Veterinary medicine for horses encompasses the study and application of medical practices to diagnose, treat, and prevent diseases in equine species. This field involves a comprehensive understanding of equine anatomy, physiology, pathology, and pharmacology. Veterinary practitioners employ a range of diagnostic tools and therapeutic interventions to address health issues in horses, including lameness, gastrointestinal disorders, respiratory conditions, and infectious diseases. Preventative care, such as vaccination and deworming programs, is also a significant aspect of equine veterinary medicine. This page gathers peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore various aspects of veterinary medicine as it pertains to horses, including advancements in diagnostic techniques, treatment protocols, and preventive health strategies.
Käfer-Karrer MJ, de Preux M, Van der Vekens E, Mattei LI, Kuhlmann J, Klopfenstein Bregger MD, Easley JT, Koch C.To describe the repair of a fractured cranial articular process (AP) of the sixth cervical vertebra (C6) with cortex screws placed in lag fashion using computer-assisted surgery. Methods: A 12-year-old Swiss Warmblood gelding. Methods: Case report. Methods: The gelding was presented with neck pain and ataxia after a fall. A fracture of the right cranial AP of C6 was identified on radiographs. The fracture was repaired by internal fixation with two 4.5 mm cortex screws of 58 and 48 mm length placed in lag fashion using computer-assisted surgery. Results: During general anesthesia, it was su...
Bordoni T, Dini FM, Morini M, Rinnovati R, Spadari A, Galuppi R.Mycetoma is a fungal chronic skin proliferative lesion rarely encountered in horses and often associated with fungi such as Scedosporium spp., Madurella spp., Phialophora spp., Curvularia spp., and less frequently with Aspergillus spp. A case of subcutaneous mycetoma in the cervical region in a 7-year-old male Quarter Horse, diagnosed through cytological, histological, cultural and molecular methods, is reported. Aspergillus nidulans, usually implicated in guttural pouch mycosis, was identified. This unusual case represents the second case report of mycetoma caused by Aspergillus nidulans in t...
Lin H, Deng D, Yan Z, Zou G, Shen Y.Staphylococcus aureus can transfer from animals to humans. Lichuan horse is an isolated breed living in a high-altitude area with limited use of antibiotics and is bred for use in tourism. To evaluate the risk of human-animal cross-transmission, the S. aureus was isolated from three horse farms in Lichuan, including healthy horses and horses with skin infections, farm workers and environment. From a collection of 111 samples, 18Â S. aureus isolates were obtained. All the isolates were genome sequenced and their biological characteristics including antimicrobial susceptibility, virulence and bi...
Lloyd-Edwards RA, Mulders E, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM, Veraa S. Headshaking is a common condition in horses, most cases are presumed idiopathic/trigeminal-nerve mediated. Diagnostic work-up of a headshaking horse may involve computed tomography (CT) of the head to exclude causative structural pathology. The relevance of the presence and severity of hyoid apparatus findings at CT to headshaking is unknown. A retrospective analysis of CT changes in the hyoid apparatus in horses was carried out. Comparisons were performed between horses with signs of headshaking and a control population and a subgroup of horses with signs of headshaking and no other 'likely...
Taylor K, Harrison A, Capaldo T.One of the most problematic situations for the estimated 60 million working donkeys and mules across the world is within the brick kiln environment. In countries such as Egypt, Nepal, India and Pakistan, donkeys and mules carry dried bricks into small kilns either by pulling carts or carrying loaded packs. The health and welfare problems of this environment are well documented: they may carry excessive loads; work long hours, have difficulties accessing food, water and rest options; and can frequently suffer untreated illnesses including dental problems, lameness and open wounds from poorly fi...
Rodrigues APDC, Pozzobon R, De Bastiani G, De La Côrte FD, Azevedo MDS.Lameness, which arises from functional or structural changes in the limbs or axial skeleton, causes asymmetry in the movement of the equine head and/or pelvis. This study aimed to investigate the lameness patterns of horses that underwent lameness examination or monitoring during the years 2016 to 2020. This retrospective study used data from the lameness examination, evaluated using an objective assessment with body-mounted wireless inertial sensors. The lameness examination comprised clinical history, static inspection, palpation, gait evaluation (for which the animals were equipped with a w...
Resano-Zuazu M, Carmona JU, Argüelles D.Myofascial pain syndrome (MPS) is a common source of musculoskeletal pain, characterized by trigger points (TrPs). In horses, MPS is frequently underdiagnosed, and evidence on DN effectiveness is limited. This study investigated whether DN can improve the biomechanics in horses using an artificial intelligence (AI)-based markerless smartphone application (app). Fourteen horses participated, including nine used in assisted therapy, four leisure horses, and one with mixed use. The presence of TrPs was evaluated in six muscles through manual palpation: brachiocephalicus, trapezius, gluteus medius...
Mizuguchi Y, Niwa H, Inoue H, Iwano H.Hypoproteinaemia/hypoalbuminaemia is a typical clinical feature of Lawsonia intracellularis infection in horses, but amino acid perturbations in these horses have not been investigated. Objective: Clarifying blood amino acid levels in horses suffering from Lawsonia intracellularis infection to identify novel aspects of the disease. Methods: Retrospective observational study. Methods: A total of 135 serum samples collected from horses from 59 farms were used in this study. Horses diagnosed with the clinical form of equine proliferative enteropathy (EPE) were enrolled as a clinical group (n =â...
El-Ghaly W, El Kamli T, Gongbe AMA, Zaari Lambarki L, El Hamdani M, Lahkak FE, Al Idrissi N, Benmoussa A, Balouch L, Bakkali F, Saffaj T, Jhilal F.The quantification of banned substances in equine antidoping control, especially in racehorse urine, necessitates robust analytical methods with high detection levels due to the extremely low concentrations of the target substances and the significant impact of minor variations on doping test results. Reliable quantification is important for substances near regulatory thresholds, which, if exceeded, are prohibited. This study presents the development and validation of a bioanalytical UHPLC-HRMS method for quantifying doping substances in equine urine, including diazepam and acepromazine with a...
Calle-González N, Rivero JL, Olivares J, Miró F, Argüelles D, Requena F, Munoz A.Capacitive-resistive electrical transfer (CRET) is an endogenous non-invasive technique, used as deep diathermy. We pursue to analyze the temperature changes by applying different CRET protocols in the thoracolumbar spine of horses, between thoracic vertebrae 15 and lumbar 2. Unassigned: Ten clinically sound horses without thoracolumbar pain underwent various CRET protocols applied to a standardized thoracolumbar region (T15-L2). The protocols included sham (device off), low intensity (LIP, 5%), medium intensity (MIP, 30%), and high intensity (HIP, 40%). The HIP protocol was further divided in...
Ho HSM, Mizzi JX, Ho ENM, Wong WT.Ranitidine is a histamine H-receptor antagonist commonly used to treat gastric ulceration in horses. The author's laboratory conducted a study some years ago in the early 2000s on its metabolism as well as its urinary elimination profile in two geldings. With the technology advancement as well as popularity of blood for doping control testing, the laboratory has recently conducted another administration trials of the substance in six horses to study the in vivo metabolism of ranitidine, aiming to identify and reinvestigate the appropriate target(s) for controlling misuse of ranitidine in hors...
Stuart RB, Miles-Farrier F, Bard AM, Rees G.Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is an increasingly serious threat to human and animal health. Antimicrobial use (AMU) in horses is gathering research interest, although there remain significant evidence gaps. Currently, there is scant qualitative research into equine owners' use of antimicrobials, specifically antibiotics, hindering the design of evidence-based stewardship interventions and policies. Objective: To understand Welsh equine owners' views and behaviours relating to antimicrobial usage. Methods: Cross sectional survey and qualitative data collection and analysis. Methods: An online ...
Birkmann K, Waldern N, Jucker S, Balaschitsch K, Zablotski Y, Fettelschoss-Gabriel A.Recurrent urticaria is common in horses. The pathophysiology is poorly understood and treatment options are limited. Often, only glucocorticoids are effective for controlling clinical signs, albeit with potential adverse effects. Studies investigating new treatments need a validated objective scoring system for the grading of skin lesions to assess response. Objective: The aims were to investigate inter- and intraobserver reliability of the Equine Urticaria Activity Score (EqUAS) for the grading of skin lesions in horses with recurrent urticaria, and to examine agreement between experienced an...
Ballados-González GG, Cruz-Romero A, MartÃnez-Hernández JM, Aguilar-DomÃnguez M, Vieira RFC, Grostieta E, Becker I, Sánchez-Montes S.Hemotropic mycoplasmas (HM) are emerging pathogens known to infect a wide range of mammals, including ungulates like horses. These infections can lead to severe haematological conditions, posing a threat to animal health and welfare. Recent studies have begun shedding light on the prevalence and impact of HM on horse populations worldwide. For instance, in Germany, Iran, Nigeria, and Brazil, at least three species of HM have been identified in horses, with a lack in knowledge in Latin American countries like Mexico. Our research aims to fill a crucial knowledge gap regarding the presence of HM...
Solum G, Acutt E, Johnson SA, Zhou T, Contino EK, Donnell JR, Donnell A, Frisbie DD.Pathological changes of the fetlock joint are well documented in Thoroughbreds, but little information is available describing the common radiographic findings in western performance horses with fetlock lameness. Objective: To describe radiographic findings in western performance horses with fetlock lameness. It was hypothesised that the degree of lameness would correlate with the severity of radiographic findings. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Retrospective review (2012-2022) of horses with lameness isolated to the fetlock joint via intra-articular analgesia and corresponding r...
Rinnovati R, Spadari A, Malpighi A, Meistro F, Ralletti MV, Marcucci E, Tarasconi MA, Chiatto RL, Tommasa SD.Numerous treatment strategies have been proposed to manage osteoarthritis (OA) in sport horses. Carboxymethylcellulose (CMC), is used in veterinary medicine for various purposes. Objective: This study aimed to assess the efficacy of a CMC hydrogel in reducing clinical lameness in horses with OA affecting joint. The hypothesis was that intra-articular CMC would produce a sustained reduction in lameness compared to a control treatment. Methods: Thirty client-owned horses diagnosed with OA-related lameness in the metacarpophalangeal joint were enrolled. Horses were randomly assigned to two groups...
Pluim M, Frippiat T.Polyacrylamide gel is increasingly used in equine veterinary medicine for osteoarthritis and other joint disorders. This study aimed to document the indications, treatment protocols, rehabilitation plans, outcomes, and satisfaction with intra-articular polyacrylamide gel in horses, as reported by equine veterinarians. An online questionnaire was distributed to practitioners through the European and American Colleges of Veterinary Sports Medicine and Rehabilitation mailing lists, social media, and direct contact. Of 197 respondents, 160 completed the survey, forming the basis for the descriptiv...
Franco JJ, Gonzálvez M, Cano-Terriza D, Barbero-Moyano J, Jose-Cunilleras E, Alguacil E, GarcÃa J, GarcÃa-Bocanegra I.Equine viral arteritis is a notifiable infectious disease with sanitary and economic implications at a global scale. A cross-sectional serosurvey was performed to determine the exposure of equids to the Alphaarterivirus equid [Equine Arteritis Virus (EAV)] in three regions in western Europe. Serum samples from 1425 equids (1196 horses, 104 donkeys, and 125 mules/hinnies) from Catalonia (northeastern Spain), Andalusia (southern Spain) and southeastern United Kingdom (UK) were collected during the period 2011-2023. The overall EAV seroprevalence in EAV-unvaccinated equids was 9.7 % (138/1425; 9...
Bardhi A, Barbarossa A, Joubert A, Gehring R, Lambertini C, Romagnoli N.Dried blood spot (DBS) sampling has emerged as a promising microsampling technique in biomedical and clinical research, offering advantages such as reduced invasiveness, minimal blood volume requirements, and enhanced analyte stability. Although well established in human medicine for neonatal screening and diagnostic applications, its potential in veterinary pharmacology remains underexplored. This study investigated the feasibility of using DBS samples to quantify anesthetic agents-ketamine and medetomidine in cats and lidocaine in horses-during routine surgical procedures at a veterinary tea...
Liu J, Baumwart R, Kwon S.Ventriculophasic response (VR) in atrioventricular nodal (AVN) block is characterized by a shortening of the sinoatrial cycle length when a QRS complex is interposed between two P waves. This has been well documented in humans and dogs with AVN blocks but not in horses. Herein, we describe a horse with second-degree AVN blocks and constant PR intervals that exhibited 5:3 conduction and suspected VR at rest but less consistently after submaximal exercise. Proposed VR mechanisms include (1) inhibition of the Bezold-Jarisch reflex from reduced end-systolic volume during ventricular contraction; (...
Mendes RP, Lima AE, da Cunha R, Bittar MJ, Vasconcelos CC, Piñeros DDV, Corrêa RR.Radiographic examination of the skull is a well-established and indispensable procedure for the diagnostic evaluation of dental and paranasal sinus disorders in horses. Complementary projections make significant contributions to radiographic diagnosis in nasal conchae disorders. This article describes a complementary radiographic projection designed for the evaluation of the conchal sinuses and bullae in horses. Six equine cadaveric heads were used. Specimens were dissected, and openings were created in the ventral and dorsal nasal conchae for the introduction of radiopaque material. The new r...
Cameron-Whytock HA, O'Brien D, Lewis V, Parkin T, Bennet ED.To date, industry and research outputs that have aimed to improve safety in equestrian eventing have tended to focus on identifying risk factors for horse falls during cross-country, which have been identified as the greatest risk of injury and fatality for riders. There is an absence of research that investigates fatalities of horses within the sport of eventing. Objective: To use a combination of media reports and eventing federation databases to describe and document equine fatalities in equestrian eventing, including their context, location and a basic pathology. Methods: Descriptive study...
Punyadarsaniya D, Taesuji M, Rattanamas K, Ruenphet S.Standard serological tests post-vaccination, such as enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA), complement fixation, and virus neutralization, are crucial for monitoring African horse sickness (AHS). However, the availability of commercial test kits such as blocking ELISA varies by regions; while they are commonly used in Africa and Europe, their limited availability and high cost in Thailand present significant challenges. Therefore, this study aimed to evaluate an alternative approach using an in-house indirect ELISA based on cell-based monovalent and polyvalent strains of live attenuated AH...
In the present study, the changes in the markers of stress and inflammatory responses of 12 Standardbred horses were investigated before and after exercise during late spring and summer. The environmental temperature, relative humidity, and temperature-humidity index (THI) were assessed during this study. From horses, blood sampling, measurement of heart and respiratory rate (HR and RR), and measurement of rectal temperature (RT) were performed before exercise (Pre) and within 5 min following the end of the exercise (Post). THI values showed mild stress in June and high stress in July. Direct ...
Soroko-Dubrovina M, Zielińska P, Dudek KD, Śniegucka K, Nawrot K.The aim of the present study was to assess the thermal effects of high-intensity laser therapy (HILT) on the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) area of clinically healthy Thoroughbred racehorses. The study was conducted on 21 clinically healthy Thoroughbreds in regular training. The horses were subjected to thermographic examinations before and immediately after a HILT session to measure changes in the body surface temperature in the TMJ area. The left TMJ was subjected to therapy, while the contralateral joint served as a control. Statistically significant differences in the body surface temperatu...
Rhodin M, Serra Bragança FM, Persson-Sjodin E, Björnsdóttir S, Gunnarsdottir H, Gunnarsson V, Hernlund E, Smit IH.Icelandic horses are valued for their additional gaits, but assessing lameness in this breed can be challenging. Pelvic (P) vertical movement asymmetries, differences (D) in minimum (min)/maximum (max) position, are used to quantify impact (PDmin) and push-off (PDmax) hindlimb lameness during the trot, but no established parameters exist for detecting hindlimb lameness in other gaits. Objective: To evaluate temporal stride parameters and upper-body movement asymmetry after transient hindlimb lameness induction in walk, trot and tölt. Methods: In vivo experiment. Methods: Eleven Icelandic hors...
Jimenez C, Hogan P, Belaghi R, Curtiss A.Epiglottitis is an uncommon upper airway pathology manifested endoscopically by mucosal oedema, reddening and thickening of the epiglottic mucosa. Literature on epiglottitis in horses is sparse. Objective: To describe the diagnosis, treatment and outcome of Thoroughbred and Standardbred racehorses diagnosed with epiglottitis at a single centre. A secondary objective is to demonstrate the efficacy of inhaled and topical anti-inflammatories for this condition. Methods: Retrospective case series. Methods: Medical records (2009-2023) were reviewed for racehorses treated for epiglottitis. Data coll...
Connolly KM, Estell K.Dysphagia describes a clinical sign of pathologies of the oral cavity, pharynx, and oesophagus that carries potentially serious consequences for horses. Given the diversity of differential diagnoses that may cause dysphagia, an understanding of the prevalence of dysphagia in hospitalised patients, the distribution of aetiologies and clinical outcomes could inform diagnosis, treatment, and prognosis. Objective: This study aims to describe the incidence, signalment, history, aetiology, treatment, and outcome of horses presenting to a referral hospital for dysphagia. Methods: Retrospective case s...
Dakin SG, Werling D, Hibbert A, Abayasekara DR, Young NJ, Smith RK, Dudhia J.Macrophages (Mφ) orchestrate inflammatory and reparatory processes in injured connective tissues but their role during different phases of tendon healing is not known. We investigated the contribution of different Mφ subsets in an equine model of naturally occurring tendon injury. Post mortem tissues were harvested from normal (uninjured), sub-acute (3-6 weeks post injury) and chronically injured (>3 months post injury) superficial digital flexor tendons. To determine if inflammation was present in injured tendons, Mφ sub-populations were quantified based on surface antigen expression of...
Dalla Costa E, Stucke D, Dai F, Minero M, Leach MC, Lebelt D.Acute laminitis is a common equine disease characterized by intense foot pain, both acutely and chronically. The Obel grading system is the most widely accepted method for describing the severity of laminitis by equine practitioners, however this method requires movement (walk and trot) of the horse, causing further intense pain. The recently developed Horse Grimace Scale (HGS), a facial-expression-based pain coding system, may offer a more effective means of assessing the pain associated with acute laminitis. The aims of this study were: to investigate whether HGS can be usefully applied to a...
Bonnett BN, Egenvall A.From 1995 to the present Agria Animal Insurance, Sweden (Agria Djurförsäkring, Stockholm, Sweden) has provided data on both health care and life insurance claims for descriptive and analytical research. From these data we have published extensively on insured dogs and horses and have recently submitted a study on cat mortality. Over the periods studied most extensively (1995-2002 for dogs, 1997-2004 for horses and 1999-2006 for cats), Agria has insured approximately 200,000 dogs, 100,000 horses and up to 200,000 cats per year. Estimates based on formal research or market surveys suggest that...
Slovis NM, Elam J, Estrada M, Leutenegger CM.Diarrhoea caused by infectious agents is common in foals but there is no comprehensive molecular work-up of the relative prevalence of common agents and appearance of coinfections. Objective: To determine the prevalence of 9 infectious agents in gastrointestinal (GI)-diseased and healthy foals with ages ranging from 1 to 20 weeks of age and to what degree coinfections are associated with clinical signs of GI disease. Methods: Retrospective controlled observational study. Methods: The population consisted of 88 Thoroughbred foals aged 2 days to 17 weeks born on 32 different studfarms in Kentuck...
Rivas F, Zahid OK, Reesink HL, Peal BT, Nixon AJ, DeAngelis PL, Skardal A, Rahbar E, Hall AR.Hyaluronan (or hyaluronic acid, HA) is a ubiquitous molecule that plays critical roles in numerous physiological functions in vivo, including tissue hydration, inflammation, and joint lubrication. Both the abundance and size distribution of HA in biological fluids are recognized as robust indicators of various pathologies and disease progressions. However, such analyses remain challenging because conventional methods are not sufficiently sensitive, have limited dynamic range, and/or are only semi-quantitative. Here we demonstrate label-free detection and molecular weight discrimination of HA w...
Hegewald AA, Ringe J, Bartel J, Krüger I, Notter M, Barnewitz D, Kaps C, Sittinger M.Mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) have the potential to differentiate into distinct mesenchymal tissues including cartilage, which suggest these cells as an attractive cell source for cartilage tissue engineering approaches. Our objective was to study the effects of TGF-beta1, hyaluronic acid and synovial fluid on chondrogenic differentiation of equine MSC. For that, bone marrow was aspirated from the tibia of one 18-month-old horse (Haflinger) and MSC were isolated using percoll-density centrifugation. To promote chondrogenesis, MSC were centrifuged to form a micromass and were cultured in a mediu...
Doan R, Cohen N, Harrington J, Veazey K, Juras R, Cothran G, McCue ME, Skow L, Dindot SV.Copy number variants (CNVs) represent a substantial source of genetic variation in mammals. However, the occurrence of CNVs in horses and their subsequent impact on phenotypic variation is unknown. We performed a study to identify CNVs in 16 horses representing 15 distinct breeds (Equus caballus) and an individual gray donkey (Equus asinus) using a whole-exome tiling array and the array comparative genomic hybridization methodology. We identified 2368 CNVs ranging in size from 197 bp to 3.5 Mb. Merging identical CNVs from each animal yielded 775 CNV regions (CNVRs), involving 1707 protein- and...
El Garch H, Minke JM, Rehder J, Richard S, Edlund Toulemonde C, Dinic S, Andreoni C, Audonnet JC, Nordgren R, Juillard V.Successful vaccination against West Nile virus (WNV) requires induction of both neutralizing antibodies and cell-mediated immune responses. In this study, we have assessed the ability of a recombinant ALVAC-WNV vaccine (RECOMBITEK WNV) to elicit neutralizing antibodies and virus-specific cell-mediated immune responses in horses. In addition, we examined whether prior exposure to ALVAC-WNV vaccine would inhibit B and cell-mediated immune responses against the transgene product upon subsequent booster immunizations with the same vaccine. The results demonstrated that the recombinant ALVAC-WNV va...
De Schauwer C, Piepers S, Van de Walle GR, Demeyere K, Hoogewijs MK, Govaere JL, Braeckmans K, Van Soom A, Meyer E.During recent years, cell-based therapies using mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) are reported in equine veterinary medicine with increasing frequency. In most cases, the isolation and in vitro differentiation of equine MSC are described, but their proper immunophenotypic characterization is rarely performed. The lack of a single marker specific for MSC and the limited availability of monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) for equine MSC in particular, strongly hamper this research. In this study, 30 commercial mAbs were screened with flow cytometry for recognizing equine epitopes using the appropriate posit...
Horta MC, Labruna MB, Sangioni LA, Vianna MC, Gennari SM, Galvão MA, Mafra CL, Vidotto O, Schumaker TT, Walker DH.In serum samples obtained from all the healthy humans, horses, dogs, and donkeys present on three farms in the Pedreira Municipality, an endemic area for Brazilian spotted fever, an indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) detected antibodies against Rickettsia rickettsii in 17 (77.3%) horses, 5 (31.3%) dogs (titers ranging from 64 to 4,048), and none of 4 donkeys or 50 humans. Five canine and eight equine sera with high antibody titers to R. rickettsii were also tested by IFA against R. bellii, R. akari, and R. africae antigens. Sera from two horses and two dogs that showed similar high antibo...
Broeckx S, Zimmerman M, Crocetti S, Suls M, Mariën T, Ferguson SJ, Chiers K, Duchateau L, Franco-Obregón A, Wuertz K, Spaas JH.Degenerative joint disease (DJD) is a major cause of reduced athletic function and retirement in equine performers. For this reason, regenerative therapies for DJD have gained increasing interest. Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) were isolated from a 6-year-old donor horse. MSCs were either used in their native state or after chondrogenic induction. In an initial study, 20 horses with naturally occurring DJD in the fetlock joint were divided in 4 groups and injected with the following: 1) PRP; 2) MSCs; 3) MSCs and PRP; or 4) chondrogenic induced MSCs and PRP. The ho...
Brooks SA, Gabreski N, Miller D, Brisbin A, Brown HE, Streeter C, Mezey J, Cook D, Antczak DF.Lavender Foal Syndrome (LFS) is a lethal inherited disease of horses with a suspected autosomal recessive mode of inheritance. LFS has been primarily diagnosed in a subgroup of the Arabian breed, the Egyptian Arabian horse. The condition is characterized by multiple neurological abnormalities and a dilute coat color. Candidate genes based on comparative phenotypes in mice and humans include the ras-associated protein RAB27a (RAB27A) and myosin Va (MYO5A). Here we report mapping of the locus responsible for LFS using a small set of 36 horses segregating for LFS. These horses were genotyped usin...
Olson ME, Thorlakson CL, Deselliers L, Morck DW, McAllister TA.Giardia intestinalis and Cryptosporidium spp. are commonly identified intestinal pathogens in humans and animals. In light of the clinical disease, production losses and zoonotic potential of both Giardia and Cryptosporidium infections, a study was undertaken to investigate the prevalence of these parasites in cattle, sheep, pigs and horses in Canadian farms at different geographical locations. A total of 104 cattle, 89 sheep, 236 pigs and 35 horses were sampled from 15 different Canadian geographical locations. Fecal samples were examined after concentration and immunofluorescent staining. Gi...
Spaas JH, De Schauwer C, Cornillie P, Meyer E, Van Soom A, Van de Walle GR.Although the use of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for the treatment of orthopaedic injuries in horses has been reported, no official guidelines exist that classify a particular cell as an equine MSC. Given the limited characterisation of peripheral blood (PB)-derived equine MSCs in particular, this study aimed to provide more detailed information in relation to this cell type. Mesenchymal stromal cells were isolated from equine PB samples and colony forming unit (CFU) assays as well as population doubling times (PDTs) (from P(0) to P(10)) were performed. Two types of colonies, 'fingerprint'...
Venter M, Swanepoel R.West Nile virus (WNV) is widely distributed in South Africa, but since a few cases of neurological disease have been reported from this region, endemic lineage 2 strains were postulated to be of low virulence. Several cases of nonfatal encephalitis in humans as well as fatal cases in a foal, dog, and ostrich chicks have, however, been associated with lineage 2 WNV in South Africa. The pathogenesis of lineage 2 WNV strains was investigated using mouse neuroinvasive experiments, gene expression experiments, and genome sequence comparisons which indicated that lineage 2 strains that are highly pa...
Berny P, Caloni F, Croubels S, Sachana M, Vandenbroucke V, Davanzo F, Guitart R.This is the second in a series of three review articles on animal poisoning in Europe and focuses on cases in pet animals and horses in five European countries (Belgium, France, Greece, Italy and Spain) reported over the last decade. In the participating countries, dogs were the most commonly poisoned species, particularly younger animals. The majority of cases in companion animals resulted from exposure to insecticides, although rodenticides (especially anticoagulants and strychnine) posed a significant risk. In all five countries, horses and cats appeared to be more susceptible to plant toxi...
O'Mahony R, Abbott Y, Leonard FC, Markey BK, Quinn PJ, Pollock PJ, Fanning S, Rossney AS.Reports of methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in animals have become more frequent in recent years. This paper documents the recovery of MRSA from animals with respiratory, urinary tract or wound infection and from animals subjected to surgical procedures following treatment in one veterinary hospital and 16 private veterinary clinics in different geographical locations throughout Ireland. MRSA was recovered from 25 animals comprising 14 dogs, eight horses, one cat, one rabbit and a seal, and also from 10 attendant veterinary personnel. Clinical susceptibility testing suggested...
Karikoski NP, Horn I, McGowan TW, McGowan CM.Endocrinopathic causes of laminitis may be a common underlying causative pathogenesis in first-opinion or field cases presenting with laminitis, as opposed to laminitis produced in inflammatory research models. This study aimed to determine whether evidence of an underlying endocrinopathy was present in horses presented for laminitis to a first-opinion/referral veterinary teaching hospital. A second aim was to compare the signalment of horses and ponies with laminitis with the equine hospital population during the same period. All horses presenting for laminitis at Helsinki University Equine T...
Weaver SC, Hagenbaugh A, Bellew LA, Gousset L, Mallampalli V, Holland JJ, Scott TW.Evolution of viruses in the eastern equine encephalomyelitis (EEE) complex was studied by analyzing RNA sequences and oligonucleotide fingerprints from isolates representing the North and South American antigenic varieties. By using homologous sequences of Venezuelan equine encephalomyelitis virus as an outgroup, phylogenetic trees revealed three main EEE virus monophyletic groups. A North American variety group included all isolates from North America and the Caribbean. One South American variety group included isolates from the Amazon basin in Brazil and Peru, while the other included strain...
Frank N.The concept of an equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) was first proposed in 2002. This concept has developed over time, and EMS was recently described in a consensus statement released by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine. In human medicine, metabolic syndrome (MetS) refers to a set of risk factors that predict the risk of cardiovascular disease, including obesity, glucose intolerance and insulin resistance (IR), dyslipidemia, microalbuminuria, and hypertension. EMS shares some of the features of MetS, including increased adiposity, hyperinsulinemia, IR, but differs in that lami...
Hoffmann C, Ellenberger C, Mattos RC, Aupperle H, Dhein S, Stief B, Schoon HA.This paper describes the histomorphological and immunohistochemical characterisation of phenotypic variations of endometrosis as well as potential etiological factors which may influence disease progression. In total, 779 endometrial biopsies were examined. These biopsies were taken in the breeding and non-breeding season (n=509), on defined days during the estrous cycle (n=70) and before and after experimentally induced bacterial endometritis (n=200). In addition to conventional histopathology, selected biopsies were investigated using alcianblue staining as well as immunohistochemical method...
Bian J, Khaychuk V, Angers RC, Fernández-Borges N, Vidal E, Meyerett-Reid C, Kim S, Calvi CL, Bartz JC, Hoover EA, Agrimi U, Richt JA, Castilla J....Adaptation of prions to new species is thought to reflect the capacity of the host-encoded cellular form of the prion protein (PrP) to selectively propagate optimized prion conformations from larger ensembles generated in the species of origin. Here we describe an alternate replicative process, termed nonadaptive prion amplification (NAPA), in which dominant conformers bypass this requirement during particular interspecies transmissions. To model susceptibility of horses to prions, we produced transgenic (Tg) mice expressing cognate PrP Although disease transmission to only a subset of infecte...
Dubey JP, Lindsay DS, Saville WJ, Reed SM, Granstrom DE, Speer CA.Equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM) is a serious neurological disease of horses in the Americas. The protozoan most commonly associated with EPM is Sarcocystis neurona. The complete life cycle of S. neurona is unknown, including its natural intermediate host that harbors its sarcocyst. Opossums (Didelphis virginiana, Didelphis albiventris) are its definitive hosts. Horses are considered its aberrant hosts because only schizonts and merozoites (no sarcocysts) are found in horses. EPM-like disease occurs in a variety of mammals including cats, mink, raccoons, skunks, Pacific harbor seals, p...
Batson EL, Paramour RJ, Smith TJ, Birch HL, Patterson-Kane JC, Goodship AE.Injury to the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) is common in competition horses. The SDFT contributes to locomotory efficiency by storing energy; such tendons have low safety margins. Tendons which merely position the limb, including the opposing common digital extensor tendon (CDET), are rarely injured. The current failure of strategies to prevent or effectively treat injury to the SDFT indicates the importance of understanding how it differs from tendons which are not injury-prone. Objective: That the structural and material properties and matrix composition of the SDFT and CDET diffe...
Lange-Consiglio A, Corradetti B, Bizzaro D, Magatti M, Ressel L, Tassan S, Parolini O, Cremonesi F.The aim of this work was to isolate, for the first time, progenitor-like cells from the epithelial (AECs) and mesenchymal (AMCs) portions of the horse amniotic membrane, and to define the biological properties of these cells. AECs displayed polygonal epithelial morphology, while AMCs were fibroblast-like. Usually, six to eight passages were reached before proliferation decreased, with 13.08 and 26.5 cell population doublings attained after 31 days for AECs and AMCs, respectively. Immunocytochemical studies performed at passage 3 (P3) showed that both cell populations were positive for the expr...
Huser CA, Davies ME.Chondrocyte apoptosis is an important factor in the progression of osteoarthritis. This study aimed to elucidate the mechanisms involved upstream of caspase 9 activation and, in particular, calcium signaling and mitochondrial depolarization. Methods: Articular cartilage explants obtained from healthy horses were subjected to a single impact load (500-gm weight dropped from a height of 50 mm) and cultured in vitro for up to 48 hours. Chondrocyte death was quantified by the TUNEL method. Release of proteoglycans was determined by the dimethylmethylene blue assay. Weight change was measured, and ...
