have been extensively studied, local Pakistani breeds (e.g., Morna racehorse) have not received scientific attention. This study aimed to quantify normal angles of limb joints in the Morna breed. Limb joint angles of standing horses (n = 50) were quantified using a measuring tape, height stick, protractor scale, and goniometer. The mean and standard deviation (Mean ± SD) values for the forelimb joint angles were 123.02 ± 3.46° for elbow, 171.5...
Koziy RV, Katselis GS, Yoshimura S, Simko E, Bracamonte JL.Prompt diagnosis of equine septic arthritis is crucial for successful treatment. Serum amyloid A (SAA) has been suggested as a reliable biomarker. However, we previously found that synovial fluid SAA increases in nonaffected joints of horses with septic arthritis. We hypothesized that systemic SAA may leak into the nonaffected joints. If this is the case, we also hypothesized that locally produced joint SAA isoforms may be better candidates for septic arthritis biomarkers. Thus, our objectives were 1) to evaluate the temporal kinetics of systemic and synovial fluid SAA in horses with septic ar...
Costa GL, Tabbì M, Bruschetta G, Spadola F, Leonardi F, Bruno F, Iannelli NM, Licata P, Macrì F, Passino ES, Macrì D, Interlandi C.The study aimed to evaluate the analgesic efficacy of tapentadol in horses, by determining plasma serotonin concentration and adrenocortical response, as biomarkers of pain stress in chronic joint disorders. Thirty-six horses (20 females and 16 males) were divided into three groups of 12 subjects each: group A, osteoarthritis (OA), grade 3-4 lameness; group B, OA, grade 5 lameness; and group C, no OA, no lameness, were enrolled. The orthopedic examination included flexion tests, and radiological and ultrasound examinations. The degree of lameness has been estimated from 0 to 5 according to the...
Guidoni K, Chiaradia E, Pepe M, Di Meo A, Tognoloni A, Seccaroni M, Beccati F.Intra-articular corticosteroids, such as triamcinolone acetonide (TA), help reduce pain related to osteoarthritis (OA), but they may impair cartilage metabolism. In contrast, platelet-rich plasma (PRP) therapy, a regenerative therapy, has shown potential to promote healing and regeneration of articular cartilage. This study investigates the effects of combining PRP with TA to treat osteoarthritis in racehorses. The study proposes that PRP injection following TA treatment could reduce side effects and improve treatment outcomes. Firstly, in the in vitro study, chondrocytes were exposed to diffe...
Korac L, Golestani N, MacNicol J, Souccar-Young J, Witherspoon S, Wildish A, Topfer S, Pearson W.The purpose was to determine local (articular) and systemic effects of intra-articular interleukin-1 in horses supplemented with a dietary PUFA supplement [STRUCTURE-Joint (ST-J)]. Sixteen (16) healthy, mature, light breed horses were randomly assigned to diets containing 0 or 120 mL (n = 8 per group) of ST-J for 30 d. On days 0 (prior to beginning supplementation) and 27, recombinant equine interleukin-1β (reIL-1 β) (75 ng) was injected into the left or right intercarpal joint to induce mild, transient synovitis. Synovial fluid was obtained by aseptic arthrocentesis at postinjection hou...
Terlinden A, Jacquet S, Manivong S, Cullier A, Cassé F, Legendre F, Garcia AA, Roullin G, Moldovan F, Sirois P, Banquy X, Galéra P, Audigié F....Osteoarthritis is a leading cause of pain and retirement in athletic horses. Hydro-expansive functionalized nanogels, acting as Drug Delivery Systems, constitute one of the current therapeutic prospects. These nanogels have the potential to combine mechanical benefits through polymers with the biological effect of prolonged release of bioactive molecules. The purpose of this double-blinded randomized tolerance study versus negative control was to evaluate the response of healthy joints to a single injection of the expected efficient dose (further referred to as the trial dose) and overdose of ...
Elkhenany HA, Linardi RL, Ortved KF.Osteoarthritis (OA) remains a challenging joint disorder necessitating effective anti-inflammatory interventions. In this study, our primary objective was to establish an in vitro protocol that replicates the clinical investigation of anti-inflammatory drugs intended for OA management. Focusing on recombinant IL-10 (r.IL-10) as a potential anti-inflammatory treatment, we designed and implemented two distinct protocols to evaluate the efficacy of r.IL-10 in modulating chondrocyte and synoviocyte inflammation.The experimental design involved sequential stimulation with IL-1β and TNF-α for 24 ...
Crecan CM, Ciulu-Angelescu V, Morar IA, Lupșan AF, Tripon MA, Tripon MA, Bungărdean D, Daradics Z, Peștean CP.Global technological advancements have shifted equine lameness diagnostics from purely subjective assessment toward more objective, quantitative methods. Traditional gait evaluations are increasingly being supplemented by innovative technologies to enhance diagnostic accuracy. Unassigned: This study aimed to determine if traditional gait assessment could be effectively complemented by quantitative measurements using an affordable, self-constructed device, the Lameness Detector 0.1, which incorporates inertial motion sensors. Unassigned: A total of 42 adult sport horses diagnosed with hindleg l...
Seabaugh K, Rao S, Koenig JB, Pezzanite L, Dow S, Koch TG, Russell KA, Mehrpouyan S, Alizadeh AH, Goodrich LR.Synovitis is present before and during osteoarthritis in horses and can result in performance-limiting lameness. Twenty-four horses with lameness localized to the metacarpo-/metatarsophalangeal joint or a single joint of the carpus were enrolled in this study. We evaluated the response of intra-articular injection with 10 million activated (aMSC) or non-activated (naMSC) allogeneic equine umbilical cord blood-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs). Subjective and objective lameness was assessed on Days 0, 1, 21, and 42. The treatment injection was randomly assigned and performed following th...
Charles A, Peeters X, Verbrugghe C, Vandersmissen M, Evrard L, Busoni V.The Pivot Point (PP) method is commonly used in the radiographic assessment of carpal deformities in young foals, as the range of deviation may influence treatment choice. The aims of this study were to assess the intra- and interobserver reproducibility of the PP method and subjective radiographic evaluation without line drawing to establish the anatomical site responsible for carpal deviation in foals and to evaluate the agreement between these two techniques. Unassigned: Anonymized radiographs of foals presented for investigation of carpal deformity or prematurity were retrospectively and i...
Riley JW, Chance LM, Barshick MR, Johnson SE.Hyaluronic acid (HA), a glycosaminoglycan found in joint synovial fluid, is administered to horses as an anti-inflammatory with lubrication properties. This experiment examined the effects of HA administered before and shortly after an exercise test on metacarpophalangeal (MCP; fetlock) and tibiotarsal (hock) joint range of motion (ROM). Horses were injected intravenously (IV) with placebo (4 mL, saline) or HA (4 mL, 40 mg) 24 h before performing a standardized exercise test (SET) on a high-speed treadmill and again at 6-h post-SET. Passive fetlock flexion was measured at 4 and 24 h post-...
Bundgaard L, Årman F, Åhrman E, Walters M, Auf dem Keller U, Malmström J, Jacobsen S.In human proteomics, substantial efforts are ongoing to leverage large collections of mass spectrometry (MS) fragment ion spectra into extensive spectral libraries (SL) as a resource for data independent acquisition (DIA) analysis. Currently, such initiatives in equine research are still missing. Here we present a large-scale equine SL, comprising 6394 canonical proteins and 89,329 unique peptides, based on data dependent acquisition analysis of 75 tissue and body fluid samples from horses. The SL enabled large-scale DIA-MS based quantification of the same samples to generate a quantitative eq...
Van Cauter R, Caudron I, Lejeune JP, Rousset A, Serteyn D.Osteochondral fragments within equine joints are commonly encountered and may predispose to lameness and limitation to sport purposes. Factors leading to this condition include genetic, nutritional and environmental conditions. However, few studies have evaluated the impact of conformation traits and their correlation with osteochondrosis. This study, based on the radiographic screenings of young horses born in Wallonia (266 individuals, 532 forelimbs), evaluated the correlation between foot, fetlock conformations of the front limb, height at the withers and presence of osteochondral fragments...
Argue BJ, Ahern BJ.The veterinary yearling pre-sale repository radiographs have the potential to impact both vendor and prospective purchaser. The primary aim of this study was to determine inter-observer agreement for orthopaedic lesions identified in thoroughbred yearling repository radiographs. A secondary goal was to determine agreement when using a pre-defined risk rating classification. Unassigned: Three experienced specialist equine surgeons (2 ACVS & 1 FANZCVS) interpreted thirty repository radiographs once each for radiographic abnormalities. Each radiographic abnormality was given an associated ris...
Hosek L, James RJ, Taylor WTT.Among the most widely used methods for understanding human-horse relationships in the archaeological record is the identification of human skeletal pathologies associated with mounted horseback riding. In particular, archaeologists encountering specific bony changes to the hip, femur, and lower back often assert a causal link between these features and prolonged periods of mounted horseback riding. The identification of these features have recently been used to assert the early practice of mounted horseback riding among the Yamnaya culture of western Eurasia during the third and fourth millenn...
Malekipour F, Whitton RC, Lee PV.This review synthesizes recent advancements in understanding subchondral bone (SCB) biomechanics using computed tomography (CT) and micro-computed tomography (micro-CT) imaging in large animal models, particularly horses. Results: Recent studies highlight the complexity of SCB biomechanics, revealing variability in density, microstructure, and biomechanical properties across the depth of SCB from the joint surface, as well as at different joint locations. Early SCB abnormalities have been identified as predictive markers for both osteoarthritis (OA) and stress fractures. The development of sta...
Bonilla Lemos Pizzi GL, Holz K, Kowalski ÉA, Fonseca Ribeiro P, Blake R, Ferreira Martins C.The esbarrada and volta sobre patas manoeuvres are critical in Criollo horse equestrian activities, yet their kinematics remain largely unexplored. This observational study aimed to kinematically describe the manoeuvres in Criollo breed horses and explore the relationship between static goniometry and dynamics. A 2D kinematic analysis was conducted on 31 Criollo horses performing the manoeuvres using high-speed cameras. Joint angles were measured using static goniometry and analysed in relation to dynamic performance. The esbarrada covered a distance of 4.28 ± 0.99 m in 1.15 ± 0.11 s at a ve...
Fukuda K, Mita H, Kuroda T, Tamura N, Kuwano A, Sato F, Takahashi T.To clarify the anti-inflammatory effect of platelet lysate (PL) on equine persistent synovitis by using a model of synovitis induced by monoiodoacetic acid (MIA). Methods: Nonseptic synovitis was induced by administering MIA into both antebrachiocarpal joints of 6 clinically healthy horses on day 0. On days 23, 30, and 37, carpal circumference measurement and synovial fluid collection for assays (leucocytes, LDH, tumor necrosis factor-α, and TGF-β1) were performed, after which PL was injected into 1 antebrachiocarpal joint and saline into the contralateral joint. Synovium and synovial fluid ...
de Souza AF, Pereira CAM, Fürst A, Kümmerle JM, De Zoppa ALDV.The implantation of unicortical cortex screws in the proximal hole of locking compression plates (LCP) has been recommended for proximal interphalangeal (PIP) arthrodesis in horses to prevent fractures resulting from stress risers in the proximal phalanx (P1). However, this cortex screw fixation technique may limit efficient dorsal compression of the PIP joint by the plate, potentially affecting the stability of the construct. In this study, we aimed to measure stress and strain in P1 and the plate using an ex vivo model of PIP arthrodesis in horses. We employed various implantation methods an...
Data in briefAugust 3, 2024
Volume 56 110799 doi: 10.1016/j.dib.2024.110799
Gmel AI, Lamas LP, Rosa TV, Stefaniuk-Szmukier M, Klecel W, Martin-Gimenez T, Cruz A, Weishaupt MA, Neuditschko M.Conformation traits are important in the selection and distinction between horse breeds, but tend to be evaluated subjectively within a breed and cannot be compared between them. The horse shape space model, using a combination of 253 landmarks and semi-landmarks, provides objective information on the shape of a horse photographed from the side that can be compared between breeds. In this dataset, we are providing the full set of 253 landmarks for 1241 horses from seven breeds, including an R code file to extract joint angle information and transform the raw data into csv files for further ana...
Osborne C, Elce YA, Byrant B, Meehan-Howard L.To determine with mechanical nociceptive threshold (MNT) testing whether distal limb skin sensation is affected by intra-articular anesthesia of the tarsometatarsal joint (TMTJ). Unassigned: This was a prospective cohort study. Ten client-owned horses that had intra-articular TMTJ anesthesia were included in the study. The MNT was measured at 6 sites on the distal limb at 3 time points: before anesthesia (T0) and at 10 min (T10) and 30 min (T30) post-injection. Linear mixed-model analyses were done, with the significance level set at P < 0.05. Unassigned: There was an increase in MNT (P = 0.00...
Page AE, Johnson M, Parker JL, Jacob O, Poston R, Adams AA, Adam EN.Intra-articular corticosteroids are a popular treatment choice for joint-associated pain and inflammation in horses despite recent work on the metabolic effects of these drugs. The goal of this project was to compare metabolic effects between intra-articular (IA) triamcinolone acetonide (TA) and an autologous protein solution (APS). Five mixed-breed geldings (4-9 years) were utilized for this project. Three identical and consecutive 28-day treatment blocks were used, with metacarpophalangeal IA treatments consisting of equal volumes of saline, a commercially available APS, or 9 mg of TA. Regul...
Usimaki A, Ciamillo SA, Barot D, Linardi RL, Engiles JB, Ortved KF.Autologous protein solution (APS) has been shown to decrease lameness in horses with osteoarthritis (OA). Synovitis is an early driver of OA, providing an opportunity to intervene in the progression of disease via intra-articular (IA) therapeutics. Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of a single IA APS injection in horses with interleukin-1β (IL-1β)-induced synovitis. We hypothesised that APS would decrease joint swelling and lameness, improve synovial fluid parameters and improve joint pathology scores in horses compared with untreated controls. Methods: Ra...
Ripollés-Lobo M, Molina A, Novales M, Ziadi C, Hernández E, Valera M.Osteochondrosis (OC) is a developmental orthopaedic disease of significant concern in numerous sport horse breeds, with significant international relevance. Using digital radiographs, we assessed the occurrence of hock (tarsocrural joint) OC in 3 048 Pura Raza Española (PRE) horses which took part in a morpho-functional test, in three specific locations in the tarsus limbs: the Distal Intermediate Ridge of the Tibia (DIRT), the lateral trochlear ridges of the talus (LTT), and the medial trochlear ridges of the talus (MTT). An incidence rate of 13.3% was found for hock OC in the analysed samp...
Bertuglia A, Pallante M, Pagliara E, Valle D, Bergamini L, Bollo E, Bullone M, Riccio B.Tarsocrural osteochondrosis (OCD) is a developmental orthopedic disease commonly affecting young Standardbreds, with different fragment localization and size. Clinically, it is characterized by variable synovial effusion in the absence of lameness, whose determinants are ill-defined. We hypothesized that localization and physical characteristics of the osteochondral fragments like dimensions, multifragmentation, and instability influence joint effusion and correlate with synovial markers of cartilage degradation and inflammation. Clinical data, synovial fluid and intact osteochondral fragments...
Son JK, De Paz P, Kim J, Sanaei R, Seungho R, Bailey S, Davies HMS.The risk of carpal injury in racehorses may be related to the morphology, yet whether carpal morphologies are set from birth or change through growth remains unclear. Objective: To quantify carpal bone changes through growth. Methods: Twenty privately owned Thoroughbred foals born between January 2022 and May 2023 were radiographed bimonthly from birth to 10 months of age. Imprint training was used to take radiographs safely without chemical restraints. Fifteen individual and 11 relative angular carpal parameters were measured using ImageJ on dorsopalmar radiographs of the carpus at zero degre...
Davidson EJ, Stefanovski D, Slack J, Manzi TJ.Cervical articular process joint (CAPJ) therapy is advocated for horses with neck disorders. Several ultrasound-guided CAPJ techniques have been described in cadaver studies with 72%-89% intra-articular injection accuracy; however, the CAPJ injection accuracy in clinical equine practice has not been extensively reported. Objective: To describe a modified cranial approach for ultrasound-guided caudal CAPJ injections, to investigate the accuracy of this CAPJ injection technique in live horses, and to assess the effect of CAPJ injection location, laterality, operator, and radiographic CAPJ enlarg...
Stedman JM, Lutter JD, Hallman C, Laverty S, Richard H, Santschi EM.High-field MRI of the equine stifle provides high-resolution information about soft tissues that is useful in the diagnosis of stifle lameness. The aim of this prospective anatomic study was to describe the appearance, position, size, and shape of the equine femorotibial ligaments, meniscal ligaments, and menisci using 3 Tesla MRI under extended, extended-loaded, and flexed conditions. Additionally, histologic examination of the collateral and cruciate ligaments (CLs) of a single stifle was performed to compare with MRI images. In extension, mild variations in MRI signal intensity were apparen...
Nelson BB, Kawcak CE, Barrett MF, McIlwraith CW, Grinstaff MW, Goodrich LR.Articular cartilage is a critical joint tissue and its evaluation remains a diagnostic challenge in horses. Coupled with a poor capacity for healing, early degenerative changes in articular cartilage are difficult to characterise using routine diagnostic imaging evaluations. Both computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) provide volumetric joint assessment and highlight morphological and quantitative properties of articular cartilage, improving assessment of this essential tissue. While the use of CT and MRI for joint evaluation is not new, there still remains a shortage of...
Grøndahl AM, Dolvik NI.Radiography of the tibiotarsal and metacarpo- and metatarsophalangeal joints was performed on 753 Standardbred trotters (6 to 21 months old) born in 1988. The surveyed population was drawn at random from all parts of Norway and represented about 60% of Standardbred trotters born the same year. Osteochondrosis in the tibiotarsal joint was diagnosed in 108 (14.3%) horses, and the prevalence of disease in progeny groups > 10 ranged from 0 to 69%. Bony fragments in the palmar/plantar portion of the metacarpo- and metatarsophalangeal joints were diagnosed in 89 (11.8%) horses, and the prevalence of...
Fülber J, Maria DA, da Silva LC, Massoco CO, Agreste F, Baccarin RY.Bone marrow and adipose tissues are known sources of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) in horses; however, synovial tissues might be a promising alternative. The aim of this study was to evaluate phenotypic characteristics and differentiation potential of equine MSCs from synovial fluid (SF) and synovial membrane (SM) of healthy joints (SF-H and SM-H), joints with osteoarthritis (SF-OA and SM-OA) and joints with osteochondritis dissecans (SF-OCD and SM-OCD) to determine the most suitable synovial source for an allogeneic therapy cell bank. Methods: Expression of the markers CD90, CD105, CD44, and ...
Camargo Garbin L, Morris MJ.Many alternative treatments aimed at modulating osteoarthritis (OA) progression have been developed in the past decades, including the use of cytokine inhibitors. IL-1β is considered one of the most impactful cytokines in OA disease and therefore, its blockage offers a promising approach for the modulation of OA. Interleukin-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1Ra) is a naturally occurring anti-inflammatory protein belonging to the IL-1 family that competes with IL-1β for occupancy of its receptors, without triggering the same downstream inflammatory response. Because of its natural anti-inflammatory ...
Lecocq M, Girard CA, Fogarty U, Beauchamp G, Richard H, Laverty S.The earliest osteochondrosis (OC) microscopic lesion reported in the literature was present in the femorotibial joint of a 2-day-old foal suggesting that OC lesions and factors initiating them may arise prior to birth. Objective: To examine the developing equine epiphysis to detect histological changes that could be precursors to OC lesions. Methods: Osteochondral samples from 21 equine fetuses and 13 foals were harvested from selected sites in the scapulohumeral, humeroradial, metacarpophalangeal, femoropatellar, femorotibial, tarsocrural and metatarsophalangeal joints. Sections were stained ...
Menarim BC, Gillis KH, Oliver A, Mason C, Werre SR, Luo X, Byron CR, Kalbfleisch TS, MacLeod JN, Dahlgren LA.Synovial inflammation is a central feature of osteoarthritis (OA), elicited when local regulatory macrophages (M2-like) become overwhelmed, activating an inflammatory response (M1-like). Bone marrow mononuclear cells (BMNC) are a source of naïve macrophages capable of reducing joint inflammation and producing molecules essential for cartilage metabolism. This study investigated the response of BMNC to normal (SF) and inflamed synovial fluid (ISF). Equine BMNC cultured in autologous SF or ISF (n = 8 horses) developed into macrophage-rich cultures with phenotypes similar to cells native to no...
Textor JA, Tablin F.(1) To report the clinical and synovial effects of a platelet-rich product (PRPr) in normal equine joints, (2) to assess the persistence of platelets within synovial fluid after intra-articular injection, (3) to compare responses to different preparations of that product, and (4) to evaluate a gravity filtration system for PRPr preparation in horses. Methods: Experimental. Methods: A platelet-rich saline product (PRPr) was prepared from 7 normal horses using a proprietary preparation device and was divided into 3 treatments: resting, CaCl2 -activated (23 mM, final), and bovine thrombin-activ...
Turley SM, Thambyah A, Riggs CM, Firth EC, Broom ND.The palmar aspect of the third metacarpal (MC3) condyle of equine athletes is known to be subjected to repetitive overloading that can lead to the accumulation of joint tissue damage, degeneration, and stress fractures, some of which result in catastrophic failure. However, there is still a need to understand at a detailed microstructural level how this damage progresses in the context of the wider joint tissue complex, i.e. the articular surface, the hyaline and calcified cartilage, and the subchondral bone. MC3 bones from non-fractured joints were obtained from the right forelimbs of 16 Thor...
Hurtig MB, Fretz PB, Doige CE, Schnurr DL.The mechanisms and completeness of equine articular cartilage repair were studied in ten horses over a nine month period. Large (15 mm square) and small (5 mm square) full-thickness lesions were made in weight bearing and nonweight bearing areas of the radiocarpal, middle carpal and femoropatellar joints. The horses were euthanized in groups of two 1, 2.5, 4, 5 and 9 months later. Gross pathology, microradiography, and histopathology were used to evaluate qualitative aspects of articular repair. Computer assisted microdensitometry of safranin-O stained cartilage sections was used to quantitate...
Doucet MY, Bertone AL, Hendrickson D, Hughes F, Macallister C, McClure S, Reinemeyer C, Rossier Y, Sifferman R, Vrins AA, White G, Kunkle B, Alva R....To compare efficacy and safety of paste formulations of firocoxib and phenylbutazone in horses with naturally occurring osteoarthritis. Methods: Randomized controlled clinical trial. Methods: 253 client-owned horses with naturally occurring osteoarthritis. Methods: Horses were treated with firocoxib (0.1 mg/kg [0.045 mg/lb], PO, q 24 h) or phenylbutazone (4.4 mg/kg [2 mg/lb], PO, q 24 h) for 14 days. Physical examinations and lameness evaluations were performed prior to treatment and after 7 and 14 days. Clinical improvement was defined as a reduction of at least 1 lameness grade or a combined...
de Grauw JC, van Loon JP, van de Lest CH, Brunott A, van Weeren PR.Although phenylbutazone (PBZ) is commonly used in equine orthopaedic practice, little is known about its in vivo effects on joint inflammation and cartilage turnover. This study investigates the effects of PBZ on inflammatory parameters, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) activity and cartilage biomarkers in equine joints with acute synovitis. In a two-period cross-over study, transient synovitis was induced at T = 0 h in the middle carpal joint of seven ponies by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) injection. Ponies received PBZ (2 mg/kg PO twice daily) or placebo for 1 week, starting at T = 2 h. Ar...
Brama PA, Karssenberg D, Barneveld A, van Weeren PR.The objective of this study was to map topographically contact areas and pressure distributions on the proximal articular surface (PAS) of the proximal phalanx (PI) under various clinically relevant loading conditions. Left and right forelimbs of 13 mature horses were transected halfway down the radius and loaded in a position mimicking the weightbearing attitude close to the midstance phase. Five loads were used which corresponded with loads that can be expected in different gaits or during athletic performance (stance: 1800 N, walk: 3600 N, trot: 5400 N, gallop: 10,500 N and jumping: 12,000 ...
Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW, Norrdin RW, Park RD, Steyn PS.To determine effects of treadmill exercise on subchondral bone of carpal and metacarpophalangeal joints of 2-year-old horses. Methods: 12 healthy 2-year-old horses. Methods: Horses were randomly assigned to the control (n = 6) or exercised (6) groups. Horses in the exercised group ran on a high-speed treadmill 5 d/wk for 6 months. Horses in the control group were hand walked for the same amount of time. Results of clinical, radiographic, nuclear scintigraphic, and computed tomographic examinations, and serum and synovial concentrations of biochemical markers of bone metabolism were compared be...
Fuller CJ, Barr AR, Sharif M, Dieppe PA.To investigate the relationship between biochemical markers in the synovial fluid of osteoarthritic and contralateral equine joints and gross articular cartilage pathology. Methods: Twenty-two horses underwent bilateral arthroscopy of their carpal or metacarpophalangeal joints following recent onset lameness. The degree of cartilage damage in each joint was scored and synovial fluid, from both the clinically affected and the contralateral joint, was collected. Bone specific alkaline phosphatase (BAP), 5D4 epitope of keratan sulphate (KS), total glycosaminoglycans (GAG) and hyaluronan (HA) were...
Bodo G, Hangody L, Modis L, Hurtig M.To describe treatment of equine subchondral bone cysts (SBCs) by reconstruction of the articular surface with osteochondral grafts. Methods: Case series of horses with SBCs unresponsive to conservative therapy. Methods: Eleven horses (1-12 years). Methods: SBCs were identified in 4 locations: medial femoral condyle (5 horses), lateral femoral condyle (1), distal epiphysis of the metacarpus (4), or metatarsus (1). Osteochondral autograft transplantation (mosaic arthroplasty) was performed, taking grafts from the abaxial border of the medial femoral trochlea of the unaffected limb. Graft implant...
Lucia JL, Coverdale JA, Arnold CE, Winsco KN.Nineteen weanling Quarter Horses (225 to 380 kg) were used in a randomized complete block design to investigate the effects of intra-articular lipopolysaccharide (LPS) to induce acute joint inflammation in young horses. Horses were blocked by age, BW, and sex and were randomly assigned to 1 of 3 treatments for a 35-d experiment. Treatments included intra-articular injection of 0.25 ng (n = 7) or 0.50 ng (n = 6) of LPS obtained from Escherichia coli O55:B5 or sterile lactated Ringer's solution (n = 6; control) into the radial carpal joint. Synovial fluid was obtained at preinjection h 0 and 2, ...
Ley C, Svala E, Nilton A, Lindahl A, Eloranta ML, Ekman S, Skiöldebrand E.The effects of high mobility group box protein (HMGB)-1, interleukin (IL)-1β, and IL-6 on equine articular chondrocytes were investigated, with emphasis on detecting differences between anatomical sites exposed to different loading in vivo, using three-dimensional (3D) cell cultures established with chondrocytes from dorsal radial facet (DRF, highly loaded) and palmar condyle (PC, less loaded) of the third carpal bone (C3). Expression of important genes involved in cartilage metabolism, presence of glycosaminoglycans and cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) in pellets, and concentration...
Reed SR, Jackson BF, Mc Ilwraith CW, Wright IM, Pilsworth R, Knapp S, Wood JL, Price JS, Verheyen KL.No large scale epidemiological studies have previously quantified the occurrence of carpal, metacarpo- and metatarsophalangeal (MCP/MTP) joint injuries in Thoroughbred racehorses. Objective: To develop an objective classification system for carpal and MCP/MTP joint injuries and estimate the incidence of these injuries in young Thoroughbreds in flat race training. Methods: In a prospective cohort study, data on daily exercise and veterinary-diagnosed carpal and MCP/MTP joint injuries were collected from Thoroughbreds monitored since starting training as yearlings, for up to 2 years. Cases were ...
Menschik A.Mobility of the knee of the horse. The modification of medial and lateral femoral condyles by additional movement of the cruciate ligaments shown on the animal joint. Final rotation in the human knee-joint shapes the femoral condyles by additional movement of the cruciate ligaments. The roll-slide movement and final rotation lead to curving of the medial condyle of the femur in the transverse plane. The transition from the roll-slide into a tilting movement in the final phase of ultimate rotation reduces the power of the posterior ligamentous system of the knee-joint when there is a force tend...
van der Harst MR, Brama PA, van de Lest CH, Kiers GH, DeGroot J, van Weeren PR.In articular joints, the forces generated by locomotion are absorbed by the whole of cartilage, subchondral bone and underlying trabecular bone. The objective of this study is to test the hypothesis that regional differences in joint loading are related to clear and interrelated differences in the composition of the extracellular matrix (ECM) of all three weight-bearing constituents. Methods: Cartilage, subchondral- and trabecular bone samples from two differently loaded sites (site 1, dorsal joint margin; site 2, central area) of the proximal articular surface of 30 macroscopically normal equ...
van Weeren PR, Barneveld A.Osteochondrosis (OC) in the horse has been defined as a disturbance in the process of endochondral ossification which is of multifactorial origin, becoming evident in a large number of joints. Exercise is one of the environmental factors that may influence the clinical manifestation of the disorder, but has never been thoroughly investigated. In this study we investigated the influence of exercise during the first 5 months on the development and distribution of OC lesions in foals of age 5 and 11 months. Forty-three foals, all from sires having OC in either the femoropatellar or tibiotarsal jo...
King MR, Haussler KK, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW, Reiser RF, Frisbie DD, Werpy NM.OBJECTIVE To evaluate the effects of exercise in an underwater treadmill (UWT) on forelimb biomechanics and articular histologic outcomes in horses with experimentally induced osteoarthritis of the middle carpal joint. ANIMALS 16 horses. PROCEDURES An osteochondral fragment was induced arthroscopically (day 0) in 1 middle carpal joint of each horse. Beginning on day 15, horses were assigned to exercise in a UWT or in the UWT without water (simulating controlled hand walking) at the same speed, frequency, and duration. Thoracic and pelvic limb ground reaction forces, thoracic limb kinematics, a...
Hill JA, Cassano JM, Goodale MB, Fortier LA.OBJECTIVE To determine whether major histocompatability complex (MHC) class II expression in equine mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) changes with exposure to a proinflammatory environment reflective of an inflamed joint. SAMPLE Cryopreserved bone marrow-derived MSCs from 12 horses and cartilage and synovium samples from 1 horse euthanized for reasons other than lameness. PROCEDURES In part 1 of a 3-part study, the suitability of a quantitative reverse transcriptase PCR (qRT-PCR) assay for measurement of MHC class II expression in MSCs following stimulation with interferon (IFN)-γ was assessed. I...
McIlwraith CW.Current concepts of pathogenesis, diagnosis, and treatment of equine degenerative joint disease are presented on the basis of recently acquired experimental and clinical knowledge. A number of concepts of pathogenesis need modification and the rationale of some of the newer treatments requires definition. Synovitis and other soft tissue changes are important components of the pathogenesis in addition to direct trauma to the articular cartilage. Loss of glycosaminoglycans constitutes an important biochemical "lesion" in the articular cartilage, making it weak and susceptible to trauma. Recognit...
Skiöldebrand E, Ekman S, Mattsson Hultén L, Svala E, Björkman K, Lindahl A, Lundqvist A, Önnerfjord P, Sihlbom C, Rüetschi U.Clinical tools to diagnose the early changes of osteoarthritis (OA) that occur in the articular cartilage are lacking. Objective: We sought to identify and quantify a novel cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) neoepitope in the synovial fluid from the joints of healthy horses and those with different stages of OA. Methods: In vitro quantitative proteomics and assay development with application in synovial fluids samples obtained from biobanks of well-characterised horses. Methods: Articular cartilage explants were incubated with or without interleukin-1β for 25 days. Media were analysed...
Fehr JE, Trotter GW, Oxford JT, Hart DA.To determine relative amounts of mRNA expression of aggrecan, type-II collagen, matrix metalloproteinase (MMP) 1, and MMP3 in articular cartilage and synovial membrane samples from healthy equine joints and joints with osteoarthritis (OA) and to compare results of Northern blot hybridization with results of a reverse transcriptase-polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) assay. Methods: Articular cartilage samples from 8 pairs of joints (1 with OA and 1 healthy) from 6 horses and synovial membrane samples from 6 pairs of joints from 5 horses. Methods: RNA was extracted from samples by use of a modif...
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...
Chiaradia E, Pepe M, Tartaglia M, Scoppetta F, D'Ambrosio C, Renzone G, Avellini L, Moriconi F, Gaiti A, Bertuglia A, Beccati F, Scaloni A.Osteoarthritis (OA) and osteochondrosis (OC) are two of the main challenges in orthopedics, whose definitive diagnosis is usually based on radiographic/arthroscopic evidences. Their early diagnosis should allow preventive or timely therapeutic actions, which are generally precluded from the poor relationships occurring between symptomatologic and radiographic evidences. These limitations should be overcome by improving the knowledge on articular tissue metabolism and on molecular factors regulating its normal homeostasis, also identifying novel OA and OC biomarkers suitable for their earlier d...
Frisbie DD, Kawcak CE, McIlwraith CW, Werpy NM.To assess clinical, biochemical, and histologic effects of polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (PSGAG) or sodium hyaluronan administered intra-articularly in treatment of horses with experimentally induced osteoarthritis. Methods: 24 horses. Methods: Osteoarthritis was induced arthroscopically in 1 middle carpal joint of all horses. Eight horses received hyaluronan (20 mg) and amikacin (125 mg) intra-articularly on study days 14, 21, and 28. Eight horses received PSGAG (250 mg) and amikacin (125 mg) intra-articularly on study days 14, 21, and 28. Eight control horses received 2 mL of saline (0.9% N...
Lee CM, Kisiday JD, McIlwraith CW, Grodzinsky AJ, Frisbie DD.It is well documented that osteoarthritis (OA) can develop following traumatic joint injury and is the leading cause of lameness and subsequent wastage of equine athletes. Although much research of injury induced OA has focused on cartilage, OA is a disease that affects the whole joint organ. Methods: In this study, we investigated the impact of synovial cells on the progression of an OA phenotype in injured articular cartilage. Injured and control cartilage were cultured in the presence of synoviocytes extracted from normal equine synovium. Synoviocytes and cartilage were evaluated for catabo...
