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.
Chen JW, Stefanovski D, Haughan J, Jiang Z, Soma LR, Robinson MA.Interleukin 1 beta (IL-1β) and IL-1 receptor antagonist (IL-1RA) are both upregulated following traumatic injury. As IL-1RA blocks inflammatory signaling by IL-1β, overexpression of IL-1β relative to IL-1RA may drive inflammatory diseases. As such, determination of the relationship between IL-1β to IL-1RA expression levels in horses may provide insight into disease states or serve as a therapeutic readout of response to medical interventions. As techniques to detect plasma concentrations of IL-1β and IL-1RA in horses lack sensitivity, we developed and validated novel enzyme-linked immunos...
Hodgson E, Thirouin M, Narayanan P, Romano TR, Wise J, Bond S.Current methods to measure intragastric pH in horses have limitations. A wireless capsule has been designed for continuous esophageal pH monitoring in humans. Objective: To (1) determine the feasibility and describe the methodology of measuring intragastric pH wirelessly in horses; and (2) determine attachment duration of the capsules. Methods: Eleven healthy adult horses. Methods: Capsules were attached to squamous and glandular gastric mucosa under gastroscopic guidance, using suture loops and 1 to 4 hemostasis clips. pH was continuously recorded using a wireless recorder in both fed and fas...
Valderrama-Martinez C, Packham A, Zheng S, Smith W, Plancarte M, Aleman M.Evaluating antibody titers for Sarcocystis neurona for the diagnosis of equine protozoal myeloencephalitis from serum samples is a common practice. However, ensuring timely and proper refrigeration is not always possible. Objective: To evaluate immunofluorescent antibody (IFA) titers for S. neurona from serum samples stored at room temperature and 4°C. Methods: Twenty-two serum samples. Methods: Prospective longitudinal study. Two serum aliquots of 1 mL each were stored at room temperature (20-23.3°C) and 4°C. The unrefrigerated aliquot was immediately tested for IFA titers. Both aliquots...
Alipour-Khairkhah H, Azizi S, Asri-Rezaei S.Donkeys are in the Equidae family but have several differences from horses. There are many studies on the pathophysiology of pain and its clinical signs in horses, but data are limited for donkeys. Therefore, the present study aimed to investigate biochemical effects of flunixin meglumine in donkeys subjected to pain induced by bloodless and surgical castration. Twenty healthy male donkeys were randomly divided into four groups: 1- Surgical castration with flunixin injection, 2- Surgical castration without flunixin injection, 3- Non-surgical castration with flunixin injection, and 4- Non-surgi...
Wong JKY, Choi TLS, Wong COL, Curl P, Wan TSM, Ho ENM.Methylsulfonylmethane (MSM), also known as dimethyl sulfone, is a naturally occurring sulphur-containing compound that can be found in plants, animals and humans. MSM can also be a metabolite of dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO). Due to their anti-inflammatory and analgesic effects, both MSM and DMSO are prohibited substances in horseracing. As both substances are naturally occurring, their misuse in horses is controlled by International Residue Limits (IRL) of 1200 and 15 μg/mL, respectively, in horse urine as established by the International Federation of Horseracing Authorities. The elimination ...
Silva GC, Nogueira CEW, Scalco R, Pizzi GLBL, Leite TA, Bastos R, Curcio BR.Gestation length (GL) in horses varies widely, influenced by multiple variables, including maternal, fetal, and environmental factors. This study aimed to investigate and quantify the relative contributions of climatic (photoperiod and temperature-humidity index - [THI]), maternal (age and parity), fetal (sex) and environmental (year and month of foaling) variables influencing gestation length in Thoroughbred mares. Retrospective data encompassing 704 pregnancies across nine breeding seasons in tropical and subtropical Brazilian climates were analyzed. Stepwise regression analysis identified f...
Pusterla N, Lawton K, Barnum S, Ross K, Purcell K.The objective of this study was to describe an outbreak of equine herpesvirus-1 myeloencephalopathy (EHM) in a population of aged equids. The outbreak was linked to the introduction of five healthy non-resident horses 15 days prior to the first case of acute recumbency. This fulminant EHM outbreak was predisposed by the grouping of the 33 unvaccinated animals in two large pens with shared water and feed troughs. Fourteen horses (42.4%) developed neurological deficits within the first week of the outbreak. Four additional equids developed fever and respiratory signs (EHV-1 infection), while fif...
Fletcher K, Limon G, Agongo E, Akunzule A, Essel G, Padalino B, Grist A, Gibson TJ.Donkey slaughter in West Africa has received limited scientific attention, despite increasing over recent years. This study aimed to explore factors affecting donkey welfare, both ante-mortem and at slaughter, in the Upper East region of Ghana. A total of 134 donkeys at five different slaughter points were assessed using animal-based indicators. Slaughter involved either blunt force trauma (BFT) using a wooden pole (1 location) or a metal hammer (2 locations); or non-stun ventral neck incision (VNI) (2 locations). Time to loss of consciousness (or return) was assessed, with behavioural and bra...
Hinckley-Boltax AL, Malone E, Uustalu UK, FitzMaurice M.The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges competency-based veterinary education (CBVE) framework can be used to guide curriculum and assessment design and is intended to prepare veterinary graduates for Day One of clinical practice. However, while the framework defines curricular outcomes in terms of demonstrable competencies, it does not define the specific knowledge, skills, and attitudes required to achieve those outcomes. In some human medical curricula, prioritized lists of clinical presentations guide curricular content, design, and assessment. These lists are based, in par...
Nakamae Y, Elce YA, Saab ME, McClure JT, Doyle AJ.Alcohol-based antisepsis has shown experimentally to be as effective as 4% chlorhexidine gluconate (CHG) at reducing bacterial counts (colony forming units; CFU) on equine skin. Our objectives were to determine the immediate and post-surgical reduction in CFU/mL on equine skin prepared with CHG-based or 70% isopropyl alcohol (IPA)-based (without CHG) protocols in a clinical setting with arthroscopic surgery. Our hypotheses were that the logCFU/mL reduction would not significantly differ between protocols immediately after preparation or at the end of surgery. Six horses underwent a 40 min bila...
Moyer EK, Bauck AG, Denagamage T, Freeman DE.To compare end-to-side (ES) and side-to-side (SS) jejunocecostomy (JC) in healthy horses. Methods: Experimental study in vivo. Methods: A total of 14 healthy adult horses underwent ventral midline celiotomy, a resection, and either an ES (n = 7) or stapled SS (n = 7) JC. Methods: Surgical times and the external lengths of completed anastomoses were measured. Physical examinations and pain scoring were performed every 6 h for 5 days, then once daily until euthanasia and necropsy 28 days postoperatively. Results: The anastomosis was completed more rapidly (p < .002) with the SS...
Piotrowska-Tomala KK, Szóstek-Mioduchowska A, Jonczyk AW, Drzewiecka EM, Wrobel MH, Hojo T, Ferreira-Dias G, Skarzynski DJ.Endometrosis (chronic degenerative endometritis) results in morphological changes in the equine endometrium and impairs its secretory function. However, the effect of this condition on the myometrium remains unclear. Lysophosphatidic acid (LPA) may affect female reproductive function and embryo transport by influencing uterine contractility through its receptors (LPARs). The objective of this study was to determine myometrial LPAR1-6 mRNA transcription, and the effects of LPA on myometrial contractions in mares with endometrosis during the mid-luteal and follicular phases of the estrous cycle....
Carrasco L, Utrilla MJ, Fuentes-Romero B, Fernandez-Novo A, Martin-Maldonado B.West Nile Virus (WNV) is a zoonotic, vector-borne pathogen affecting humans and animals, particularly in Europe. The virus is primarily transmitted through mosquitoes that infect birds, which serve as the main reservoirs. Humans and horses are incidental hosts. This review focuses on the epidemiology of WNV in southern Europe, particularly its increasing prevalence. Methods included an extensive literature review and analysis of recent outbreaks. WNV is largely asymptomatic in humans, but a small percentage can develop West Nile neuroinvasive disease (WNND), leading to severe neurological symp...
Mendoza FJ, Buzon-Cuevas A, Aguilera-Aguilera R, Gonzalez-De Cara CA, De Las Heras A, Perez-Ecija A.Systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) in donkeys is observed to be secondary to colic, diarrhea or pleuropneumonia, among other disorders. Horses with SIRS develop secondary disturbances such as hyperlipemia, laminitis, disseminated intravascular coagulopathy, and hemodynamic and cardiac derangements, which impair their prognosis and increase the mortality rate. In donkeys, no information is available on the effect of experimentally induced endotoxemia in the cardiovascular system. Acute experimental endotoxemia was induced by lipopolysaccharide (LPS) infusion in six healthy adult non...
Brandenberger O, Kalinovskiy A, Körner J, Genn H, Burger R, Leser S.The use of Bio-Electro-Magnetic-Energy-Regulation (BEMER) therapy during general anesthesia has not previously been reported in horses. This randomized, investigator-blinded, placebo-controlled trial evaluates equine cardiopulmonary function and recovery quality after BEMER therapy application for 15 min in 100 horses during general anesthesia using isoflurane for pars-plana vitrectomy surgery as treatment for recurrent uveitis. Visually identical blankets were used in the two groups (1:1 ratio), one with a functional BEMER module and the other with a placebo module. Arterial blood pressure, b...
Rossi HS, Hyytiäinen HK, Junnila JJT, Rajamäki MM, Mykkänen AK.Pneumonia is a common condition in ailing neonatal foals, and it remains an important cause of morbidity and mortality in this veterinary patient group. Factors affecting the survival of young foals with pneumonia have not been thoroughly investigated. The aim of this study was to explore the potential prognostic factors associated with survival of these foals. Fifty foals under one month of age with pneumonia were included in this retrospective clinical study. The foals were divided into groups based on survival (survived to discharge or died/euthanised during hospitalisation). Multiple clini...
Bishop RC, Nobrega AD, Mersich I, Wilkins PA.To describe indications for and demonstrate the technique to perform a transtracheal aspirate in horses. Transtracheal aspirate is indicated to collect samples for cytology and bacteriologic culture in cases of suspected pneumonia or other lower respiratory tract disease. Methods: 1 healthy university-owned horse was used for demonstration purposes. Images of clinical case samples from the University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital are shown. Methods: The horse is restrained and sedated with detomidine or xylazine to facilitate restraint and butorphanol to minimize coughing. The ventr...
Koziy RV, Katselis GS, Yoshimura S, Simko E, Bracamonte JL.Prompt diagnosis of equine septic arthritis is crucial for successful treatment. Serum amyloid A (SAA) has been suggested as a reliable biomarker. However, we previously found that synovial fluid SAA increases in nonaffected joints of horses with septic arthritis. We hypothesized that systemic SAA may leak into the nonaffected joints. If this is the case, we also hypothesized that locally produced joint SAA isoforms may be better candidates for septic arthritis biomarkers. Thus, our objectives were 1) to evaluate the temporal kinetics of systemic and synovial fluid SAA in horses with septic ar...
Buyck C, Zani DD, Robert M, Gustafsson K.Computed tomography (CT) is increasingly recognized as superior to conventional imaging methods for diagnosing osteomyelitis in foals. However, comprehensive studies in this area are limited. This study aims to report on clinical cases of osteomyelitis in foals, establishing a relationship between CT findings and survival outcomes. Additionally, it compares CT imaging with conventional methods such as radiography and ultrasound. We hypothesized that CT variables would more accurately predict survival than other clinical factors and provide more detailed information about osteomyelitis lesions....
Buyck C, Zani DD, Robert M, Gustafsson K.Computed tomography (CT) is increasingly recognized as superior to conventional imaging methods for diagnosing osteomyelitis in foals. However, comprehensive studies in this area are limited. This study aims to report on clinical cases of osteomyelitis in foals, establishing a relationship between CT findings and survival outcomes. Additionally, it compares CT imaging with conventional methods such as radiography and ultrasound. We hypothesized that CT variables would more accurately predict survival than other clinical factors and provide more detailed information about osteomyelitis lesions....
Deniz Ö, Aragona F, Murphy BA, Tümer KÇ, Bozacı S, Fazio F.The global climatic changes pose a substantial threat to the well-being and productivity of both humans and animals. Unassigned: This study examined the impact of climate changes during different seasons over a 3-year monitoring period (2021-2023) on various blood parameters including, white blood cells (WBC), neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils, lymphocytes, and monocytes, hematocrit (HCT), hemoglobin (HGB), red blood cells (RBC), platelets (PLT), mean corpuscular hemoglobin concentration (MCHC), mean corpuscular volume (MCV), and mean corpuscular hemoglobin (MCH). The study focused on 25 Tho...
Hordle T, Ranninger E, Bettschart-Wolfensberger R.A 24 year old warmblood mare (case 1) and a 12 year old Holsteiner gelding (case 2) were anaesthetized for bursoscopy and phacoemulsification, respectively. Both were premedicated with intramuscular acepromazine (30 μg kg-1). The horses were sedated with intravenous (IV) medetomidine (7-9 μg kg-1 to effect), before anaesthetic induction with ketamine-diazepam. Anaesthesia was maintained with isoflurane in a mixture of oxygen and medical air, alongside a medetomidine constant rate infusion at 3.5 μg kg-1 hour-1. In recovery, 3 and 5 μg kg-1 of medetomidine were administered IV to cases 1 an...
Larsen MME, Eriksson A, Impellizeri JA.To describe the procedure and outcome of electrochemotherapy (ECT) with bleomycin as a first-line treatment for bilateral ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) in the eye of a horse. Methods: A client-owned 5-year-old Haflinger gelding with limbal-conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma. Methods: During general and local anesthesia, injection of bleomycin in the ocular tumor was followed by electroporation, applied with a 15 mm needle electrode, needles held parallel to the ocular surface. Results: Treatment with ECT resulted in therapeutic electric pulses and complete tumor response with no...
Larsen MME, Eriksson A, Impellizeri JA.To describe the procedure and outcome of electrochemotherapy (ECT) with bleomycin as a first-line treatment for bilateral ocular surface squamous neoplasia (OSSN) in the eye of a horse. Methods: A client-owned 5-year-old Haflinger gelding with limbal-conjunctival squamous cell carcinoma. Methods: During general and local anesthesia, injection of bleomycin in the ocular tumor was followed by electroporation, applied with a 15 mm needle electrode, needles held parallel to the ocular surface. Results: Treatment with ECT resulted in therapeutic electric pulses and complete tumor response with no...
McCreight KA, Barbosa LN, Odoi A, Reed P, Rajeev S.We estimated the seroprevalence in dogs, cats, and horses from Tennessee, USA, using the microscopic agglutination test (MAT) against 12 serovars. We observed seropositivity in 110 of 374 (29.4%) dogs, 21 of 170 (12.4%) cats, and 42 of 88 (47.7%) horses. The highest seroprevalence was observed for serovars Autumnalis (74.6%) in dogs, and Bratislava in cats (42.9%) and horses (95.2%). We found a significant level of potential cross-reactivity between multiple serovars tested, with highest cross-reactivity to serovar Autumnalis in dogs. seroprevalence was significantly higher in vaccinated ...
Peere S, Van den Branden E, Broothaers K, Polfliet E, Smits K, Govaere J.Transfer of in vitro-produced (IVP) equine embryos is associated with a higher incidence of monozygotic multiple pregnancies, but this remains a rarity. The outcome of monozygotic twin gestation is poor, and good management techniques are lacking. In addition, hydrops conditions are exceptional in horses, with hydroallantois occurring more frequently than hydramnion. Most hydrops conditions will lead to compromise or death of the foal and mare. A 6-year-old multiparous standardbred recipient mare, 332 days pregnant, diagnosed with a monozygotic twin and hydrops with a dead co-twin, gave birth ...
Haenni M, Châtre P, Drapeau A, Cazeau G, Troncy J, François P, Madec JY.Enterobacter hormaechei is an important pathogen in humans and animals, which, in addition to its intrinsic AmpC, can acquire a wide variety of genes conferring resistances to extended-spectrum cephalosporins (ESCs) and carbapenems (CPs). In France, human clinical outbreaks of E. hormaechei resistant to ESC or carbapenem were reported. Objective: To study E. hormaechei isolates from cats and dogs (=59) as well as from horses (n = 55) presenting a non-susceptible phenotype to beta-lactams in order to determine which clones, resistance genes and plasmids are circulating in France. Methods: E. ho...
Santosuosso E, Léguillette R, Shoemaker S, Baumwart R, Temple S, Hemmerling K, Kell T, Bayly W.Fitness assessment of horses remains challenging. Heart rate variability (HRV) can be used to monitor human athlete's training, but its value is unknown in horses. Objective: The linear domain HRV variables are affected by fitness. Methods: Twelve healthy untrained thoroughbreds were randomly split into a training group (6 weeks of incremental racetrack training) and a control group (no training). Methods: Linear domain HRV variables were analyzed (high frequency [HF], low frequency [LF], their normalized units [Hf, Lf], root mean square of successive differences between beats [RMSSD], Poinc...
So YM, Kwok WH, Ching CCW, Wong COL, Wan TSM, Ho ENM.Anabolic-androgenic steroids (AAS) are banned substances in both human and equine sports. They are often administered intramuscularly to horses in esterified forms for the purpose of extending their duration of action. As such, the detection of intact esters of endogenous steroids in hair is particularly advantageous, as it can provide unequivocal proof of their external origin. Compared with urine and blood matrices, hair in general allows a longer detection window as long as the administered drug can be incorporated into hair and has not degraded. This can be useful in doping control of equi...
Magdesian KG.Knowledge of immunodeficiencies is crucial to neonatal medicine, in that they predispose to sepsis in the newborn and neonatal foal, as well as recurrent infections in older foals. The most common immunodeficiency in newborn and neonatal foals is failure of passive transfer, which is an example of an acquired immunodeficiency. Congenital or developmental immunodeficiencies may be transient or permanent, and can either affect the cell-mediated or humoral arms of immunity, and in some cases both. Affected foals often have chronic or recurrent respiratory or gastrointestinal infections, often wit...
Vercruysse J, Holdsworth P, Letonja T, Conder G, Hamamoto K, Okano K, Rehbein S.The "International Co-operation on Harmonisation of Technical Requirements for Registration of Veterinary Medicinal Products (VICH)" is an international programme of co-operation between regulatory authorities and the animal health industries of the European Union, Japan and the United States of America which aims to harmonise the technical requirements for the registration of veterinary medicinal products. Australia and New Zealand participate as active observers. The objective of this second paper is to present additional guidelines established by the Working Group on anthelmintic guidelines...
Belshan M, Baccam P, Oaks JL, Sponseller BA, Murphy SC, Cornette J, Carpenter S.Genetic and biological variation in the regulatory protein Rev of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) were examined throughout a clinically dynamic disease course of an experimentally infected pony. Following infection with the virulent EIAV(Wyo), the pony underwent a variable disease course, including an acute fever episode at 12 days postinfection (DPI), multiple recurrent fever episodes until 135 DPI, a prolonged subclinical period, and two late fever episodes. Viral RNA was isolated from the inoculum and sequential sera samples, and the rev exon 2/gp45 overlapping ORFs were amplified, cl...
Broeckx SY, Martens AM, Bertone AL, Van Brantegem L, Duchateau L, Van Hecke L, Dumoulin M, Oosterlinck M, Chiers K, Hussein H, Pille F, Spaas JH.There is a need to improve therapies for osteoarthritis in horses. Objective: To assess the efficacy of equine allogeneic chondrogenic-induced mesenchymal stem cells combined with equine allogeneic plasma as a novel therapy for osteoarthritis in horses. Methods: Randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled experiment. Methods: In 12 healthy horses, osteoarthritis was induced in the metacarpophalangeal joint using an osteochondral fragment-groove model. Five weeks after surgery, horses were randomly assigned to either an intra-articular injection with chondrogenic-induced mesenchymal stem cel...
Gryspeerdt AC, Vandekerckhove AP, Garré B, Barbé F, Van de Walle GR, Nauwynck HJ.Equine herpesvirus 1 (EHV1) replicates in the respiratory tract of horses, after which infected leukocytes transport virus throughout the body, resulting in abortion or nervous system disorders. Two EHV1 strains circulate in the field: neurovirulent and non-neurovirulent. To investigate differences in replication in the upper respiratory tract (URT), an experimental inoculation study in ponies was performed with both strains. Two groups of six ponies, were inoculated intranasally with 10(6.5) TCID(50) of either strain. Clinical signs, nasal shedding and viremia were evaluated. At early time po...
Sykora S, Brandt S.Squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) is a common disease that seriously impairs the health and welfare of affected horses and other equids. In humans, almost all cervical carcinomas, a high percentage of anogenital SCCs and a subset of SCCs of the head and neck are caused by high-risk human papillomavirus (hrHPV) infection. Since hrHPV-induced human cancers and equine SCC have similar cytological and histopathological features, it has been hypothesised that equine SCCs could also be induced by papillomaviruses. This review provides an overview of the current evidence for an aetiological association b...
Rice NR, Lequarre AS, Casey JW, Lahn S, Stephens RM, Edwards J.The amount and distribution of viral DNA were established in a horse acutely infected with the Wyoming strain of equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV). The highest concentration of viral DNA were found in the liver, lymph nodes, bone marrow, and spleen. The kidney, choroid plexus, and peripheral blood leukocytes also contained viral DNA, but at a lower level. It is estimated that at day 16 postinoculation, almost all of the viral DNA was located in the tissues, with the liver alone containing about 90 times more EIAV DNA than the peripheral blood leukocytes did. Assuming a monocyte-macrophage ...
Gizaw Y, Megersa M, Fayera T.Dourine is a venereal transmitted trypanosomosis causing a major health problem threatening equines worldwide. The origin and identification of Trypanosoma equiperdum within the subgenus Trypanozoon is still a subject of debate. Unlike other trypanosomal infections, dourine is transmitted almost exclusively by coitus. Diagnosis of dourine has continued to be a challenge, due to limited knowledge about the parasite and host-parasite interaction following infection. The pathological lesions caused by the diseases are poorly described and are observed mainly in the reproductive organs, in the ner...
Feng KH, Gonzalez G, Deng L, Yu H, Tse VL, Huang L, Huang K, Wasik BR, Zhou B, Wentworth DE, Holmes EC, Chen X, Varki A, Murcia PR, Parrish CR.The A/H3N8 canine influenza virus (CIV) emerged from A/H3N8 equine influenza virus (EIV) around the year 2000 through the transfer of a single virus from horses to dogs. We defined and compared the biological properties of EIV and CIV by examining their genetic variation, infection, and growth in different cell cultures, receptor specificity, hemagglutinin (HA) cleavage, and infection and growth in horse and dog tracheal explant cultures. Comparison of sequences of viruses from horses and dogs revealed mutations that may be linked to host adaptation and tropism. We prepared infectious clones o...
Estrada-Franco JG, Navarro-Lopez R, Freier JE, Cordova D, Clements T, Moncayo A, Kang W, Gomez-Hernandez C, Rodriguez-Dominguez G, Ludwig GV....Equine epizootics of Venezuelan equine encephalitis (VEE) occurred in the southern Mexican states of Chiapas in 1993 and Oaxaca in 1996. To assess the impact of continuing circulation of VEE virus (VEEV) on human and animal populations, serologic and viral isolation studies were conducted in 2000 to 2001 in Chiapas State. Human serosurveys and risk analyses indicated that long-term endemic transmission of VEEV occurred among villages with seroprevalence levels of 18% to 75% and that medical personnel had a high risk for VEEV exposure. Seroprevalence in wild animals suggested cotton rats as pos...
Rebordão MR, Carneiro C, Alexandre-Pires G, Brito P, Pereira C, Nunes T, Galvão A, Leitão A, Vilela C, Ferreira-Dias G.Besides the classical functions, neutrophils (PMNs) are able to release DNA in response to infectious stimuli, forming neutrophil extracellular traps (NETs) and killing pathogens. The pathogenesis of endometritis in the mare is not completely understood. The aim was to evaluate the in vitro capacity of equine PMNs to secrete NETs by chemical activation, or stimulated with Streptococcus equi subspecies zooepidemicus (Szoo), Escherichia coli (Ecoli) or Staphylococcus capitis (Scap) strains obtained from mares with endometritis. Ex vivo endometrial mucus from mares with bacterial endometritis wer...
Garmendia AE, Van Kruiningen HJ, French RA.West Nile fever emerged in New York in the summer of 1999 when seven people, several horses and thousands of wild birds died. It was soon established that the human disease and the mortality of birds were related. Continued surveillance detected West Nile virus in mosquitoes, birds, horses, small mammals, bats and humans, and has shown its spread to several northeastern states. These events confirm the establishment of West Nile virus endemically in the United States.
Browning GF, Ficorilli N, Studdert MJ.Two previously unknown and distinct herpesviruses were isolated from donkeys. One, with the characteristics of a betaherpesvirus, was isolated from the leukocytes of an apparently healthy donkey, while the second, an alphaherpesvirus, was recovered from the nasal cavity of donkeys given high doses of corticosteroids, and caused rhinitis in two seronegative weanling donkeys when they were intranasally infected. Few, if any, restriction endonuclease fragments were shared by the donkey betaherpesvirus, equine herpesvirus 2 (EHV 2) or EHV 5, a second distinctly different equine betaherpesvirus, no...
Toribio RE, Kohn CW, Capen CC, Rosol TJ.Parathyroid hormone (PTH) is secreted by the chief cells of the parathyroid gland in response to changes in ionized calcium (Ca(2+)) concentrations. In this study, we measured PTH secretion, and PTH mRNA and calcium-sensing receptor (CaR) mRNA expression by equine parathyroid chief cells in vitro. We also evaluated the effects of interleukin (IL)-1beta, IL-6, and tumor necrosis factor (TNF)-alpha on PTH secretion, and PTH and CaR mRNA expression. The relationship between PTH and Ca(2+) was inversely related. PTH secretion decreased from 100% (day 0) to 13% (day 30). PTH mRNA expression decline...
DeRossi R, Coelho AC, Mello GS, Frazílio FO, Leal CR, Facco GG, Brum KB.To establish a low-cost method to prepare platelet-rich plasma (PRP) and evaluates the potential of platelet derived factors to enhance wound healing in the surgical wounds in equine. Methods: To obtain a PRP gel, calcium gluconate and autologous thrombin were added to platelet-rich plasma. For the tests six saddle horses were used and two surgical incisions were made in each animal. Wounds were treated with PRP gel or untreated. Sequential wound biopsies collected at Treatment 1: at days 5 and 30 and Treatment 2: at days 15 and 45 post wounding permitted comparison of differentiation markers ...
Corley KT, Donaldson LL, Furr MO.Blood lactate concentration has been shown to be a useful clinical indicator in human patients, but has not been formally investigated in critically ill foals. Objective: To investigate the association of blood lactate with hospital survival, markers of cardiovascular status, metabolic acid base status, sepsis and systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). Methods: A database containing clinical, haematological, plasma biochemical and hospital outcome data on neonatal foals referred to an intensive care unit in 2000-2001 was analysed. Seventy-two foals for which arterial lactate was measu...
Busscher JF, van Duijkeren E, Sloet van Oldruitenborgh-Oosterbaan MM.Two hundred healthy horses housed at 23 different farms and one clinic and 42 persons in close contact with these horses were screened for the presence of methicillin resistant staphylococci. Samples were taken from the nose and the pastern of the horses and from the nose and throat of the humans and incubated in selective media. Isolates were identified by standard techniques and their susceptibilities were tested using an agar diffusion method. Methicillin-resistant strains were tested for the presence of the mecA gene by PCR. In 45 horses (22.5%) and 15 humans (35.7%) mecA positive staphylo...
Li X, Zhou SG, Imreh MP, Ahrlund-Richter L, Allen WR.Inner cell mass (ICM) cells were isolated immunosurgically from day 7-8 horse blastocysts and, after proliferation in vitro for 15-28 passages, three lines of cells were confirmed to be embryonic stem (ES) cells by their continued expression of alkaline phosphatase activity and their ability to bind antisera specific for the recognized stem cell markers, SSEA-1, TRA-1-60, TRA-1-81, and the key embryonic gene Oct-4. When maintained under feeder cell-free conditions in vitro, the three lines of cells differentiated into cells of ectodermal, endodermal, and mesodermal lineages. However, they did ...
Keegan KG, Yonezawa Y, Pai PF, Wilson DA, Kramer J.To compare a sensor-based accelerometer-gyroscopic (A-G) system with a video-based motion analysis system (VMAS) technique for detection and quantification of lameness in horses. Methods: 8 adult horses. Methods: 2 horses were evaluated once, 2 had navicular disease and were evaluated before and after nerve blocks, and 4 had 2 levels of shoe-induced lameness, alternatively, in each of 4 limbs. Horses were instrumented with an accelerometer transducer on the head and pelvis, a gyroscopic transducer on the right forelimb and hind feet, and a receiver-transmitter. Signals from the A-G system were...
Aleman M, Finno CJ, Higgins RJ, Puschner B, Gericota B, Gohil K, LeCouteur RA, Madigan JE.To describe epidemiological, clinical, and pathological features of neuroaxonal dystrophy in Quarter Horses (QHs) on a single farm. Methods: Prospective case series. Animals-148 horses. Methods: Neurologic, pathological, and toxicological evaluations were completed in selected neurologically affected horses over a 2-year period. Descriptive statistical analysis was performed. Results: 87 QHs and 1 QH-crossbred horse were affected. Most (50/88 [56.8%]) affected horses were 1 to 2 years old (median age, 2 years [range, 2 months to 34 years]). Neurologic deficits included obtundation (53/88 [60%]...
Rampersad J, Cesar E, Campbell MD, Samlal M, Ammons D.We report on a study that evaluated the usefulness of PCR for the routine detection of Babesia equi in horses. The blood from a total of 105 horses comprising both sick and apparently healthy animals were examined for the presence of B. equi using both Wright-Giemsa-stained blood smears and PCR. Microscopic analysis of Giemsa-stained blood smears revealed 10/105 animals positive for Babesia, compared to 16/105 for the primary PCR and 36/105 for the nested PCR. Three of the 10 samples positive by Wright-Giemsa-stain were negative by PCR for B. equi. However, evidence is presented that these sam...
Nicpoń J, Marycz K, Grzesiak J.In this article we demonstrate the efficiency of autologous transplantations of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells for equine bone spavin treatment. Horses qualified to the study were divided into three groups: (i) research - treated with intra-articular injections of autologous stem cells, (ii) comparison treated with steroid drugs and (iii) control - untreated. All animals underwent comprehensive clinical examination before and after treatment. Our research confirms the long-term beneficial influence resulting from stem cell therapy in horse bone spavin treatment, in contrast to routine ...
Carpenter S, Chesebro B.Similar to other human and animal lentiviruses, equine infectious anemia virus (EIAV) is detectable in vivo in cells of the monocyte-macrophage lineage. Owing to their short-lived nature, horse peripheral blood macrophage cultures (HMC) are rarely used for in vitro propagation of EIAV, and equine dermal (ED) or kidney cell cultures, which can be repeatedly passed in vitro, are used in most studies. However, wild-type isolates of EIAV will not grow in these cell types without extensive adaptation, a process which may attenuate viral virulence. To better define the effect of host cell tropism on...
Biewener AA, Thomason J, Goodship A, Lanyon LE.Longitudinal stresses acting in the cranial and caudal cortices of the radius and the dorsal and palmar cortices of the metacarpus in the horse were determined using two independent methods simultaneously. One approach involved the use of rosette strain gauges to record in vivo bone strain; the other involved filming the position of the horse's forelimb as it passed over a force plate. Agreement between the two analyses was better for the radius than for the metacarpus. Both methods showed the radius to be loaded primarily in sagittal bending, acting to place the caudal cortex in compression a...
Takai S, Ohbushi S, Koike K, Tsubaki S, Oishi H, Kamada M.The prevalence of virulent Rhodococcus equi in isolates from soil and feces of foals on a farm with endemic R. equi infections was significantly higher than that of a farm with no history of the disease. Foals bred on a farm with the endemic disease might be constantly exposed to virulent R. equi in their environment.
Westermann CM, Dorland L, Votion DM, de Sain-van der Velden MG, Wijnberg ID, Wanders RJ, Spliet WG, Testerink N, Berger R, Ruiter JP, van der Kolk JH.The aim of the current study was to assess lipid metabolism in horses with atypical myopathy. Urine samples from 10 cases were subjected to analysis of organic acids, glycine conjugates, and acylcarnitines revealing increased mean excretion of lactic acid, ethylmalonic acid, 2-methylsuccinic acid, butyrylglycine, (iso)valerylglycine, hexanoylglycine, free carnitine, C2-, C3-, C4-, C5-, C6-, C8-, C8:1-, C10:1-, and C10:2-carnitine as compared with 15 control horses (12 healthy and three with acute myopathy due to other causes). Analysis of plasma revealed similar results for these predominantly...
Renzi S, Riccò S, Dotti S, Sesso L, Grolli S, Cornali M, Carlin S, Patruno M, Cinotti S, Ferrari M.The use of Mesenchymal Stromal Cells (MSCs) in orthopedic practice has recently and rapidly acquired an important role. Therapies based on the use of MSCs for the treatment of acute injuries as well as chronic inflammatory disorders are gradually becoming clinical routine. These cells have demonstrated intriguing therapeutic potentialities (i.e.: inflammation control, tissue regeneration and pathological scar prevention), that have been taken into consideration for use in both human and veterinary medicine. In particular, horses represent high performance athletes considered models for human p...
Milinovich GJ, Trott DJ, Burrell PC, Croser EL, Al Jassim RA, Morton JM, van Eps AW, Pollitt CC.Carbohydrate-induced laminitis in horses is characterized by marked changes in the composition of the hindgut microbiota, from a predominantly Gram-negative population to one dominated by Gram-positive bacteria. The objective of this study was to monitor changes in the relative abundance of selected hindgut bacteria that have previously been implicated in the pathophysiology of equine laminitis using fluorescence in situ hybridization (FISH). Caecal cannulae were surgically implanted in five Standardbred horses and laminitis induced by oral administration of a bolus dose of oligofructose. Caec...
Gates MC, Walker J, Zito S, Dale A. To describe the demographics of and predictors for pet ownership, reasons for visiting a veterinarian, and pet-related expenditure in pet owners in New Zealand. A cross-sectional online survey was conducted from 18-22 June 2015 using a permission-based panel of New Zealand residents aged ≥18 years. Questions included demographics of respondents, number of pets and reasons for owning or not owning pets, number of visits and reasons for visiting a veterinarian, and pet-related expenditure. Of the 1,572 respondents who completed the survey, 1,013 (64.4%) owned ≥1 pet. Of these, 443 owned d...
