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.
Munerato MS, Simon O, Nicholson A.This report describes successful cardiopulmonary resuscitation of a healthy, 525 kg, 8 years 9 months-old Quarter horse gelding. After successful pelvic limb orthopaedic surgery to excise a metatarsal bone under general anaesthesia, with the horse in left lateral recumbency, the horse was hoisted into recovery. After the horse was positioned in recovery, a routine cardiac check by thoracic auscultation was performed. Cardiopulmonary arrest (CPA) was identified by absence of cardiac sounds and pulse, as evaluated by digital palpation of the facial artery, absence of the right palpebral reflex, ...
Godoi APDS, Sobral GG, da Silva Vieira JC, Carneiro GF, Conceição FR, da Silva ER, Mendonça M.Equine rhodococcosis is caused by Rhodococcus equi, an intracellular coccobacillus whose main virulence factor is a plasmid that harbors genes encoding proteins from the Vap family, with the vapA gene being the most important in equine isolates. Furthermore, other factors observed in R. equi strains, such as antimicrobial resistance and biofilm production, may represent significant challenges in the treatment of affected animals. The objective of this study was to characterize four isolates of R. equi from foals in the state of Pernambuco, Brazil. All isolates were identified as R. equi throug...
Tardiolo G, La Fauci D, Riggio V, Daghio M, Di Salvo E, Zumbo A, Sutera AM.The diversity and composition of the gut microbiota are widely recognized as fundamental factors influencing the well-being and productivity of domestic animals. Advancements in sequencing technologies have revolutionized studies in this research field, allowing for deeper insights into the composition and functionality of microbiota in livestock. Ruminants and monogastric animals exhibit distinct digestive systems and microbiota characteristics: ruminants rely on fermentation, while monogastrics use enzymatic digestion, and monogastric animals have simpler stomach structures, except for horse...
Loublier C, Costa M, Taminiau B, Lecoq L, Daube G, Amory H, Cesarini C.Research on fecal microbiota changes during hospitalization of horses with colic is emerging. Objective: Describe changes of the fecal microbiota during hospitalization of horses with colic caused by inflammatory (INFL), simple (SIMPLE), and strangulated (STR) obstructions, and investigate associations with survival. Methods: Twenty-three horses with colic: 9 in INFL, 5 in STR, and 9 in SIMPLE groups. Seventeen horses survived, and 6 were euthanized. Methods: Prospective observational study. Fecal samples were collected on admission (D1), on days 3 (D3) and 5 (D5). Bacterial taxonomy profiling...
Nolen-Walston RD, Kulp JC, Stefanovski D, van Eps AW.Hyperinsulinemia is an important and treatable risk factor for laminitis in horses. Objective: Evaluate the Tosoh AIA-360 automated fluorescence enzyme immunoassay for the measurement of serum insulin concentrations in horses, and compare it to five other immunoassays for insulin quantification. Methods: One hundred serum samples from 83 horses were submitted for insulin measurement. Methods: The Tosoh AIA-360 was assessed against a reference assay (radioactive immunoassay; RIA). Using the same samples, TOS-FEIA, ELISA, and three chemiluminescent immunoassays (CLIA) were assessed for correlati...
Arnade H, Ivie IE, Gordon J, Peroni JF.To evaluate the feasibility of short-term 3-D tissue culture in maintaining the structure and function of equine synovial explants and demonstrate that day 4 explant characteristics were not significantly different from day 0. We hypothesized that a 4-day culture period in 3-D explant culture would not significantly disrupt synovial tissue health and function compared to baseline measurements. Unassigned: Synovial explants (n = 24/horse) from healthy carpal joints of 5 horses were cultured in 12-well plates using tissue-stabilizing agar rings. Explants were evaluated in triplicate or quadrupli...
Oyaneder L, Lagos N, Dörner C.The present study was conducted to evaluate the safety and the long-lasting anesthetic properties of Neosaxitoxin (NeoSTX) when injected into the intercoccygeal space in standing horses. A group of eighteen (n = 18) healthy client-owned mature crossbreed horses were enrolled in this study. Caudal epidural injection was ascertained by two methods, the "hanging drop" technique and radiographs. Horses were allocated into three groups (n = 6) each group receiving different dosages of NeoSTX. To assess the onset of action and duration of anesthesia, six horses received 20 μg in 2 mL, six 20Â...
Brys M, Claerebout E, Saey V, Chiers K.A cross-sectional study was conducted to estimate the prevalence of chorioptic mange affecting the distal legs of horses in Belgium, focusing on the association between mange and chronic progressive lymphedema (CPL) in Belgian draft horses. Clinical examinations and skin scrapings were performed on the distal legs of 156 Belgian draft horses and 142 Belgian warmblood horses. In the Belgian draft horse breed, 144 (92.31%) horses were infested with Chorioptes bovis mites, and 126 (80.77%) displayed clinical signs of CPL. CPL prevalence in draft horses aged < 1 year was 17.86%, while mites we...
Hoerdemann M, Sahoo DK, Allbaugh RA, Kubai MA.To assess if an affordable, commercially available 275 nm ultraviolet C (UV-C) device can inhibit fungal pathogens associated with equine keratomycosis and to establish the optimal exposure time/dose required in vitro. Methods: Fungal inhibition zone surface areas of isolates from two fungal genera (Aspergillus and Fusarium spp.) were compared in triplicates after UV-C exposure at distances of 10, 15, and 20 mm with single or repeat doses (4 h apart) of 5, 10, 15, or 30 s duration after 24, 48, and 72 h of incubation. Inhibition zones were microscopically assessed, and regrowth chec...
Wang B, Duan W, Zhao J, Bai D.Once a mare experiences parturition abnormalities, the outcome between a live foal and a stillborn can change rapidly. Automated detection of mare parturition and timely human intervention is crucial to reducing risks during mare and foal parturition. This paper addresses the challenges of manual monitoring of parturition in large-scale equine facilities due to the unpredictability of mare parturition timing, proposing an algorithm for detecting mare parturition through a balanced multi-scale feature fusion based on an improved Libra RCNN. Initially, a ResNet101 backbone network incorporating ...
Mota-Rojas D, Whittaker AL, Coria-Avila GA, MartÃnez-Burnes J, Mora-Medina P, DomÃnguez-Oliva A, Hernández-Avalos I, Olmos-Hernández A....The growing interest in managing and recognizing pain in animals has led to the search for more sensitive methods to evaluate it, especially because some species conceal any visible changes associated with pain or are not easily assessed. Research has shown that an animal's facial expression changes when exposed to painful stimuli. Thus, developing several pain scales (grimace scales) in species such as horses, cattle, pigs, sheep, donkeys, rabbits, rats, mice, and cats has helped to improve the study of pain in veterinary medicine. The possibility of using facial expression as an indicator of...
Ichikawa Y, Iinuma Y, Okagawa T, Shimbo R, Enkhtuul B, Khurtsbaatar O, Kinoshita Y, Niwa H, Aoshima K, Kobayashi A, Batbaatar V, Ohashi K, Kimura T.Glanders is a World Organization for Animal Health (WOAH)-notifiable equine disease caused by the infection of Burkholderia mallei, and is endemic in Mongolia, South Asia, Africa, and South America. While the complement fixation test (CFT) has been widely used for serodiagnosis of glanders and is considered a standard serological test, it has several limitations. These limitations include poor specificity, labor intensive techniques, variability in antigen and protocol. Consequently, indirect enzyme-linked immunosorbent assays (iELISAs) based on recombinant proteins have been developed as alte...
Velásquez JM, Tamayo-Arango L, Santos-Silva T, Miglino MA.Horse joints are common sites of injury, orthopedic issues, and surgical and clinical interventions. For this reason, a thorough understanding of joint anatomy, including the boundaries of their recesses and their relationships with other structures of the locomotor apparatus, is essential. This study aimed to develop cast anatomical models of the synovial structures of the equine hand and foot, compare different casting materials and visualization methods, and identify the most suitable technique for enhancing the understanding of equine limb arthrology. Additionally, an anatomical descriptio...
Arojojoye AS, Holmes J, Buchart MP, Awuah SG, Eisenberg R, Fenger CK, Maylin GA, Tobin T.Bupivacaine is a local anesthetic widely used in equine and human medicine. Use of bupivacaine in performance horses is regulated because its ability to block pain means that it can be misused for advantage in performance horses. In racing regulation, bupivacaine is classified by the Association of Racing Commissioners International (ARCI) as a Class 2 Penalty Class A Foreign substance, the detection of which can lead to significant penalties. In horses, bupivacaine is metabolized by Phase-I hydroxylation to yield 3-hydroxybupivacaine, which is then glucuronidated to yield the Phase-II metabol...
Cheung HW, Wong KS, Choi YC, Kwok WH, So YM, Farrington AF, Bond AJ, Wan TSM, Ho ENM.An increasing number of novel Fc-fusion proteins and monoclonal antibodies (mAbs) are being developed as therapeutic agents for treating various diseases. Among these, there are inhibitors of the activin Type II receptor (ActRIIA and ActRIIB) signaling pathways and mAbs against nerve growth factor (NGF), which may be misused for performance enhancement in horseracing and equestrian sports. This study is aimed at developing a generic detection method for doping control analysis of nine targeted proteins, each containing the Fc domain of human IgG or IgG from other species in equine plasma, name...
Röschmann J, Naef J, Doras C, Gerber V.Equine asthma is a common cause of poor performance, but little is known about its impact on submaximal exercise. The aim of the present study was to evaluate the effects of equine asthma and potential confounding factors on recovery of respiratory rate (RR) and heart rate (HR) after a lunging exercise test. Thirty-seven horses completed a standardized 15 min lunging exercise including HR and RR recording pre- and up to 30 min post-exercise and venous blood lactate measurement. Endoscopy was performed and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytology was used to categorize horses as controls or asthma...
Albanese V, Straticò P, Fischer H, Petrizzi L.Injuries to the distal limb are common in horses. The clinical aspect of the lesions is variable based on the structures that are involved. Synovial structures as well as tendons and/or ligaments may be involved in such injuries, affecting treatment modalities and costs, and prognosis. This retrospective study compares wounds involving synovial structures to wounds without such involvement in terms of treatment duration and costs, and prognosis. Synovial wounds were much more expensive to treat and carried a lower prognosis. Involvement of tendons and/or ligaments in the wounds resulted in mor...
Abdul-Latif SAK, Yousif AA.Strangles is a highly contagious equine respiratory disease caused by . It is a globally significant pathogen and one of the most common infectious agents in horses. In Iraq, no sequencing data on this pathogen are available, and only two molecular studies have been published to date. This study provides preliminary insights into strain diversity and provides a foundation for future large-scale investigations. Unassigned: This study aimed to investigate the molecular characteristics, identify gene alleles, and perform a phylogenetic analysis of isolates from horses in Baghdad, Iraq. Unassign...
Tsujimura K, Bannai H, Kambayashi Y, Nemoto M, Ohta M.Equid alphaherpesvirus 1 (EqAHV1; Orthoherpesviridae, Varicellovirus equidalpha1) spreads by viremia to susceptible organs. Because EqAHV1 circulates in the bloodstream in a cell-associated manner, serum samples are not considered valuable for detecting EqAHV1 and have therefore not been tested by highly sensitive detection methods such as real-time PCR (rtPCR). We investigated whether EqAHV1 could be detected by this method in equine serum samples. We performed rtPCR on archived sera and peripheral blood mononuclear cells (PBMCs) collected from 3 horses experimentally inoculated with EqAHV1. ...
McNabb L, McMahon A, Woube EG, Agnihotri K, Colling A, Broder CC, Kucinskaite-Kodze I, Petraityte-Burneikiene R, Bowden TR, Halpin K.Hendra virus (HeV) is a bat-borne zoonotic agent which can cause a severe and highly fatal disease and can be transferred from animals to humans. It has caused over 100 deaths in horses since it was discovered in 1994. Four out of seven infected humans have died. Since the release of the HeV vaccine (Equivac® HeV Hendra Virus Vaccine for Horses, Zoetis Australia Pty Ltd., Rhodes, NSW 2138) in Australia, there has been an urgent requirement for a serological test for differentiating infected from vaccinated animals (DIVA). All first-line diagnostic serological assays at the Australian Centre f...
Kemp KL, Yuen NKY, Skinner JE, Bertin FR.Phenylbutazone is prescribed to manage pain caused by hyperinsulinemia-associated laminitis. Phenylbutazone reduces glucose and insulin concentrations in horses with insulin dysregulation (ID) but the underlying mechanism of action is unknown. Objective: Investigate the effect of phenylbutazone on tissue insulin sensitivity in horses. It is hypothesized that the reduced glucose and insulin concentrations in horses with ID receiving phenylbutazone are mediated by a higher tissue insulin sensitivity. Methods: Fifteen light breed horses, including seven with ID. Methods: Randomized cross-over stu...
Long S, Maleas G, Belacic ZA, Quam VG, Durgam S.To analyze the cellular, growth factor, and cytokine composition of equine sternal bone marrow aspirate (BMA) and laboratory-centrifuged BMA concentrate (BMAC). Unassigned: This was an in vitro experimental study. Cellular composition, growth factors (IGF-I, VEGF, PDGF, TGF-β1), and cytokines (IL-6, IL-10, tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), and IL-1 receptor antagonist protein [IL-1Ra]) were quantified using a standard automated hematology analyzer and ELISA methods, respectively, in donor-matched BMA, BMAC (in-house centrifugation protocol), whole blood, and platelet-rich plasma (E-PET; Pall...
Kamr AM, Bartish C, Summers J, Horton J, Hostnik LD, Orr K, Browne N, Dembek KA, Saliba C, Gomez DE, Toribio RE.Information about the association of antimicrobial peptides with hypovitaminosis D in hospitalized foals is lacking. Objective: We aimed to longitudinally determine the association of serum concentrations of vitamin D metabolites, vitamin D binding protein (DBP), and parathyroid hormone (PTH) with antimicrobial peptides (β-defensin-1 and cathelicidin-1) and the mRNA expression of the vitamin D receptor (VDR), 1α-hydroxylase (CYP27B1), 24-hydroxylase (CYP24A1), toll-like receptor-4 (TLR-4), tumor necrosis factor-α (TNF-α), interleukin-1β (IL-1β), disease severity, and mortality in hospita...
Navas de Solis C, Ramseyer A, Stefanovski D, Haughan J, Solomon CJ, Kirsch K.Exercising arrhythmias are common in horses participating in eventing competitions. Heart rate variability (HRV) and a specific measure of the degree of heart rate fluctuation (Detrended Fluctuation Analysis alpha1; DFA-α1) are proposed as exercise intensity and fatigue markers. Objective: (1) To describe exercising arrhythmias and DFA-α1 values during 2-4* level eventing cross-country competitions in horses from two European countries; (2) to identify associations between exercising arrhythmias, DFA-α1 and competition results and (3) to evaluate whether markers of the intensity of exercise...
Aoun R, Ogunmola Z, Musso A, Taguchi T, Takawira C, Lopez MJ.The shift in vertical forces on the equine hoof surface by heart-bar, egg-bar, and wooden clog shoes can significantly impact gait kinetics. Hypotheses tested in this study were that vertical, braking, and propulsion peak force (PF) and impulse (IMP) are different while shod with heart-bar, egg-bar, open-heel, and wooden clog shoes, or while unshod, and the resultant ground reaction force vector (GRF YZ ) has the longest duration of cranial angulation with open-heel shoes followed by unshod, then egg-bar and heart-bar shoes, and the shortest with wooden clog shoes. Forelimb GRFs were recorded ...
Cameron A, Geldard M, Mair T, England G, Burford J, Freeman S, Pollock K, Wilson E.Veterinary and charity teams are frequently involved in equine end-of-life decisions. These can cause ethical dilemmas and emotional burdens and complicate communication with owners. Semi-structured focus groups explored experiences of making decisions about end-of-life care and euthanasia at three UK equine veterinary practices and one charity. There were 26 participants in a mix of roles. Inductive coding was conducted during thematic analysis. Major themes generated were 'Equine Welfare', 'Relationships', 'Decision-Making', and 'Emotional Toll and Coping Strategies'. Communication, finances...
Hardefeldt LY, Thomas K, Begg L.Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) is a problem for equine practitioners in Australia, but antimicrobial use in practice has been largely understudied. We aimed to evaluate equine veterinarians' intentions of prescribing antimicrobials in areas where we perceived there to be wide ranges of practice - dentistry, reproduction and for nonbactericidal effects. Methods: An online cross-sectional survey of veterinarians working in equine practice was conducted over 4 months in 2023 and 2024. Antimicrobial use, including compounding practices, for reproductive and dental disorders, and nonbactericidal...
Lösle M, Lin CW, Beil-Wagner J, Aebi M, Buch T.Equine chorionic gonadotropin (eCG) is a widely used hormone that synchronizes the female cycle and induces estrus in livestock. eCG is a heterodimeric glycoprotein composed of non-covalently linked α- and β-chains whose glycosylation profiles determine the in vivo activity of the hormone. The commercially available eCG products are crudely purified from the serum of pregnant mares, hence called pregnant mare serum gonadotropin (PMSG). Appropriate glycosylation of the protein is crucial for the correct binding to the receptor, receptor activation, and its half-life. The exact protein composi...
de Oliveira Ferreira LV, Maia L, de Andrade DGA, da Costa Kamura B, de Carvalho M, Amorim RM.Cell-based therapy has emerged as a promising strategy for treating peripheral nervous system (PNS) injuries across different species. However, there is a scarcity in the literature regarding the transplantation of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for treating PNS injuries in horses. This report aims to describe the therapeutic potential of equine MSC transplantation in two horses with chronic traumatic facial nerve paralysis. Both horses presented with lip ptosis and right deviation of the nostril and upper lip, being clinically diagnosed with left facial nerve paralysis. Due to the refractorine...
Rooney MF, Hill EW, Kelly VP, Porter RK.Thoroughbred horses are finely-tuned athletes with a high aerobic capacity relative to skeletal muscle mass, attributable to centuries of genetic selection for speed and stamina. Polymorphisms in the myostatin gene (MSTN), a pronounced inhibitor of skeletal muscle growth, have been shown to almost singularly account for gene-based race distance aptitude in racehorses. In Thoroughbreds, two MSTN polymorphisms, a single nucleotide variation in the first intron (SNP g.66493737C>T) and a non-coding transposable element within the promoter region (a 227 bp SINE insertion) are of particular inter...
Walther B, Klein KS, Barton AK, Semmler T, Huber C, Wolf SA, Tedin K, Merle R, Mitrach F, Guenther S, Lübke-Becker A, Gehlen H.Pathogens frequently associated with multi-drug resistant (MDR) phenotypes, including extended-spectrum beta-lactamase (ESBL)-producing Enterobacteriaceae (ESBL-E) and Acinetobacter baumannii isolated from horses admitted to horse clinics, pose a risk for animal patients and personnel in horse clinics. To estimate current rates of colonization, a total of 341 equine patients were screened for carriage of zoonotic indicator pathogens at hospital admission. Horses showing clinical signs associated with colic (n = 233) or open wounds (n = 108) were selected for microbiological examination of nost...
Bavin EP, Smith O, Baird AE, Smith LC, Guest DJ.Tendon injuries occur commonly in horses and their repair through scar tissue formation predisposes horses to a high rate of re-injury. Pluripotent stem cells may provide a cell replacement therapy to improve tendon tissue regeneration and lower the frequency of re-injury. We have previously demonstrated that equine embryonic stem cells (ESCs) differentiate into the tendon cell lineage upon injection into the damaged horse tendon and can differentiate into functional tendon cells in vitro to generate artificial tendons. Induced pluripotent stem cells (iPSCs) have now been derived from horses b...
Padalino B, Hall E, Raidal S, Celi P, Knight P, Jeffcott L, Muscatello G.Equine transportation is associated with a variety of serious health disorders causing economic losses. However; statistics on horse transport are limited and epidemiological data on transport related diseases are available only for horses transported to abattoirs for slaughter. This study analysed reports of transport related health problems identified by drivers and horse owners for 180 journeys of an Australian horse transport company transporting horses between Perth and Sydney (~4000 km) in 2013-2015. Records showed that 97.2% (1604/1650) of the horses arrived at their destination with no...
Schnabel LV, Fortier LA, McIlwraith CW, Nobert KM.Stem cells are commonly used in equine practice to treat musculoskeletal disorders including tendonitis, osteoarthritis, and more recently laminitis. As the field of regenerative medicine continues to advance, equine practitioners need contemporary information regarding the choice of stem cell type and recommendations regarding clinical implementation of stem cell therapies. Clinicians must also be aware of the limitation in current knowledge regarding stem cells, and the impending regulatory laws that may limit the use of equine stem cells in clinical patients.
Payne RC, Veenman P, Wilson AM.Muscles have two major roles in locomotion: to generate force and to absorb/generate power (do work). Economical force generation is achieved by short-fibred pennate muscle while the maximum power output of a muscle is architecture independent. In this study we tested the hypothesis that there is an anatomical and structural separation between the force-generating anti-gravity muscles and the propulsive (limb/trunk moving) muscles of the equine forelimb. Muscle mass and fascicle length measurements were made on the thoracic limb extrinsic muscles of six fresh horse cadavers. Physiological cros...
Shojaee A, Parham A.Tendon injuries, as one of the most common orthopedic disorders, are the major cause of early retirement or wastage among sport horses which mainly affect the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT). Tendon repair is a slow process, and tendon tissue is often replaced by scar tissue. The current treatment options are often followed by an incomplete recovery that increases the susceptibility to re-injury. Recently, cell therapy has been used in veterinary medicine to treat tendon injuries, although the risk of ectopic bone formation after cell injection is possible in some cases. In vitro teno...
Mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) offer promise as therapeutic aids in the repair of tendon and ligament disorders in sport horses. Equine allogeneic MSCs derived from umbilical cord blood (eUCB-MSCs) can be obtained in a minimally invasive fashion with successful propagation of MSCs. Objective: The objective of this study was to determine the applicability and therapeutic effect of eUCB-MSCs on tendinitis of the superficial digital flexor tendon, desmitis of the suspensory ligament, tendinitis of the deep digital flexor tendon, and desmitis of the inferior check ligament in clinical cases. Method...
Toutain PL, Cester CC.To determine pharmacokinetic-pharmacodynamic (PK-PD) relationships and dose effects for meloxicam in horses and to propose a suitable dosage for use in clinical studies. Methods: 6 adult horses. Methods: The study was conducted by use of a randomized, Latin-square design. Arthritis was induced in the right carpal joint of each horse by administration of Freund's complete adjuvant. Various dosages of meloxicam (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1.0, and 2.0 mg/kg, IV) were then administered. Validated endpoints including stride length and overall clinical lameness score (scale of 0 to 20) were used to assess the e...
Avella CS, Ely ER, Verheyen KL, Price JS, Wood JL, Smith RK.It is important to ascertain the prevalence of superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) injuries and to improve methods of predicting injury in National Hunt (NH) racehorses. Objective: To establish: 1) the prevalence of SDFT tendinopathy in NH horses; 2) whether routine ultrasonography can be used to predict SDFT injuries; 3) whether previous tendinopathy predisposes to reinjury; 4) a normal range for the SDFT cross-sectional area (CSA); and 5) the effects of gender, age, background (ex-flat or ex-store), limb, training and rest periods on SDFT CSA. Methods: Routine ultrasound assessment of t...
Warnken T, Huber K, Feige K.Exact analysis of equine insulin in blood samples is the key element for assessing insulin resistance or insulin dysregulation in horses. However, previous studies indicated marked differences in insulin concentrations obtained from sample analyses with different immunoassays. Most assays used in veterinary medicine are originally designed for use in human diagnostics and are based on antibodies directed against human insulin, although amino acid sequences between equine and human insulin differ. Species-specific assays are being used more frequently and seem to provide advantages compared to ...
In 2001, West Nile virus (WNV) activity was reported from 359 counties in 27 states and the District of Columbia (DC) to ArboNET, a web-based, surveillance data network maintained by 54 state and local public health agencies and CDC. This activity represented a marked increase from 2000, when WNV activity was reported from 138 counties in 12 states and DC. This report summarizes surveillance data for 2001, which indicate that 66 human illnesses were reported from 10 states and that widespread WNV activity in birds, horses, and mosquitoes extended into the midwestern United States and several s...
Cortinovis C, Caloni F.Alkaloids, nitrogen-containing secondary plant metabolites, are of major interest to veterinary toxicology because of their occurrence in plant species commonly involved in animal poisoning. Based on epidemiological data, the poisoning of cattle and horses by alkaloid-containing plants is a relatively common occurrence in Europe. Poisoning may occur when the plants contaminate hay or silage or when forage alternatives are unavailable. Cattle and horses are particularly at risk of poisoning by Colchicum autumnale (meadow saffron), Conium maculatum (poison hemlock), Datura stramonium (jimson wee...
Seltenhammer MH, Heere-Ress E, Brandt S, Druml T, Jansen B, Pehamberger H, Niebauer GW.Equine melanoma shows striking features particularly with regard to clinical development in grey horses: in contrast to malignant melanoma in humans and in solid coloured horses that are characterized by early onset of metastasis, pigment cell tumours display almost benign clinical features in ageing grey horses. Through evolution, grey horses appear to be in a favourable position in regard to the biological behaviour of melanomas. Yet unknown factors inhibiting or retarding early melanoma metastasis may be responsible for this phenomenon. In this study, immunostaining profiles and histopathol...
Fortier LA, Smith RK.After tendon injury, the scar tissue that replaces the damaged tendon results in a substantial risk for reinjury. The goal of regenerative therapies is to restore normal structural architecture and biomechanical function to an injured tissue. Successful restoration processes for any tissue are thought to recapitulate those of development, in which there are spatial and temporal interactions between scaffold, growth factors, and cell populations.
Tamzali Y, Borde L, Rols MP, Golzio M, Lyazrhi F, Teissie J.Sarcoids are the commonest form of equine skin tumour. Several therapeutic measures have been described but none is considered to be universally effective. Electrochemotherapy (ECT) is a new anticancer therapy that utilises electrical field pulses to induce increased cell membrane permeability to antitumour hydrophilic drugs, such as cisplatin. The increased intracellular concentration of the drugs has a significant therapeutic benefit. The procedure has not been previously reported in a large number of horses. Objective: To validate ECT as a novel alternative treatment for equine sarcoids. Me...
Frisbie DD, Smith RK.Stem cells have received much attention in recent times because of their potential to improve healing of othropaedic problems. This manuscript presents the genesis, issues and current state of stem cell treatment in equine medicine. Current literature supports the use of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) for treatment of orthopaedic problems.
Geburek F, Roggel F, van Schie HTM, Beineke A, Estrada R, Weber K, Hellige M, Rohn K, Jagodzinski M, Welke B, Hurschler C, Conrad S, Skutella T....Adipose tissue is a promising source of mesenchymal stromal cells (MSCs) for the treatment of tendon disease. The goal of this study was to assess the effect of a single intralesional implantation of adipose tissue-derived mesenchymal stromal cells (AT-MSCs) on artificial lesions in equine superficial digital flexor tendons (SDFTs). During this randomized, controlled, blinded experimental study, either autologous cultured AT-MSCs suspended in autologous inactivated serum (AT-MSC-serum) or autologous inactivated serum (serum) were injected intralesionally 2Â weeks after surgical creation of cen...
Cemazar M, Tamzali Y, Sersa G, Tozon N, Mir LM, Miklavcic D, Lowe R, Teissie J.Electropermeabilization is a method that uses electric field pulses to induce an electrically mediated reorganization of the plasma membrane of cells. Electrochemotherapy combines local or systemic administration of chemotherapeutic drugs such as bleomycin or cisplatin that have poor membrane permeability with electropermeabilization by direct application of electric pulses to the tumors. Preclinical studies have demonstrated excellent antitumor effectiveness of electrochemotherapy on different animal models and various tumor types, minimal toxicity, and safety of the procedure. Based on resul...
Ander M, Meiswinkel R, Chirico J.The outbreak of bluetongue (BT) in northern Europe 2006 initiated the monitoring of vectors, biting midges of the genus Culicoides in Sweden. In order to determine the diversity, distribution and seasonal dynamics of Culicoides, weekly collections were made during 2008 and during March-December 2009 using the Ondestepoort Veterinary Institute black light trap. Twenty sampling sites were selected in 12 provinces. In total of 30,704 Culicoides were collected in 2008 and 32,252 in 2009. The most abundant species were the potential vectors of BTV Culicoides obsoletus/C. scoticus that comprised of ...
Brown DJ, Rush JE, MacGregor J, Ross JN, Brewer B, Rand WM.A novel method for quantitative echocardiographic interpretations is introduced based on the calculation of ratio indices in which each raw M-mode measurement is divided by the aortic root dimension (Ao). "Aorta-based" indices were calculated with the animal's measured aortic root dimension (Ao(m)) as the length standard. Conversely, "weight-based" indices employed an idealized estimate of aortic dimension (Ao(w)) with a weighted least squares linear regression against the cube root of body weight (Ao(w) = kW(1/3)). Use of these indices circumvented undesirable statistical characteristics inhe...
Bosch G, de Mos M, van Binsbergen R, van Schie HT, van de Lest CH, van Weeren PR.Extracorporeal shock wave therapy (ESWT) is frequently used in equine practice, but little is known about its biological action. Objective: To study the effects of ESWT on matrix structure and gene expression levels in normal, physiologically loaded tendinous structures in ponies. Methods: Six Shetland ponies, free of lameness and with ultrasonographically normal flexor and extensor tendons and suspensory ligaments (SL), were used. ESWT was applied at the origin of the suspensory ligament and the mid-metacarpal region of the superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) 6 weeks prior to sample taki...
Villalta M, Pla D, Yang SL, Sanz L, Segura A, Vargas M, Chen PY, Herrera M, Estrada R, Cheng YF, Lee CD, Cerdas M, Chiang JR, Angulo Y, León G....The proteomes of the venoms of the snakes Viridovipera stejnegeri and Protobothrops mucrosquamatus from Taiwan were characterized by N-terminal sequencing, MALDI-TOF mass fingerprinting, and collision-induced dissociation tandem mass spectrometry of in-gel generated tryptic peptides. Proteins belonging to the following toxin classes were identified: metalloproteinase, phospholipase A(2) (PLA(2)), serine proteinase, C-type lectin-like, CRISP, l-amino acid oxidase, disintegrin, and peptides (vasoactive and inhibitors of SVMPs). Nine horses were immunized with a mixture of these venoms. All horse...
Hemida MG, Chu DKW, Perera RAPM, Ko RLW, So RTY, Ng BCY, Chan SMS, Chu S, Alnaeem AA, Alhammadi MA, Webby RJ, Poon LLM, Balasuriya UBR, Peiris M.Equine coronaviruses (ECoV) are the only coronavirus known to infect horses. So far, data on ECoV infection in horses remain limited to the USA, France and Japan and its geographic distribution is not well understood. We carried out RT-PCR on 306 nasal and 315 rectal swabs and tested 243 sera for antibodies to detect coronavirus infections in apparently healthy horses in Saudi Arabia and Oman. We document evidence of infection with ECoV and HKU23 coronavirus by RT-PCR. There was no conclusive evidence of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus infection in horses. Serological data suggest...
Cerri D, Ebani VV, Fratini F, Pinzauti P, Andreani E.Serological data on leptospira infection were reported and discussed. From 1995 to 2001, the blood serum samples of 9885 domestic and wild animals and humans, living in Northern and Central Italy, were examined by the macroagglutination test (MAT) employing bratislava, ballum, canicola, grippotyphosa, icterohaemorrhagiae, pomona, hardjo and tarassovi serovars as antigens. Considering sera with > or = 1:400 antibody titers as positive, 674 (6.81%) animals scored positive. Sheep, horses, pigs and dogs gave the highest number of positive responses, particularly against the serovar bratislava and,...
