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.
Bonagura JD.Equine heart diseases can be categorized with morphologic, etiologic, and physiologic diagnoses and classified anatomically as diseases of the pericardium, myocardium, valves (endocardium), and great vessels. An appreciation of normal and pathologic physiology is a key to understanding diagnosis and therapy of heart disease. Pathophysiologic diagnoses include arrhythmias, congestive heart failure, and pulmonary hypertension. Heart rhythm disturbances can occur in isolation or with structural disease. Heart failure stems from arterial filling owing to insufficient cardiac output. Pulmonary hype...
Keen JA.Despite advances, increased convenience, and availability of echocardiography and other diagnostic techniques in equine cardiology, a comprehensive history and clinical examination still forms the essential first step in any cardiac evaluation. This article summarizes the approach to the cardiac examination at rest, highlighting key areas for the clinician to assess, and stressing the importance of context for assessing the significance of any abnormalities detected. Ancillary techniques, such as blood pressure measurement and the laboratory assessment of cardiac disease in the horse, are also...
Navas de Solis C.The physiology of exercise and training is fascinating, and hundreds of interesting studies have given insight into its mechanisms. Exercise testing is a useful clinical tool that can help veterinarians assess poor performance, fitness, and performance potential and prevent injuries. The clinically applicable aspects of cardiovascular adaptions to training and exercise testing are highlighted in this review. Different exercise tests should be used to evaluate horses performing in different disciplines and levels. Exercise tests that simultaneously assess several body systems can be beneficial ...
Berlin N, Kelmer E, Segev G, Aroch I, Kelmer G.Coagulopathies in horses are common and potentially life-threatening. In equine field medicine, a portable point-of-care (POC) prothrombin time (PT) testing device could be useful to identify early changes in extrinsic clotting. The CoaguChek-XS (Roche Diagnostics) is a small, portable POC PT analyzer used in human medicine. Our preliminary study assessed the suitability of CoaguChek-XS for testing PT in horses and established the PT reference interval (PT RI) in healthy horses using this instrument. Blood samples collected from 102 healthy and ill horses were analyzed with the CoaguChek-XS an...
Marr CM.Degenerative myxomatous disease is common and is associated with aging. Poor prognostic indicators for equine aortic regurgitation specifically include ventricular ectopy, increased pulse pressure, and hyperkinetic pulses. Valvular prolapse is a functional abnormality diagnosed echocardiographically, about which knowledge is limited. A better understanding of its role in valvular regurgitation is needed. Infective endocarditis presents with fever and other systemic signs accompanying valvular regurgitation. The prognosis is poor, warranting aggressive therapy. Other forms of valvular disease o...
Shih AC.Monitoring variables of cardiac performance in horses is challenging owing to patient size, temperament, and anatomic peculiarities. Blood pressure is a major determinant of afterload, but it is not a reliable surrogate of cardiac performance and tissue perfusion. Cardiac output, together with arterial and venous oxygen content, provides insight as to the adequacy of delivery of blood and oxygen to the body as a whole and can be used to gauge the fluid responsiveness and cardiovascular status of the patient. Measurement of intracardiac pressures serves to assess cardiac filling pressures, myoc...
Urubschurov V, Stroebel C, Günther E, Romanowski K, Büsing K, Zeyner A.Effects of probiotics on the intestinal microbiota of foals are yet insufficiently studied. The aim of this study was to investigate whether supplementation of Lactobacillus rhamnosus (DSM 7133) and Enterococcus faecium (DSM 7134) influences the bacterial composition of the faecal microbiota of foals. A total of 34 newborn foals were randomly assigned to the placebo group (PG, n = 16) and the treatment group (TG, n = 18). From day 1 to day 14 of life, foals orally received 3 ml of either a probiotic preparation (1.05 × 10 CFU E. faecium and 4.50 × 10 CFU L. rhamnosus) or placebo (...
Jackson K, Kelty E, Staszyk C, Tennant M.Peripheral caries may cause significant oral pain and pathology and is very prevalent within the Western Australia horse population. Associations with periodontal disease have been indicated; however, further work is needed to assess the anatomical and histological aspects of the conditions, to better understand the pathophysiology. Objective: To assess the anatomical and histopathological changes associated with equine cheek teeth peripheral caries and disease of the periodontium to better understand the pathogenesis and any association between the conditions. Methods: Cross-sectional epidemi...
Lopez BS, Hurley DJ, Giancola S, Giguère S, Felippe MJB, Hart KA.Neonatal foals are uniquely susceptible to certain infections early in life. Dendritic cells (DC) are vital in the transition between the innate and adaptive immune response to infection, but DC biology in foals is not fully characterized. Monocyte-derived DC represent a suitable in vitro model similar to DC that differentiate from monocytes recruited from circulation. We hypothesized that foal monocyte-derived DC (MoDC) would exhibit age-dependent phenotypic and functional differences compared to adult horse MoDC. MoDC generated from 9 horses (collected once) and from 8 foals (collected at 1,...
Hansen S, Klintoe K, Austevoll M, Baptiste KE, Fjeldborg J.Icelandic horses are often stabled in loose-housing systems, and to date this type of stabling has not been evaluated with regard to its potential impact on respiratory health. The objective was to assess if differences in management systems (eg, conventional stable, loose housing and pasture only) affect the degree of airway inflammation, evaluated by cytology of tracheal aspirate (TA) and bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) fluid. In total, 84 Icelandic horses (aged 8.1±4.6 years) housed under three different management systems (conventional stables [n=29], loose-house systems [n=29] and pasture [...
Hansford KM, Carter D, Gillingham EL, Hernandez-Triana LM, Chamberlain J, Cull B, McGinley L, Paul Phipps L, Medlock JM.During September 2018, a tick was submitted to Public Health England's Tick Surveillance Scheme for identification. The tick was sent from a veterinarian who removed it from a horse in Dorset, England, with no history of overseas travel. The tick was identified as a male Hyalomma rufipes using morphological and molecular methods and then tested for a range of tick-borne pathogens including; Alkhurma virus, Anaplasma, Babesia, Bhanja virus, Crimean-Congo Haemorrhagic fever virus, Rickettsia and Theileria. The tick tested positive for Rickettsia aeschlimannii, a spotted fever group rickettsia li...
Aurich J, Köhne M, Wulf M, Nagel C, Beythien E, Gautier C, Zentek J, Aurich C.The importance of the amino acid L-arginine (ARG) for conceptus growth and litter size has been demonstrated in various species. L-arginine is part of embryo-derived polyamines, a substrate for nitric oxide synthase and stimulates protein synthesis by the embryo. In the present study, we have investigated whether dietary L-arginine supplementation stimulates early conceptus growth in mares. Warmblood mares with singleton pregnancies received either an arginine-supplemented diet (approximately 0.0125% of body weight, n = 12) or a control diet (n = 11) from days 15 to 45 after ovulation. Dia...
Kornicka K, Al Naem M, Röcken M, Zmiertka M, Marycz K.Osteochondritis dissecans (OCD) in equids, especially in sport horses, has become a growing issue as it contributes to the occurrence of lameness. Thus the aim of this study was to investigate the cytophysiological properties of OCD chondrocytes including expression of chondrogenic genes, apoptosis, mitochondria dynamics and autophagy. Horse chondrocytes were isolated from healthy (HE) and OCD cartilages. Properties of cells were evaluated using multiple assays e.g., polymerase chain reaction (PCR), immunofluorescence, Western blot. OCD chondrocytes were characterized by increased apoptosis an...
Pusterla N, James K, Mapes S, Bain F.Due to the inconsistent development of enteric signs associated with ECoV infection in adult horses, many practitioners collect nasal secretions rather than feces for the molecular diagnostic work-up of such horses. ECoV infection should be considered in horses presenting with acute onset of fever, especially when nasal discharge is absent as one of the cardinal clinical sign. A total of 277 adult horses with acute onset of fever were enrolled in this study. Feces were tested for ECoV and nasal secretions for common respiratory pathogens (equine herpesvirus (EHV)-1, EHV-4, equine influenza vir...
Bohlin AM, Olsen SN, Laursen SH, Öhman A, van Galen G.Lawsonia intracellularis, an obligate intracellular bacterium, causes equine proliferative enteropathy, mainly in horses around weaning. This disease is rarely reported in the Scandinavian countries. Results: Five cases of equine proliferative enteropathy were diagnosed between 2008-2016 at the University of Copenhagen Large Animal Teaching Hospital. Cases were Danish Warmbloods and a Friesian horse, aged 6-7 months, presenting with typical clinical signs of lethargy, poor body condition, pyrexia and diarrhea. Clinical pathology was consistent with previous reports of severe hypoalbuminemia a...
Heaton K, Farnsworth KD, Souza CRS, Jones ARE. This report describes the use of a minimally invasive standing pastern arthrodesis technique for the treatment of osteoarthritis in horses and documents its clinical outcome in 12 horses. Methods: Medical records and radiographs of horses diagnosed with proximal interphalangeal joint osteoarthritis that underwent standing pastern arthrodesis using transarticular screws were reviewed. Follow-up information for determination of outcome was obtained via phone interview with the owners. Results: Twelve horses (15 limbs) were included in the study. Radiographical findings revealed severe o...
Redaelli V, Luzi F, Mazzola S, Bariffi GD, Zappaterra M, Nanni Costa L, Padalino B.The aim of this pilot study was to document the effects of endurance training at different intensities on heart rate (HR), blood count, serum cortisol, and maximal temperatures of different body locations, namely eye, crown, pastern pasterns, and muscle (, measured by infrared thermography technique (IRT) in horses trained for endurance. Possible associations among the studied parameters were also investigated. Our hypothesis was that temperature, measured by IRT after endurance training of different intensities would vary depending on the intensity and would be positively correlated with HR...
Bonelli F, Rota A, Aurich C, Ille N, Camillo F, Panzani D, Sgorbini M.Salivary cortisol provides information about free plasma cortisol concentration, and salivary sampling is a noninvasive well-tolerated procedure. The aim of this study was to validate a commercial enzyme immunoassay for the determination of salivary cortisol in donkeys. Saliva samples were collected in four donkey stallions on 13 nonconsecutive days at 8:30 AM to avoid circadian variation. Animals were already accustomed to be handled. Saliva was collected using a swab inserted at the angle of the lips, placed onto the tongue for 1 minute and returned into a polypropylene tube. Tubes were cen...
Zoff A, Dugdale AHA, Scarabelli S, Rioja E.This study compared the values of variables measured by pulse co-oximetry (Masimo Radical 7; Masimo Europe Limited, UK) with those measured by a co-oximeter-enabled blood gas analyser (Siemens Rapid-point 500; Siemens Healthcare Limited, UK) in anaesthetized horses. Methods: Retrospective study. Methods: A total of 30 anaesthetized horses. Methods: In total, 47 heparinized arterial blood samples were collected for blood gas analysis to determine haemoglobin concentration (tHb, g L) and percentage of haemoglobin saturation with oxygen (SaO). Arterial haemoglobin saturation with oxygen was deter...
Baird A, Dominguez Falcon N, Saeed A, Guest DJ.Horses, like humans, can experience bone fractures and due to their large size and the need to bear weight on all limbs during the recovery period, they can be difficult to treat. Surgical techniques to improve fracture repair are improving, but to date, regenerative medicine technologies to aid fracture healing are not commonly applied in horses. We have previously demonstrated that equine induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) can be differentiated into bone forming osteoblasts in 2D culture. In this study, we report on the use of a thermoplastic, 3D-printed polymer to provide a scaffold for...
Prasad A, Kumar V, Kumar B.Theileria equi is a tickborne hemoparasite that can cause severe illness in equids. In this report, we are describing a condition of acute bilateral hyphema in a 4-month-old Kathiawari filly infected with T. equi. The horse showed clinical signs such as fever, lethargy, icterus, tachycardia, tachypnea, and bilateral hyphema. Laboratory diagnosis revealed anemia and thrombocytopenia. Atypical clinical manifestation of bilateral hyphema, to our knowledge, has never been reported so far in equids infected with T. equi. The diagnosis was confirmed by microscopic examination of Geimsa-stained blo...
Silva GB, De La Côrte FD, Brass KE, Palma HE, Gallio M, Cantarelli C, Bertolin K, Krause A, Wergutz J, Fontanari Krause LM, Antoniazzi AQ.Chondrocyte health is altered when exposed to local anesthetics, raising concerns as to the long-term effects of local anesthetics intra-articularly for diagnosis and analgesia. To investigate the drug with the lowest toxic potential, the effect of ropivacaine and mepivacaine on chondrocytes was evaluated. Articular cartilage from normal metacarpophalangeal joints of five equine cadaver specimens was used to establish chondrocyte cultures. Following seven days, chondrocytes were exposed to standard culture medium (DMEM), ropivacaine 7.5 mg/ml (ROP7.5), ropivacaine 10 mg/ml (ROP10), mepivacaine...
Kamus L, Rameau M, Theoret C.Wounds are among the most common medical conditions affecting horses and have a major economic impact on the horse industry. Wound healing in horses is distinct to that documented in other species, and often results in delayed healing and extensive scarring, with compromised functional and aesthetic outcomes. To date, there is no conventional method objectively proven to accelerate healing or to successfully prevent complications associated with second intention healing. Several effects of Negative Pressure Wound Therapy (NPWT) may be particularly useful to the management of wounds in horses. ...
Blikslager AT.Management factors associated with colic, particularly related to stall confinement and nutrition, have been linked to alterations in gastrointestinal mucosal transport, motility, and microbiome, which in turn creates conditions that induce colic. In particular, meal feeding creates large changes in water movement in and out of the colon and alters the microbiome. These conditions may in turn result in colic conditions such as large colon impaction or large colon volvulus. In addition, a range of management and nutritional factors have been found to place horses at risk of select colic conditi...
Cazeau G, Leblond A, Sala C, Froustey M, Beck C, Lecollinet S, Tapprest J.Few studies about the use of quantitative equine mortality data for monitoring purposes are available. Our study evaluated the utility of monitoring emerging equine diseases using mortality data collected by rendering plants. We used approaches involving modelling of historical mortality fluctuations and detection algorithm methods to analyse changes in equine mortality in connection with the West Nile Virus (WNV) outbreak that occurred between July and September 2015 along the Mediterranean coast of France. Two weeks after the first equine WNV case was detected by clinical surveillance, detec...
Linardi RL, Dodson ME, Moss KL, King WJ, Ortved KF.Cartilage injury occurs commonly in equine athletes, often precipitating posttraumatic osteoarthritis (PTOA). Orthobiologics such as autologous conditioned serum (ACS) and autologous protein solution (APS) may be useful in decreasing posttraumatic inflammation, thereby preventing PTOA. The objective of this study was to quantify cytokine concentrations in ACS and APS and evaluate the protective effects of ACS and APS on inflamed chondrocytes cultured . We hypothesized that the combination of platelet-derived growth factors (PDGF) and anti-inflammatory cytokines present in APS would be superior...
Ekman S, Lindahl A, Rüetschi U, Jansson A, Björkman K, Abrahamsson-Aurell K, Björnsdóttir S, Löfgren M, Hultén LM, Skiöldebrand E.Molecular serum markers that can identify early reversible osteoarthritis (OA) in horses are lacking. Objective: We studied serum concentrations of a novel cartilage oligomeric matrix protein (COMP) neo-epitope in horses subjected to short-term exercise and with acute lameness. The effects of circadian rhythm and age were also evaluated. Methods: Longitudinal studies in healthy horses and cross-sectional comparison of lame and non-lame horses. Methods: Sera were collected from five horses before and after short-term interval exercise and during full-day box rest. Sera from 32 acutely lame hors...
Kirkpatrick CJ, Ernst NS, Trumble TN.There are limited radiographic-guided injection techniques of the insertion of the distal interphalangeal joint (DIPJ) collateral ligaments. The objective of this study was to develop and evaluate a palmar/plantar radiographic-guided injection of the collateral ligament insertion in cadavers. Fifty limbs were used to develop the technique and 24 additional limbs were used to evaluate accuracy. An 18 G, 9 cm spinal needle was placed in the depression between the palmar digital neurovascular bundle and arch of the ungular cartilage with dorsodistal advancement towards the distal phalanx collat...
Dutra GA, Ishak GM, Pechanova O, Pechan T, Peterson DG, Jacob JCF, Willard ST, Ryan PL, Gastal EL, Feugang JM.Proteomic studies of follicular fluid (FF) exist for several species, including the horse; however, the seasonal influence on FF proteome has not been explored in livestock. The application of high-throughput proteomics of FF in horse has the potential to identify seasonal variations of proteins involved in follicle and oocyte growth. Methods: This study (i) profiles the proteomes of equine FF collected from dominant growing follicles during the spring anovulatory season (SAN), and spring (SOV), summer (SUM), and fall (FOV) ovulatory seasons; and (ii) identifies season-dependent regulatory net...
Fehlberg LK, Lattimer JM, Drouillard JS, Douthit TL.Effects of Co on fiber digestibility in horses are largely unknown. Our objective was to evaluate effects of Co chloride on in vitro gas production, VFA production, and dry matter (DM) disappearance (IVDMD) using cecal fluid from 4 cannulated Quarter Horses. Five grams DM of alfalfa or smooth bromegrass hay were provided as substrate with Co added at 0.0, 0.5, 5.0, 25.0, or 50.0 mg/kg substrate DM. Ten milliliters cecal fluid and 140 mL McDougall's buffer were incubated in duplicate, and pH, VFA concentrations, and IVDMD were measured after 48 hours. Gas production, used as an indicator of...
Erol E, Scortti M, Fortner J, Patel M, Vázquez-Boland JA.Clonal multidrug resistance recently emerged in Rhodococcus equi, complicating the therapeutic management of this difficult-to-treat animal- and human-pathogenic actinomycete. The currently spreading multidrug-resistant (MDR) "2287" clone arose in equine farms upon acquisition, and coselection by mass macrolide-rifampin therapy, of the pRErm46 plasmid carrying the (46) macrolide-lincosamide-streptogramin resistance determinant, and of an mutation. Here, we screened a collection of susceptible and macrolide-resistant strains from equine clinical cases using a panel of 15 antimicrobials agains...
Equine asthma is an inflammatory respiratory disorder, classified as mild-moderate (MEA) and severe (SEA). SEA is characterized by recurrent exacerbations, consisting of dyspnea, coughing and exercise intolerance; MEA causes poor performance, occasional cough and mucus hypersecretion. Although a precise pathogenesis is not completely understood, allergic mechanisms are considered an important pathophysiological feature of equine asthma. In equine medicine, intradermal testing (IDT) is effective in identifying hypersensitivity to specific allergens. However, to date, the studies about IDT in as...
Nagy AD, Simhofer H.To report use of mandibular condylectomy for treatment of advanced degenerative joint disease of the temporomandibular joint (TMJ) caused by sepsis. Methods: Clinical case report. Methods: Two-year-old Noriker filly. Methods: Computed tomography (CT) was used to confirm advanced degenerative joint disease of the left TMJ and for follow-up after mandibular condylectomy and removal of necrotic meniscus. Results: Painful swelling (3 weeks duration) with drainage located just caudal to the left lateral canthus of the eye was associated with atrophy of the left masseter muscle, masticatory problems...
Labens R, Schramme MC, Murray RC, Bolas N.High-field MRI of the proximal metacarpal/metatarsal region has been associated with great diagnostic potential and clinical reports of standing low-field MRI of the forelimb suggest the same. To better understand diagnostic outcomes with standing low-field MRI of the proximal suspensory region, a prospective survey study was conducted and users of a widely available system questioned on their experience, operating procedures, and interpretation of standing low-field MRI findings. Response data included scores on a modified Likert scale from which weighted ratings were calculated for statistic...
Oaks JL, Ulibarri C, Crawford TB.Equine infectious anaemia virus (EIAV) infection of horses is characterized clinically by recurrent episodes of fever, thrombocytopenia and anaemia. In vivo, the only site of virus replication that has been previously demonstrated for EIAV is the tissue macrophage. In this study, in situ hybridization for EIAV was combined with immunohistochemistry for cell-type-specific markers to identify infected endothelial cells. EIAV-infected endothelial cells and macrophages were detected in horses infected with either virulent wild-type or with weakly virulent tissue culture-adapted strains of EIAV. Th...
Bjørn H, Sommer C, Schougård H, Henriksen SA, Nansen P.This study was undertaken to establish whether anthelmintic resistance was present in nematode parasites of horses in Denmark. Sixteen horse farms were selected for faecal egg count reduction (FECR) tests to measure the efficacy of the anthelmintic used. Resistance to benzimidazole anthelmintics was found on 13 of the 16 farms, with FECR values ranging from 80.0% to -101.3%. On the remaining 3 farms FECR was 100.0%, 99.3% and 97.2%. Results of a questionnaire study on anthelmintic usage, parasite control measures and management practices showed that horses in this study were treated on average...
Pirhonen A, Linnala-Kankkunen A, Mäenpää PH.Protamines isolated from ejaculated human, stallion, bull, boar, and ram spermatozoa were subjected to phosphoserine conversion reaction and protein sequencing. Phosphoserines were detected as S-ethylcysteines. Endogenously phosphorylated protamines have previously been found only in ejaculated human sperm. In this study, we demonstrate that ejaculated sperm from other species also contain protamines phosphorylated at serine residues. In P1-protamines, the endogenously phosphorylated serines were located at the N-terminal region in all species studied, whereas in major forms of human and stall...
Rakowska A, Cywinska A, Witkowski L.The aim of this review was to summarize studies on equine rhodococcosis over the last decade. For many years has remained one of the major health challenges in the equine breeding industry worldwide. Recently, many novel approaches and ideas have been described and some of them were initially implemented into the clinical practice. This study reviews a variety of new information about neonatal susceptibility, clinical appearance, considered and applied diagnostic procedures and treatment alternatives, factors limiting accurate prognosis, ideas regarding environmental management and prophylax...
Gilger BC, Malok E, Stewart T, Horohov D, Ashton P, Smith T, Jaffe GJ, Allen JB.The purpose of this study was to determine the effects of an intravitreal device releasing cyclosporine A (CsA) on recurrent inflammatory episodes in experimental uveitis. Nine normal horses were immunized peripherally with H37RA-mTB antigen twice, and then received 25 microg of H37RA-mTB antigen intravitreally in the right eye and an equal volume of balanced salt solution intravitreally in the left eye. Two weeks later, the animals randomly received either a CsA or a polymer implant (without CsA) in both eyes 1 week following implantation of the devices, 25 microg of H37RA-mTB antigen was rei...
Argüelles D, Saitua A, de Medina AS, Muñoz JA, Muñoz A.Navicular syndrome, a common cause of equine forelimb lameness, is associated with pathological changes in the navicular bone. Consequently, administration of bisphosphonates (BPs) has been advocated in order to modify the rate of bone turnover. The present study aimed to assess the clinical efficacy of intramuscularly administered clodronic acid for the treatment of 11 horses with clinical and radiographic findings compatible with navicular syndrome. Magnetic resonance imaging was performed in 5 of the 11 horses. The animals were treated with an intramuscular dose of clodronic acid of 765 m...
Lyons ET, Tolliver SC, Collins SS.Two field tests (A and B) were conducted in Thoroughbred weanlings born in 2008 and 2009 on a farm (BC) in Central Kentucky. The purpose was to determine the current efficacy of moxidectin (MOX) and ivermectin (IVM) on small strongyles by pre- and posttreatment counts of eggs per gram of feces (EPGs) in this geographical area. In previous parasite studies in horses on this farm and in horses on numerous other farms in this area, cultures of feces indicated the strongyle larvae were all small strongyles. Therefore, the strongyle eggs in the EPG counts are considered small strongyles. Designatio...
Kane AJ, Stover SM, Gardner IA, Case JT, Johnson BJ, Read DH, Ardans AA.To evaluate selected shoe characteristics as risk factors for fatal musculoskeletal injury (FMI) and specifically for suspensory apparatus failure (SAF) and cannon bone condylar fracture (CDY) of Thoroughbred racehorses in California. Methods: Case-control study. Methods: Thoroughbred racehorses (n = 201) that died of were euthanatized at California racetracks between August 1992 and July 1994. Methods: Shoe characteristics were compared between case horses affected by FMI (155), SAF (79), and CDY (41) and control horses that died for reasons unrelated to the appendicular musculoskeletal syste...
Heninger NL, Staub C, Blanchard TL, Johnson L, Varner DD, Forrest DW.Apoptosis in testicular germ cells has been demonstrated in many mammalian species. However, little is known about the stallion (Equus caballus) and rates of apoptosis during spermatogenesis. Morphological and biochemical features of apoptosis reported in other species were used to confirm that the TdT-mediated dUTP Nick end labeling (TUNEL) assay is an acceptable method for identification and quantification of apoptotic germ cells in histological tissue sections from stallion testis. Seminiferous tubules from eight stallions with normal testis size and semen quality were evaluated according t...
Epstein KL, Bergren A, Giguère S, Brainard BM.Lower molecular weight and molar substitution formulations of hydroxyethyl starch (HES) solutions might maximize cardiovascular function and colloid osmotic pressure (COP) and minimize adverse effects on coagulation. Objective: To compare effects of 1 low and 1 high molecular weight and molar substitution HES solution on cardiovascular variables, COP, and hemostasis in normal horses. Methods: Eight healthy adult horses. Methods: Randomized, crossover designed study: 10 mL/kg bolus of 6% HES (600/0.75) (hetastarch) (HS), 6% HES (130/0.4) tetrastarch (TS), and 0.9% NaCl (NS). Variables recorded ...
Journal of proteomicsSeptember 23, 2020
Volume 230 103989 doi: 10.1016/j.jprot.2020.103989
Weigand M, Hauck SM, Deeg CA, Degroote RL.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a spontaneous, remitting-relapsing autoimmune disease driven by the adaptive immune system. Although T cells are described as the main effector cells in pathogenesis, granulocytes have also emerged as possible disease mediators. To explore the role of these innate immune cells, we investigated the whole cell proteome of granulocytes from equine recurrent uveitis cases and healthy controls. Among the 2362 proteins identified by mass spectrometry, we found 96 proteins with significantly changed abundance between groups (p < 0.05, fold change >1.2), representin...
Mills ML, Rush BR, St Jean G, Gaughan EM, Mosier D, Gibson E, Freeman L.To determine the serum and synovial fluid concentrations of ceftiofur sodium after intraarticular (IA) and intravenous (IV) administration and to evaluate the morphologic changes after intraarticular ceftiofur sodium administration. Methods: Strip plot design for the ceftiofur sodium serum and synovial fluid concentrations and a split plot design for the cytologic and histopathologic evaluation. Methods: Six healthy adult horses without lameness. Methods: Stage 1: Ceftiofur sodium (2.2 mg/kg) was administered IV. Stage 2: 150 mg (3 mL) of ceftiofur sodium (pHavg 6.57) was administered IA into ...
Salcedo-Jiménez R, Koenig JB, Lee OJ, Gibson TWG, Madan P, Koch TG.Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) has been shown to induce different biological effects on a variety of cells, including regulation and stimulation of their function and metabolism. ESWT can promote different biological responses such as proliferation, migration, and regenerations of cells. Recent studies have shown that mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) secrete factors that enhance the regeneration of tissues, stimulate proliferation and differentiation of cells, and decrease inflammatory and immune reactions. Clinically, the combination of these two therapies has been used as a treatme...
Cohen ND, Mundy GD, Peloso JG, Carey VJ, Amend NK.To estimate the relative risk of injury among horses deemed to be at increased risk of injury on the basis of prerace physical inspection findings and to examine the association of injury during races with race-related characteristics. Methods: Cohort study. Methods: 2,187 Thoroughbred horses that started 3,227 races in Kentucky. Methods: All race starts for which a horse was deemed to be at increased risk of injury on the basis of prerace physical inspection findings and a random sample of race starts for which horses were not deemed at increased risk of injury were included in the study. Fin...
Garvican ER, Vaughan-Thomas A, Redmond C, Clegg PD.Our objective was to characterize the variation in gene expression for key genes associated with chondrogenic phenotype of osteochondrosis (OC)-affected and normal chondrocytes, and to identify whether OC chondrocytes can redifferentiate and regain a phenotype similar to normal chondrocytes if appropriate chondrogenic signals are given. Equine articular cartilage removed at surgery to treat clinically significant OC lesions was collected (n = 10), and the gene expression evaluated and compared to aged-matched normal samples (n = 10). Cartilage was harvested from normal (n = 4) and OC (n = 3) j...
Trotter GW, Yovich JV, McIlwraith CW, Norrdin RW.The effect of intramuscular polysulfated glycosaminoglycan (PSG) on repair of cartilage injury was evaluated in eight horses. In each horse, one middle carpal joint had both a partial-thickness and a full-thickness articular cartilage defect created. In the contralateral middle carpal joint, chemical articular cartilage injury was created by intra-articular injection of 50 mg sodium monoiodoacetate (MIA). Horses were divided into two groups for treatment. Group 1 horses (control) received an intramuscular injection of normal saline every four days for a total of seven injections starting seven...
Deeg CA.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is a wide spread disease of the eye, which is the main cause for blindness in horses worldwide. Meanwhile, ERU is also accepted as the only reliable spontaneous model for human autoimmune uveitis. We identified and characterized novel autoantigens by analyzing the autoantibody-binding pattern from ERU cases to the retinal proteome. Cellular retinaldehyde-binding protein (CRALBP) and malate dehydrogenase (MDH) were detected as novel ERU autoantigens by this approach. B- and T-cell autoreactivity was detected to both autoantigens in ERU cases. The evaluation of the...
Cappelli K, Verini-Supplizi A, Capomaccio S, Silvestrelli M.The knowledge of molecular mechanisms of stress response in athlete horses can allow us to plan an appropriate and high-grade training to obtain better performance and to preserve horse welfare. It is well known that excessive muscular exercise can lead to a number of responses which may be associated with modification of the mRNA levels for a number of metabolic genes such as those involved in the immune response. In the present study cDNA-AFLP technique was applied to Arab endurance horses under stressing conditions to visualise variations of transcriptional profiles; 49 transcript derived f...
Kydd JH, Case R, Winton C, MacRae S, Sharp E, Ricketts SL, Rash N, Newton JR.Identification of risk factors which are associated with severe clinical signs can assist in the management of disease outbreaks and indicate future research areas. Pregnancy loss during late gestation in the mare compromises welfare, reduces fecundity and has financial implications for horse owners. This retrospective study focussed on the identification of risk factors associated with pregnancy loss among 46 Thoroughbred mares on a single British stud farm, with some but not all losses involving equid herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) infection. In a sub-group of 30 mares, association between pregnancy ...
Durham AE, Potier JF, Huber L.Use of plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentrations for the diagnosis of PPID in equids requires awareness of other factors that might influence ACTH concentrations, including breed and time of year. This study was designed to investigate effects of breed on plasma ACTH concentrations and potential interactions between breed and time of year. Ten breeds were selected from a laboratory database containing data on plasma ACTH concentrations. Breeds represented were Arabians, Cobs, Connemara ponies, donkeys, Irish Sports horses, New Forest ponies, Shetland ponies, Thoroughbreds, Warmb...
Menzies-Gow NJ.Eight normal thoroughbred horses were examined by echocardiography before and 10 minutes after they had been sedated by the intravenous administration of 0.03 mg/kg acepromazine. There were significant (P<0.025) increases in the diameters of the pulmonary artery and the aorta, measured at end-systole, and in the thickness of the interventricular septum, measured at end-systole and end-diastole. In addition, there was a significant (P<0.001) decrease in the diameter of the left atrium measured at end-diastole. The remaining cardiac dimensions, all the indices of cardiac function, and the ...
Voelter-Ratson K, Pot SA, Florin M, Spiess BM.Keratomycosis is a severe disease in horses. Geographical differences in fungi causing keratomycosis and susceptibility of the organisms to antifungal drugs exist but few previous publications on this disease originate from Europe. Objective: To retrospectively compare the clinical data of 36 eyes with keratomycosis, diagnosed in 35 horses between January 2000 and August 2011 at the Vetsuisse Faculty of Switzerland. Case history, season, prior treatment, clinical appearance, surgical and medical treatment, treatment duration, and globe survival were evaluated. Methods: Retrospective case serie...
Topp AK, Springer A, Mischke R, Rieder J, Feige K, Ganter M, Nagel-Kohl U, Nordhoff M, Boelke M, Becker S, Pachnicke S, Schunack B, Dobler G, Strube C.Tick-borne encephalitis virus (TBEV) is a tick-transmitted flavivirus, which can infect humans and animals, sometimes even with a fatal outcome. Since many decades, TBEV is endemic in southern Germany, while only sporadic occurrence has been noted in northern parts of the country so far. Nevertheless, autochthonous human clinical cases are increasing in the federal state of Lower Saxony in north-western Germany, and several natural foci of TBEV transmission have recently been detected in this federal state. In order to shed more light on the current distribution of TBEV in Lower Saxony, the pr...
Sentsui H, Kono Y.During the autumn of 1978 a disease characterised by fever and occasionally by exanthema and/or oedema of the limbs was seen in approximately 13 per cent of horses in a training stable in the Kanto district of Japan. A virus was isolated by the intracerebral inoculation of one-day-old mice from blood and nasal swabs taken from naturally and experimentally infected horses. The virus was subsequently passaged in two monkey kidney cell lines in which it produced complete cytopathic changes. Infected horses developed neutralising, complement fixing and haemagglutinin inhibiting antibodies to the v...