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.
Weber EJ, Sanchez LC, Giguère S.The modified sepsis scoring system provides a method to identify sepsis in foals early in the disease process, but inconsistent results have been obtained from its clinical application in previous studies. Objective: To evaluate the sensitivity and specificity of the modified sepsis score in a larger population of foals. A secondary objective was to identify factors associated with sepsis. Methods: Retrospective cohort study. Methods: Records were retrospectively analysed for neonatal admissions to the University of Florida Large Animal Hospital from 1982 to 2008. Backwards stepwise multivaria...
Velineni S, Timoney JF.Streptococcus zooepidemicus causes opportunist respiratory and other infections in the horse. Capsule expression is highly variable and known to affect resistance to phagocytosis. Most clinical isolates producing small, dry colonies at 37°C produce mucoid colonies at temperatures below 35°C. Objective: The aim was to understand the molecular basis of increased capsule expression by equine isolates of S. zooepidemicus at temperatures lower than 35°C. Methods: Cross-sectional observational study. Methods: Capsule production by groups of equine S. zooepidemicus strains was determined at 23, ...
Rettmer H, Hoffman AM, Lanz S, Oertly M, Gerber V.In clinical practice, veterinarians often depend on owner-reported signs to assess the clinical course of horses with recurrent airway obstruction (RAO). Objective: To test whether owner-reported information on frequency of coughing and observation of nasal discharge are associated with clinical, cytological and bronchoprovocation findings in RAO-affected horses in nonstandardised field conditions. Methods: Cross-sectional study comparing healthy and RAO-affected horses. Methods: Twenty-eight healthy and 34 RAO-affected Swiss Warmblood horses were grouped according to owner-reported 'coughing ...
Hessel LN, Bosch G, van Weeren PR, Ionita JC.Autologous platelet concentrates (APCs) are being used increasingly in horses to enhance regeneration in tissues that have poor natural healing capabilities. Numerous APC systems, which are based on different preparation techniques and were originally developed for human patients, are now routinely used in equine cases. However, preliminary process validation and adequate in vitro biochemical characterisation of most of these systems do not exist for horses. Objective: To compare haematological findings and growth factor concentrations of equine APCs obtained with 4 commercially available syst...
Guo X, Izume S, Okada A, Ohya K, Kimura T, Fukushi H.A strain of equine herpesvirus type 1 (EHV-1) was isolated from zebra. This strain, called "zebra-borne EHV-1", was also isolated from an onager and a gazelle in zoological gardens in U.S.A. The full genome sequences of the 3 strains were determined. They shared 99% identities with each other, while they shared 98% and 95% identities with the horse derived EHV-1 and equine herpesvirus type 9, respectively. Sequence data indicated that the EHV-1 isolated from a polar bear in Germany is one of the zebra-borne EHV-1 and not a recombinant virus. These results indicated that zebra-borne EHV-1 is a ...
Tennent-Brown B.Admission blood lactate concentration is widely used as a prognostic indicator in equine medicine and can be a useful indicator of disease severity but typically fails to completely discriminate survivors from nonsurvivors. Increased admission lactate concentrations in adult horses typically return to normal within 12 to 24 hours. Lactate concentrations in neonatal foals are higher than adult concentrations for the first 24 to 72 hours of life. Serial measures reflecting both the magnitude and duration of hyperlactatemia might enable more accurate prognostication and provide insight into dis...
Burgess BA, Morley PS.There is a recognizable standard of practice for infection control in veterinary medicine. Effort must be given to control and prevention of infectious disease transmission within a facility and among animal populations. In the critical care setting, patients typically have a high degree of systemic illness and immune compromise, are commonly subjected to invasive procedures and placement of indwelling devices, and frequently receive antimicrobials and gastric protectants. Every equine critical care unit is distinctive in its physical and operational features and the types of patients that are...
le Jeune S, Whitcomb MB.Abdominal ultrasound is an invaluable aid in the evaluation of the colic patient but can be heavily influenced by patient preparation, individual horse-to-horse variation, availability of ultrasound transducers, technique, experience level of the examiner, and complexity of the abdominal disorder. This article describes ultrasonographic anatomy of the normal equine abdomen and technique for examination of the equine colic patient. Common abnormalities of the stomach, small intestine, large intestine, and peritoneal cavity are described along with other abnormalities that may be discovered with...
Mair TS, Sherlock CE, Boden LA.Few studies have evaluated cortisol concentrations in horses with colic. In humans with septic shock, high cortisol levels are associated with an increased risk of death. The objectives of this study were to compare the serum total cortisol concentrations (STCCs) in horses with colic to those without colic, and to assess whether the STCC relates to the pathological nature or outcome of the disease. STCCs were determined at presentation in horses with colic and in systemically healthy 'control' horses. Horses with colic were grouped based on clinical and clinico-pathological parameters at admis...
Cook VL, Hassel DM.This article presents an overview of key factors that should alert the practitioner toward referral of a colic patient to a facility capable of surgical exploration or intensive medical management. Discussion includes a review of important aspects of colic history, signalment, physical examination findings, and diagnostic test results that indicate that a more serious medical or surgical condition exists, and advanced therapy is necessary.
Carr EA.The purpose of this article is to provide a quick reference for field triage of the sick neonatal foal. Therefore, information is focused toward diagnostics and treatments that can be performed in the field. When evaluating a weak, recumbent, or lethargic foal on a farm, it is often difficult to make a definitive diagnosis. Therefore, the approach should be to treat what is treatable and prevent what is preventable. In many cases, the goal will be to stabilize a foal before referral to a tertiary care facility where more intensive and continuous treatment can be performed.
Lehmbecker A, Liebing J, Barthel Y, Habierski A, Cavalleri J, Puff C, Rademacher B, Lumpe S, Beineke A.Neurolymphomatosis is a rare manifestation of lymphoma and is characterized by neoplastic infiltration of the peripheral nervous system. The present report describes neoplastic infiltration of peripheral nerves in three horses with multicentric lymphoma. Immunohistochemistry revealed the presence of CD79a(+) lymphoblastic cells and well-differentiated CD3(+) T cells, characteristic of T-cell-rich B-cell lymphoma in all cases. Nerve infiltration by lymphoma is rare, but should be considered as a differential diagnosis for peripheral neuropathy in horses with lymphoma.
Liu H, Yan J, Wang Y, Yan Q, Zhao L, Yan R, He H.Moraxella bovoculi was isolated and identified in ocular fluid samples collected from 9 racehorses with infectious keratoconjunctivitis in China in 2013. All 9 M. bovoculi isolates were hemolytic, Gram-negative diplococci that were phenylalanine deaminase positive. The sequence of the 16S ribosomal DNA (rDNA) gene of the isolates matched the 16S rDNA sequence of M. bovoculi. Amplification of the 16S-23S intergenic spacer region followed by AfaI digestion produced a 600-base pair product, a result characteristic of M. bovoculi isolates. The phylogenetic analysis based on the 16S rDNA sequence c...
Di Febo T, Luciani M, Ciarelli A, Bortone G, Di Pancrazio C, Rodomonti D, Teodori L, Tittarelli M.Monoclonal antibodies (MAbs) against horse IgG were produced by immunizing Balb/c mice with purified horse IgG and were characterized in indirect ELISA versus purified immunoglobulins from donkey, cow, buffalo, sheep, pig, and chicken. Three MAbs (1B10B6C9, 1B10B6C10, 1B10B6E9) reacted only with horse and donkey IgG and IgM and, in western blotting, were specific for the Fc fragment of equine IgG. MAb 1B10B6E9 was used in chemiluminescent immunoblotting assay for the diagnosis of dourine and in indirect immunofluorescence assay (IFA) for the diagnosis of African horse sickness and dourine.
Balasuriya UB, Zhang J, Go YY, MacLachlan NJ.The advent of recombinant DNA technology, development of infectious cDNA clones of RNA viruses, and reverse genetic technologies have revolutionized how viruses are studied. Genetic manipulation of full-length cDNA clones has become an especially important and widely used tool to study the biology, pathogenesis, and virulence determinants of both positive and negative stranded RNA viruses. The first full-length infectious cDNA clone of equine arteritis virus (EAV) was developed in 1996 and was also the first full-length infectious cDNA clone constructed from a member of the order Nidovirales. ...
Balasuriya UB.Equine influenza (EI) is a highly contagious disease of horses caused by the equine influenza virus (EIV) H3N8 subtype. EI is the most important respiratory virus infection of horses and can disrupt major equestrian events and cause significant economic losses to the equine industry worldwide. Influenza H3N8 virus spreads rapidly in susceptible horses and can result in very high morbidity within 24-48 h after exposure to the virus. Therefore, rapid and accurate diagnosis of EI is critical for implementation of prevention and control measures to avoid the spread of EIV and to reduce the economi...
Balasuriya UB.The primary goals of this chapter are to discuss common viral RNA isolation and purification methods that are routinely used by various diagnostic laboratories, to highlight the advantages and drawbacks of each method, and to identify the most suitable and reliable method to increase the sensitivity and specificity of RT-PCR assays for the detection of equine influenza virus (EIV) in clinical specimens. Our experiences and review of literature show that magnetic bead-based nucleic extraction methods (manual and automatic) work well for isolation and purification of EIV RNA from nasal swab spec...
Chambers TM, Reedy SE.Equine influenza viruses are cultured in embryonated hen eggs, or in mammalian cells, generally Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK) cells, using methods much the same as for other influenza A viruses. Mutations associated with host adaptation occur in both eggs and MDCK cells, but the latter show greater heterogeneity and eggs are the generally preferred host. Both equine-1 H7N7 and equine-2 H3N8 viruses replicate efficiently in 11-day-old eggs, but we find that equine-1 viruses kill the embryos whereas equine-2 viruses do not.
Chambers TM, Reedy SE.In horses, presumptive diagnosis of equine influenza is commonly made on the basis of clinical signs. This alone is insufficient for confirmation of equine influenza, because other equine infectious respiratory diseases can in some degree have similar clinical presentations. Surveillance and control of equine influenza also necessitate detection of subclinical cases. Effective diagnosis of equine influenza virus infection is critically dependent on obtaining adequate specimens of virus-containing respiratory secretions for testing. These specimens are also valuable as sources for isolation of ...
Chambers TM.Equine influenza virus (EIV) is a common respiratory pathogen of horses and other equids in most parts of the world. EIV are Type A influenza viruses and two subtypes are known: H3N8 and H7N7. Both are believed to have evolved from avian influenza virus ancestors. The H3N8 subtype circulates widely, but the H7N7 subtype is thought to be extinct. The clinical disease in horses, caused by either subtype, is an upper respiratory infection of varying severity depending upon the immune status of the individual animal. It is not normally life-threatening in itself except in very young foals; however...
Chambers TM, Reedy SE.Serologic tests for equine influenza virus (EIV) antibodies are used for many purposes, including retrospective diagnosis, subtyping of virus isolates, antigenic comparison of different virus strains, and measurement of immune responses to EIV vaccines. The hemagglutination-inhibition (HI), single radial hemolysis (SRH), and serum micro-neutralization tests are the most widely used for these purposes and are described here. The presence of inhibitors of hemagglutination in equine serum complicates interpretation of HI assay results, and there are alternative protocols (receptor-destroying enzy...
Willsallen H, Heller J, Kark L, Hilbert BJ.In vitro comparison of the mechanical properties of braided polyurethane elastomer (Lycra®) and braided polyester (Ethibond™) (1) when inserted into the muscular process of the arytenoid cartilage and (2) as suture loops. Methods: Experimental. Methods: Equine cadaver larynges (n = 15). Methods: The muscular processes (n = 30) of the arytenoid cartilages were dissected from each larynx and embedded in a resin base. Lycra® and Ethibond™ prostheses were randomly allocated to the left or right muscular process and each underwent cyclic fatigue (25-50 N) followed by load-to-failure...
Aleman M, Madigan JE, Williams DC, Holliday TA.Reports of the use of brainstem auditory evoked response (BAER) as a diagnostic modality in foals have been limited. Objective: To describe BAER findings and associated causes of hearing loss in foals. Methods: Study group 18 foals (15 neonatal, 3 nonneonatal), control group (5 neonatal foals). Methods: Retrospective. BAER records from the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory were reviewed from the years of 1982 to 2013. Peak latencies, amplitudes, and interpeak intervals were measured when visible. Clinical data were extracted from the medical records. Foals were grouped under disease categori...
Hendrickson EHS, Lykkjen S, Dolvik NI, Olstad K.Young Standardbred horses frequently develop fragments in joints. Some fragments represent osteochondrosis; others are considered developmental, but it is uncertain whether they result from preceding osteochondrosis. Osteochondrosis occurs as a consequence of failure of the cartilage canal blood supply and ischaemic chondronecrosis. In heritably predisposed foals, failure was associated with incorporation of vessels into bone. However, bacterial vascular failure was also recently documented in foals suffering spontaneous infections, proving that bacteria can cause osteochondral lesions in foal...
Stuhtmann G, Oldenhof H, Peters P, Klewitz J, Martinsson G, Sieme H.Density gradient centrifugation can be used for selection of sperm of superior quality and removal of seminal plasma for use in artificial insemination. In this study, the use of two-layer iodixanol density gradient centrifugation was evaluated for processing of stallion semen. The protocol includes centrifugation through a 16% iodixanol top layer of 1.090 g mL(-1) and collection of motile and intact sperm on a 30% iodixanol bottom layer of 1.165 g mL(-1). Sperm recovery and effects on sperm quality were determined during cold storage as well as after cryopreservation and compared with ordinar...
Kvaternick V, Malinski T, Wortmann J, Fischer J.A sensitive reversed-phase HPLC-UV method was developed for the determination of firocoxib, a novel and highly selective COX-2 inhibitor, in plasma. A 1.0 mL dog or horse plasma sample is mixed with water and passed through a hydrophobic-lipophilic copolymer solid-phase extraction column to isolate firocoxib. Quantitation is based on an external standard curve. The method has a validated limit of quantitation of 25 ng/mL and a limit of detection of 10 ng/mL. The validated upper limit of quantitation was 2500 ng/mL for horses and 10,000 ng/mL for dogs. The average recoveries ranged from 88-93% ...
Kamerling SG, DeQuick DJ, Weckman TJ, Tobin T.The dose-related effects of intravenously administered fentanyl (0.010, 0.005, 0.0025 mg/kg) and saline were studied in mature performance horses using a rigorous experimental protocol. Fentanyl produced a dose-related prolongation of the skin twitch reflex latency but did not increase the hoof withdrawal reflex latency. Dose related increases in stepping frequency, cardiac and respiratory rats were observed following fentanyl, while changes in rectal temperature and pupil area were not. These data indicate that fentanyl, a prototypic mu-agonist, produces a syndrome characterized by analgesia,...
Rushton JO, Kolodziejek J, Nell B, Nowotny N.The aim of this study was to assess the extent of asinine herpesvirus (AsHV) type 5 infection in 'closed' populations of clinically normal Lipizzaner horses. Peripheral blood mononuclear cells plus nasal and conjunctival swabs were obtained on four occasions over an 18 month period from 266 animals as part of a health surveillance programme. Sequence analysis of samples that were positive by nested consensus herpesvirus PCR but negative using quantified equid herpesvirus (EHV) type 2 and 5 PCR, revealed a total of 51 samples from 39 horses positive for AsHV-5. No statistically significant asso...
Colitz CM, Latimer FG, Cheng H, Chan KK, Reed SM, Pennick GJ.To determine the pharmacokinetics of voriconazole following IV and PO administration and assess the distribution of voriconazole into body fluids following repeated PO administration in horses. Methods: 6 clinically normal adult horses. Methods: All horses received voriconazole (10 mg/kg) IV and PO (2-week interval between treatments). Plasma voriconazole concentrations were determined prior to and at intervals following administration. Subsequently, voriconazole was administered PO (3 mg/kg) twice daily for 10 days to all horses; plasma, synovial fluid, CSF, urine, and preocular tear film con...
Desanti-Consoli H, Bouillon J, Chapuis RJJ.Vaccination against infectious diseases is a cornerstone of veterinary medicine in the prevention of disease transmission, illness severity, and often death in animals. In North American equine medicine, equine vaccines protecting against tetanus, rabies, Eastern and Western equine encephalomyelitis, and West Nile are core vaccines as these have been classified as having a heightened risk of mortality, infectiousness, and endemic status. Some guidelines differ from the label of vaccines, to improve the protection of patients or to decrease the unnecessary administration to reduce potential sid...
McLean AN.Overshadowing is a process known in behavioral science that occurs when two stimuli of different strengths are applied simultaneously to a nonhuman animal. Typically, the stronger stimulus overshadows the weaker one, resulting in attenuation of the weaker stimulus. This phenomenon explains ways in which the decreased responsiveness and consequent conflict behaviors (and possibly learned helplessness and wastage) in some performance horses can result from the application of two concurrent aversive stimuli. Despite some adverse consequences in the context of ridden horses, overshadowing can have...
Gomez DE, Biermann NM, Sanchez LC.The quantitative effect of strong electrolytes, unmeasured strong anions (UAs), pCO2, and plasma protein concentrations in determining plasma pH can be demonstrated using the physicochemical approach. Plasma anion gap (AG) and strong ion gap (SIG) are used to assess UAs in different species. Objective: Strong ions are a major factor influencing changes in plasma pH of hospitalized foals. AG and SIG accurately predict severe hyper-L-lactatemia ([L-lac(-)] > 7 mmol/L). Methods: Seven hundred and ninety three hospitalized foals < 7 days old. Methods: Retrospective study. The relationship be...
Waldschmidt I, Pirottin D, Art T, Audigié F, Bureau F, Tosi I, El Abbas S, Farnir F, Richard E, Dupuis MC.Pulmonary diseases are common in horses and have a major economic impact on the equine industry. Some of them could be associated with an inadequate immune response in the lung, but methods to evaluate this response in horses are lacking. The aim of this study was to develop and validate an experimental model that could be applied in several physiological and pathological conditions to assess the innate immune response of equine pulmonary cells. Equine alveolar macrophages (AMs) obtained from bronchoalveolar lavages were isolated from other cells by adhesion. TLR2, 3, and 4 expression in AMs w...
Xiong Q, Bekebrede H, Sharma P, Arroyo LG, Baird JD, Rikihisa Y.Neorickettsia (formerly Ehrlichia) risticii is an obligatory intracellular bacterium of digenetic trematodes. When a horse accidentally ingests aquatic insects containing encysted trematodes infected with N. risticii, the bacterium is transmitted from trematodes to horse cells and causes an acute and often fatal disease called Potomac horse fever (PHF). Since the discovery of N. risticii in the United States in 1984, using immunofluorescence and PCR assays, PHF has been increasingly recognized throughout North America and South America. However, so far, there exist only a few stable N. ristici...
Spier SJ, Berger Pusterla J, Villarroel A, Pusterla N.Behavioural reactions to selected handling procedures were compared between conditioned, or imprint-trained, and untrained foals raised on the same farm. Nineteen randomly chosen healthy foals were imprint trained at birth and 24 h later (Group A). Twenty-one similar foals that were not imprint-trained served as age-matched controls (Group B). Training began within 10 min of birth and consisted of touch desensitization by gentle rubbing. Each tactile stimulus was repeated 30-50 times over 45-60 min, until the foal no longer resisted the procedure and appeared relaxed. The procedure was then re...
Williams DM, Smith BJ, Donahue JM, Poonacha KB.Blood and urine samples from horses on 3 central Kentucky horse farms with prior histories of leptospiral abortions were analysed. Blood samples were obtained from all available horses on each farm and tested for antibodies to 6 leptospira serovars. Urine samples were collected from non-gravid mares with serum antibody titres > or = 1:800 and examined for leptospires by dark-field microscopy, fluorescent antibody testing and culture. Adult horses had the greatest serological evidence of exposure to leptospira, followed by yearlings, then foals. Of horses with anti-leptospiral antibodies, 76...
Dacquet C, Loirand G, Rakotoarisoa L, Mironneau C, Mironneau J.1. Specific binding of the calcium-antagonist dihydropyridine derivative, (+)-[3H]-PN 200-110 (isradipine), to cell membranes of equine portal vein smooth muscle was compared with binding to intact strips isolated from rat portal veins. 2. Specific binding to vascular smooth muscle membranes was of high affinity, saturable and reversible. The dissociation constant obtained from association and dissociation kinetics of (+)-[3H]-PN 200-110 was similar to that obtained from equilibrium binding and competition experiments. 3. Specific binding of (+)-[3H]-PN 200-110 was completely displaced by unla...
Tydén E, Löfgren M, Hakhverdyan M, Tjälve H, Larsson P.In the present study, we examined the gene expression of cytochrome P450 3A (CYP3A) isoenzymes in the tracheal and bronchial mucosa and in the lung of equines using TaqMan probes. The results show that all seven CYP3A isoforms identified in the equine genome, that is, CYP3A89, CYP3A93, CYP3A94, CYP3A95, CYP3A96, CYP3A97 and CYP3A129, are expressed in the airways of the investigated horses. Though in previous studies, CYP3A129 was found to be absent in equine intestinal mucosa and liver, this CYP3A isoform is expressed in the airways of horses. The gene expression of the CYP3A isoenzymes varied...
Stull CL, Albert WW.The percentages of three muscle fiber types in the biceps femoris and triceps brachii were determined in five breeds of horses: Belgians, Standardbreds, Thoroughbreds, Quarter Horses and Welsh ponies. Biopsies were taken from the two muscles from each of four 2-year-old untrained fillies of each breed. Percentages of red, white and intermediate fiber types were determined from tissues stained for succinic dehydrogenase activity. Intermediate fibers were the most numerous for all breeds. The difference between red and white fibers varied significantly with breed. Thoroughbreds had the highest p...
Ledbetter EC.Fungi are clinically important causes of ocular infections in the horse. Keratomycosis is the most common; however, a diverse range of mycotic infections, affecting numerous ocular tissues, may be encountered. Many equine mycoses are diagnostic and therapeutic challenges. Prompt and appropriate treatment is essential to minimize morbidity and reduce the likelihood of vision loss. Knowledge of the characteristics and properties of equine ophthalmology antifungal medications is essential to selecting an optimal treatment strategy, including selection of appropriate medication and effective admin...
Nielsen MK, Betancourt A, Lyons ET, Horohov DW, Jacobsen S.Cyathostomins can cause a severe inflammation of equine large intestine characterized by substantial ventral edema and pronounced protein loss. Anthelmintic treatment of horses can result in a localized inflammatory response in the colonic mucosa of clinically normal horses. The aim of this study was to evaluate the systemic inflammatory response of ponies naturally infected with cyathostomins to single dose representatives of three anthelmintic drug classes, namely, oxibendazole, pyrantel pamoate, and moxidectin. Thirty ponies aged between 1 and 18 years of age were allocated to one of three ...
Maes A, Weiland L, Sandersen C, Gasthuys F, De Backer P, Croubels S.A sensitive method for the quantification of lidocaine and its metabolites, monoethylglycinexylidide (MEGX) and glycinexylidide (GX), in animal plasma using high-performance liquid chromatography combined with electrospray ionization mass spectrometry is described. The sample preparation includes a liquid-liquid extraction with methyl tert-butylmethyl ether after addition of 2M sodium hydroxide. Ethylmethylglycinexylidide (EMGX) is used as an internal standard. For chromatographic separation, an ODS Hypersil column was used. Isocratic elution was achieved with 0.01 M ammonium acetate and aceto...
Murray MJ.Of 183 foals examined by use of gastroendoscopy during 1987 and 1988, 94 had gastric lesions. Sixty-eight of 120 foals in the 1- to 85-day-old age range had endoscopically confirmed gastric lesions, and 26 of 63 foals in the 90- to 310-day-old age range had gastric lesions. Lesions were observed most frequently in the stratified squamous mucosal epithelium, particularly adjacent to the margo plicatus. Lesions were observed in the gastric glandular mucosa in 26 of the 94 foals with gastric lesions, and with a greater frequency in foals with a clinical disorder than in foals with no disorder (27...
Brownlow MA, Hutchins DR.Osmolality is an indication of the osmotic pressure of plasma and depends on the amount of solute and solvent (water) present. The mean (+sd) plasma osmolality of 100 clinically normal animals was 282 (+6) mOsm/kg using lithium heparin as anticoagulant. The equation, osmolality=1.86 (sodium + potassium) +glucose +blood urea nitrogen + 9, was found to predict only crudely plasma osmolality. The plasma sodium: osmolality ratio was 0.49. Water and electrolyte disorders are classified into 3 types based on the measurement of electrolytes and osmolality: (1) Hypertonic dehydration (true dehydration...
Meschter CL, Tyler DE, White NA, Moore J.Thirty horses were admitted to the University of Georgia Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital with colic severe enough to warrant surgery and/or euthanasia. Gastrointestinal tracts of these 30 horses were histologically examined for morphologic changes. The horses were grouped according to cause of the colic (ie, simple obstruction, strangulation obstruction, thromboemboli, and inflammation). Lesions were graded as to severity, and grade scores were correlated with survival or nonsurvival. Mucosal changes developed distal and proximal to the primary lesion site and, although there were some di...
Park KD, Kim H, Hwang JY, Lee CK, Do KT, Kim HS, Yang YM, Kwon YJ, Kim J, Kim HJ, Song KD, Oh JD, Kim H, Cho BW, Cho S, Lee HK.Copy number variations (CNVs), important genetic factors for study of human diseases, may have as large of an effect on phenotype as do single nucleotide polymorphisms. Indeed, it is widely accepted that CNVs are associated with differential disease susceptibility. However, the relationships between CNVs and gene expression have not been characterized in the horse. In this study, we investigated the effects of copy number deletion in the blood and muscle transcriptomes of Thoroughbred racing horses. We identified a total of 1,246 CNVs of deletion polymorphisms using DNA re-sequencing data from...
Alhassan A, Iseki H, Kim C, Yokoyama N, Igarashi I.Rapid, efficient, and reproducible procedures for isolating DNA before PCR gene amplification are essential for the diagnosis of piroplasms. In this study, we evaluated the ease and reliability of detecting Theileria equi by PCR using pre-extracted DNA samples (by QIAamp DNA Mini Kit and phenol-chloroform methods) compared with blood spotted on FTA cards as PCR templates. Although minimal variations in limit of detection were observed among the methods compared, overall, the use of pre-extracted DNA samples and blood spotted on FTA cards had comparable detection limits. These results indicate ...
Colbern GT, Aanes WA, Stashak TS.The case records of 47 mares with third-degree perineal lacerations or rectovestibular fistulae were examined to evaluate their fertility following surgical repair. Of 32 mares bred, 24 became pregnant, suggesting that surgical repair is indicated in any mare with sufficient genetic potential. Perineal trauma after surgical repair was recorded in 3 of 20 mares at subsequent parturition.
Ricotti S, Garcia MI, Veaute C, Bailat A, Lucca E, Cook RF, Cook SJ, Soutullo A.Molecular and serological techniques for Equine Infectious Anemia Virus (EIAV) diagnosis were compared using samples from 59 clinically normal horses stabled on five farms in the Santa Fe Province of Argentina. Of these 26 (44.1%) were positive in official AGID tests and/or gp45/gp90-based ELISA. Surprisingly 18 of the 33 seronegative horses were positive in a PCR against viral sequences encoding gp45 (PCR-positive/AGID-negative) with all but one remaining EIAV-antibody negative throughout a two year observation period. The gp45 PCR results are supported by fact that 7/18 of these horses were ...
da Silva KM, Otaka JNP, Gonçalves CAP, Silva EGA, de Alencar NX, Lessa DAB.The respiratory system is essential for health and high athletic performance in horses. Respiratory diseases have been recognized as having a major impact on training equine animals and are commonly cited as the second most common cause of wasted training time. Inflammatory airway disease (IAD) is an important cause of poor performance in young racehorses. Exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH) is considered a major issue for the equine industry because of its high prevalence and association with reduced athletic performance. In Brazil, polo is a growing equestrian sport, but studies on ...
Fidalgo-Carvalho I, Craigo JK, Barnes S, Costa-Ramos C, Montelaro RC.EIAV is a monocyte/macrophage tropic virus. To date, even though EIAV has been under investigation for numerous years, very few details have been elucidated about EIAV/macrophage interactions. This is largely due to the absence of an equine macrophage cell line that would support viral replication. Herein we describe the spontaneous immortalization and generation of a clonal equine macrophage-like (EML) cell line with the functional and immunophenotype characteristics of differentiated equine monocyte derived macrophage(s) (eMDM(s)). These cells possess strong non-specific esterase (NSE) activ...
