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.
Stegelmeier BL, Davis TZ.Many toxic plants are unpalatable to horses and are not eaten when alternative forage is available. However, when such plants contaminate prepared or baled feed and forage, herd competition and improved palatability can alter acceptance and thereby cause equine plant poisonings. Dehydropyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing plants; cocklebur; Salvia reflexa; kleingrass, switchgrass, and other saponin-containing grasses; jimson weed, black henbane, and other tropane alkaloid-containing plants; lantana; Cassia spp and other myotoxic plants; castor bean; cyanogenic glycoside-containing plants; thiamin...
Mallicote MF, Medina CI, Xie H, Zilberschtein J, Atria S, Manzie M, Hernandez JA, MacKay RJ.To assess the therapeutic efficacy of acupuncture in combination with Chinese herbs for treatment of horses affected with anhidrosis. Methods: 44 horses affected with anhidrosis for up to 3 years' duration were enrolled. Inclusion required both compatible clinical signs and results of a quantitative intradermal terbutaline sweat test. Methods: Study horses were randomly allocated into 2 groups. Group 1 (n = 19) was treated with daily Chinese herbs and 4 weekly acupuncture sessions. Group 2 (n = 25) was given daily hay powder as a placebo and 4 weekly sham acupuncture sessions. Horses were test...
Devine E, McCracken M, Miller L, Miller D, Anderson SL, Hunt JA.Castration is one of the most common surgeries performed in equine practice. Veterinary students require deliberate practice to reach competence in surgical procedures including equine castration, but availability of patients limits students' practice opportunities. A recumbent equine castration model was created and evaluated using a validation framework consisting of content evidence (expert opinion), internal structure evidence (reliability of scores produced by the accompanying rubric), and evidence of relationship with other variables, specifically the difference in scores between experts...
Elliott S, Olufemi OT, Daly JM.Vaccines against equine influenza have been available since the late 1960s, but outbreaks continue to occur periodically, affecting both vaccinated and unvaccinated animals. The aim of this study was to systematically evaluate the efficacy of vaccines against influenza A virus in horses (equine IAV). For this, PubMed, CAB abstracts, and Web of Science were searched for controlled trials of equine IAV vaccines published up to December 2020. Forty-three articles reporting equine IAV vaccination and challenge studies in previously naïve equids using an appropriate comparison group were included ...
Tong P, Palidan N, Song X, Tian S, Zhang L, Wu G, Deng H, Jia C, Duan R, Suo Y, Pan J, Dang Y, Kuang L, Xie J.Nine different species of Equus caballus papillomavirus (EcPV) and three bovine papillomaviruses (BPVs) have been reported to infect horses. However, there are few descriptions of such infections in China. In our pioneer study on Chinese horses, we identified EcPV-2 in the nasal swabs (4/230, 1.7%) of Yili horses, and the semen (3/18, 16.7%) of thoroughbred horses. This indicated that EcPV is indeed hosted by horses in China, and that EcPV-2 might be transmitted though breeding. Further detection of EcPVs in the lung tissues of aborted fetuses of Yili horses, which were originally negative for...
Takai S, Suzuki Y, Sasaki Y, Kakuda T, Ribeiro MG, Makrai L, Witkowski L, Cohen N, Sekizaki T.Virulent Rhodococcus equi strains expressing virulence-associated 15-17 kDa protein (VapA) and having a large virulence plasmid (pVAPA) of 85-90 kb containing vapA gene are pathogenic for horses. In the last two decades, following pVAPA, two host-associated virulence plasmid types of R. equi have been discovered: a circular plasmid, pVAPB, associated with porcine isolates in 1995, and a recently detected linear plasmid, pVAPN, related to bovine and caprine isolates. Molecular epidemiological studies of R. equi infection in foals on horse-breeding farms in Japan and many countries around the ...
Sterkenburgh TR, Villalba-Diez J, Ordieres-Meré J.There is a consensus that future medicine will benefit from a comprehensive analysis of harmonized, interconnected, and interoperable health data. These data can originate from a variety of sources. In particular, data from veterinary diagnostics and the monitoring of health-related life parameters using the Internet of Medical Things are considered here. To foster the usage of collected data in this way, not only do technical aspects need to be addressed but so do organizational ones, and to this end, a socio-technical matrix is first presented that complements the literature. It is used in a...
Pieroni C, Grassi A, Pantoli M, Berretti M, Messina S, Giovannini C, Lubas G, Diamanti D.The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) is a widely used diagnostic assay in human medicine but nowadays poorly applied in veterinary medicine. This test measures the speed (millimeters per hour) at which red blood cells settle in a whole anticoagulated blood tube. In human medicine, high ESR values are associated with various disorders, including infections, rheumatoid arthritis, oncologic diseases, and other inflammatory conditions. The ESR can also be influenced by some factors such as age and gender. In veterinary medicine, the ESR with the Westergren manual method was almost forgotten ov...
Grönthal TSC, Lehto AK, Aarnio SS, Eskola EK, Aimo-Koivisto EM, Karlsson T, Koskinen HI, Barkoff AM, He Q, Lienemann T, Rimhanen-Finne R, Mykkänen A.Corynebacterium diphtheriae and Corynebacterium ulcerans, when producing toxin, are the cause of diphtheria, a potentially life-threatening illness in humans. Horses (Equus ferus caballus) are known to be susceptible to infection that may manifest clinically on rare occasions. In late 2021 and early 2022, specimens from five horses suffering from pastern dermatitis were cultured at the Laboratory of Clinical Microbiology at the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland. C. diphtheriae and/or C. ulcerans were recovered from all of these. This study aimed to (1) analyse the...
da Gama BC, Martins TF, Labruna MB, Vieira RFDC, de Almeida JC.Studies on ticks of public health concern in equine husbandry are scarce in the Northeastern region of Brazil. This study aimed to investigate the presence of ticks on horses in the State of Alagoas, which is classified as a silent area for human rickettsiosis. Unassigned: Ticks infesting horses were collected using anatomical tweezers or a commercial hook and kept in ethanol-labeled tubes for taxonomic identification. Unassigned: A total of 2,238 ticks were found. Ticks were identified as 2,215 (98.89%, 95% CI: 98.41-99.28) , 19 (0.98%, 95% CI: 0.05-1.38) , and 4 (0.18%; 95% CI: 0.007-0.46) ....
Yun JU, Jung HS, Jung MJ, Song HS, Kim YB, Kim Y, Kim JG, Roh SW, Lee SH, Lee JS, Whon TW.Strain CBA3108 is a Gram-positive, non-spore-forming, obligately anaerobic bacterium isolated from horse faecal samples obtained in Jeju Island, Republic of Korea. The cells of CBA3108 are non-motile short rods that have been assessed as catalase-positive and oxidase-negative. Growth of the strain occurs under the following conditions: 25-45 °C (optimum, 35 °C); pH 6-9 (optimum, pH 6); and in the presence of 0-6 % (w/v) NaCl (optimum, 2%). Major fatty acids in the strain include C iso and C iso DMA, while major polar lipids include phosphatidylglycerol, diphosphatidylglycerol and phosp...
Lessiak U, Pratscher B, Tichy A, Nell B.Anti-VEGF agents were found to have clinical implications for the successful treatment of vascular-driven diseases in humans. In this study, a detailed biological characterization of bevacizumab in a variety of in vitro assays was carried out to determine the effect of bevacizumab on equine umbilical vein endothelial cells (EqUVEC). EqUVECs were harvested from umbilical cords of clinically healthy horses and exposed to different concentrations (1, 2, 4, 6, 8 mg/mL) of bevacizumab (Avastin). Assays concerning the drug's safety (cell viability and proliferation assay) and efficacy (cell tube for...
Molazadeh S, Tukmechi A, Hadian M, Dalir-Naghadeh B.This study aimed to determine the prevalence and phylogenetic analysis of Ehrlichia spp. in horses and dogs in Iran. Blood samples were collected from 400 animals, including 200 horses and 200 dogs, from five different provinces in Iran. Polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was used to detect Ehrlichia spp. based on amplification of the 16S rRNA gene. The semi-nested PCR method was used to amplify the dsb, TRP36, and gltA genes. The results showed that 4.5 % of the samples (3 % horses and 6 % dogs) were positive for Ehrlichia sp. The highest prevalence was observed in Kerman and Khuzestan, while th...
Cecchini Gualandi S, Di Palma T, Boni R.Ceruloplasmin (Cp) assessment in biological samples exploits the oxidase activity of this enzyme against several substrates, such as -phenylenediamine (-P), -dianisidine (-D) and, most recently, ammonium iron(II) sulfate (AIS). Once developed in humans, these assays are often used in veterinary medicine without appropriately optimizing in the animal species of interest. In this study, two assays using AIS and -D as substrates have been compared and validated for Cp oxidase activity assessment in horse's plasma. The optimization of the assays was performed mainly by varying the buffer pH as wel...
Moghaddam S, Lotfollahzadeh S, Salehi TZ, Hassanpour A, Manesh HT, Tamai IA.Beta-hemolytic streptococci involving the upper respiratory tract cause strangles and strangles-like diseases in horses and cause severe economic damage to the equestrian club each year. Therefore, careful epidemiological study of these bacteria, evaluation of phylogenetic connections and SeM-typing can be useful to determine the source and epidemiological characteristics of the disease outbreak. Isolates were analyzed using molecular and phylogenetic methods and to determine antibiotic resistance pattern in Iranian isolates. Molecular and phylogenetic methods were used to evaluate Iranian str...
Anoushepour A, Eftekhari S, Masoudifard M.Superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) plays an important role in the locomotion of the horses with flexion of the limbs. In the hind limb, it passes over the calcaneal bone and attaches to medial and lateral surfaces of calcaneous by two bands of connective tissue; while, the medial band is weaker than the lateral one. Occasionally, severe trauma, over-extension or fracture of the calcaneous may cause rupture of the supportive bands leading to tendon luxation. An 11-year-old Thoroughbred jumping gelding with symptoms of lameness in both legs, after examination by an internal specialist vete...
Bolzoni L, Conter M, Lamperti L, Scaltriti E, Morganti M, Poeta A, Vecchi M, Paglioli S, Rampini A, Ramoni P, De Vita D, Bacci C, Rega M, Andriani L....The study assessed the role of equids at slaughter as faecal carriers of Salmonella enterica and the occurrence of contaminated equid carcasses during the slaughter process in Northern Italy (Emilia-Romagna Region). From June to November 2021, 152 equids (146 horses, 5 donkeys and 1 mule) were tested for Salmonella both in caecal contents and through carcass swabs. Antimicrobial resistance (AMR) of recovered strains was tested against 15 antimicrobials. Salmonella was detected in 3/152 of the caecal contents (2.0 %), while all carcass samples were negative. S. enterica serovars Enteriditis, T...
Ramirez M, Duncan C, Schaffer PA, Wobeser B, Magzamen S.Ultraviolet light (UV) is a risk factor for the development of cutaneous neoplasia in many mammalian species. This study evaluated UV exposure as a risk factor of concern for the development of cutaneous neoplasia in equine species due to the significant UV exposure that may accrue over their lifetimes. Neoplastic biopsy specimens from 3272 horses that were submitted over a 10-year period to the Colorado State University Diagnostic Medicine Center and to the University of Saskatchewan Western College of Veterinary Medicine and Prairie Diagnostic Services were evaluated. This retrospective stud...
Risselada M, Worth DB.Tumors of various sizes and locations can create a treatment dilemma in achieving adequate surgical margins when sufficient free tissue is not available for closure. Extravascular local adjunctive chemotherapy has been investigated clinically to aid in achieving local tumor control in animals with naturally occurring neoplastic disease. Local chemotherapy can be an alternative primary or a local adjunctive treatment. This is a summary of relevant findings of in vitro and in vivo studies on local chemotherapeutic delivery through carrier media, together with a summary of outcomes of clinical us...
Hébert L, Froger D, Madeline A, Lecouturier F, Lemans C, Zientara S.Dourine is a sexually transmitted parasitic disease affecting equids. Its causative agent is referred to as and the prescribed serodiagnosis method is the complement fixation test (CFT). In the context of our European Reference Laboratory mandate for equine diseases (excluding African horse sickness), we organised dourine CFT inter-laboratory proficiency tests (ILPTs) in 2015, 2018 and 2022 to evaluate the performance of the European Union network of National Reference Laboratories (NRLs) for dourine. ILPT panels were composed of horse sera with or without antibodies against spp. originating...
Romanowski TNA, Dias RA, Heinemann MB, Carvalho SF, Silva TA, Martins ADS, Caetano GDDC, Ferreira Júnior Á, Santos JPD, Borsanelli AC.Leptospirosis, caused by Leptospira, is a zoonotic disease that, in horses, is linked to abortions, uveitis, and sporadic occurrences of liver and kidney disease, often resulting in significant economic losses for farmers. Research on the prevalence of leptospirosis in horses in the central-west region of Brazil has been relatively scarce. Thus, the present study aimed to determine the prevalence of leptospirosis in equine herds in the state of Goiás (Central Brazil). Blood samples were collected from 894 equids at 294 randomly selected farms divided into three different strata according to t...
Equine mesenchymal stem cells (MSC) of various origins have been identified in horses, including MSCs from the bone marrow and adipose tissue. However, these stem cell sources are highly invasive in sampling, which thereby limits their clinical application in equine veterinary medicine. This study presents a novel method using an air-liquid interface to isolate stem cells from the hair follicle outer root sheath of the equine forehead skin. These stem cells cultured herewith showed high proliferation and asumed MSC phenotype by expressing MSC positive biomarkers (CD29, CD44 CD90) while not e...
Frabasile L, Amendola C, Buttafava M, Chincarini M, Contini D, Cozzi B, De Zani D, Guerri G, Lacerenza M, Minero M, Petrizzi L, Qiu L, Rabbogliatti V....Biosensors applied in veterinary medicine serve as a noninvasive method to determine the health status of animals and, indirectly, their level of welfare. Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS) has been suggested as a technology with this application. This study presents preliminary time domain NIRS measurements of optical properties (absorption coefficient, reduced scattering coefficient, and differential pathlength factor) and hemodynamic parameters (concentration of oxygenated hemoglobin, deoxygenated hemoglobin, total hemoglobin, and tissue oxygen saturation) of tissue domestic animals, specif...
Folgmann MS, Kleinsorgen C, Stock KF, Meister D, Hellige M, Feige K, Delling U.Digital recording and storage of health data are becoming increasingly important in the fields of both human and veterinary medicine. There is currently a lack of information on the level of digitalisation among equine veterinarians in Germany and their attitudes towards advanced digitalisation. Objective: To collect opinions of equine veterinarians about (1) digital data collection in pre-purchase examinations (PPEs), and (2) the establishment of an equine health database in Germany. Methods: Cross-sectional survey. Methods: An online survey was developed and distributed via email exclusively...
Athanasiou LV, Katsogiannou EG, Tyrnenopoulou P, Gougoulis D, Apostolidis KN, Papadakis SM, Kokkinaki KCG, Papatsiros VG, Tsokana CN.Among the various zoonotic pathogens that infect horses, Anaplasma phagocytophilum, Borrelia spp. and Leishmania spp. have gained scientific interest, and relevant molecular and serological studies in horses have been conducted worldwide. Moreover, human and veterinary medicine have extensively applied alternatives to serum diagnostic samples-such as saliva-for detecting pathogens or antibodies. In this study, we investigated the exposure of horses in Greece to A. phagocytophilum, B. burgdorferi, and L. infantum, and we assessed the diagnostic accuracy of saliva compared to serum in detecting ...
Smit IH, Hernlund E, Persson-Sjodin E, Björnsdóttir S, Gunnarsdottir H, Gunnarsson V, Rhodin M, Serra Braganca FM.Lameness assessment in the gaited Icelandic horse is complex. We aimed to describe their kinematic and temporal adaptation strategies in response to forelimb lameness at walk, trot and tölt. Methods: In vivo experiment. Methods: Ten clinically non-lame Icelandic horses were measured before and after reversible forelimb lameness induction. Upper body and limb kinematics were measured using 11 inertial measurement units mounted on the poll, withers, pelvis (tubera sacrale) and all four limbs and hoofs (Equimoves®, 500 Hz). Horses were measured on a straight line at walk and trot in-hand and ...
Denoix JM.Tendons and ligaments of the equine distal limbs have a prominent anatomic, functional, and clinical importance. This article reviews the descriptive and topographic anatomy of these structures in details. Special information is given about the mechanical properties and functional anatomy of the flexor tendons, accessory ligaments, and third interosseous muscle, as well as about their roles during the standing position and gaits.
Lane JG, Bladon B, Little DR, Naylor JR, Franklin SH.To review the prevalence of single and complex forms of dynamic airway obstructions within a large group of Thoroughbred horses in training referred for investigation of poor performance. Methods: Video-endoscopic recordings of the upper respiratory tract made during a standardised treadmill exercise test of 600 Thoroughbred racehorses were reviewed and analysed in real time and slow motion to identify dynamic collapse by the tissues bordering onto the pharyngeal and laryngeal airways. Results: Dynamic collapse within the nasopharynx or larynx was confirmed in 471 of the 600 horses. Dorsal dis...
Eaton BT, Broder CC, Wang LF.Within the past decade a number of new zoonotic paramyxoviruses emerged from flying foxes to cause serious disease outbreaks in man and livestock. Hendra virus was the cause of fatal infections of horses and man in Australia in 1994, 1999 and 2004. Nipah virus caused encephalitis in humans both in Malaysia in 1998/99, following silent spread of the virus in the pig population, and in Bangladesh from 2001 to 2004 probably as a result of direct bat to human transmission and spread within the human population. Hendra and Nipah viruses are highly pathogenic in humans with case fatality rates of 40...
Suganuma K, Narantsatsral S, Battur B, Yamasaki S, Otgonsuren D, Musinguzi SP, Davaasuren B, Battsetseg B, Inoue N.Trypanosoma equiperdum causes dourine via sexual transmission in Equidae. T. equiperdum is classified under the subgenus Trypanozoon along with the T. brucei sspp. and T. evansi; however, the species classification of Trypanozoon remains a controversial topic due to the limited number of T. equiperdum reference strains. In addition, it is possible that some were misclassified T. evansi strains. Thus, there is a strong need for a new T. equiperdum strain directly isolated from the genital mucosa of a horse with a clinically- and parasitologically-confirmed dourine infection. Trypanosomes isolat...
MacLachlan NJ, Balasuriya UB, Hedges JF, Schweidler TM, McCollum WH, Timoney PJ, Hullinger PJ, Patton JF.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is the causative agent of equine viral arteritis, an apparently emerging disease of equids. In this study, the antibody response of horses to the structural proteins of EAV was evaluated using gradient-purified EAV virions and baculovirus-expressed recombinant EAV structural proteins (G(L), G(S), M, N) as antigens in a Western immunoblotting assay. Thirty-three sera from horses that previously had been naturally or experimentally infected with EAV were evaluated, including samples from mares, geldings, and both persistently and nonpersistently infected stallions. S...
Nasir L, Reid SW.The sarcoid is a benign locally invasive dermal fibroblastic lesion, commonly affecting horses and donkeys. The aetiology of the equine sarcoid is equivocal. Bovine papillomaviral (BPV) DNA (type 1/2) is frequently demonstrable in equine sarcoid tumour biopsies. However, the exact role of the virus in the disease process and its contribution to the phenotypic differences in sarcoids is not known. It was sought to assess the transcriptional activity of BPV-1 found in sarcoid tissues. Of 20 tumours examined, 18 were positive for E2 expression and ten positive for L1 expression. Viral oncogenes E...
Buhl R, Ersbøll AK, Eriksen L, Koch J.To evaluate changes over time in echocardiographic measurements in young Standardbred racehorses undergoing training and racing and determine whether there was any relationship between cardiac dimensions and racing performance. Methods: Longitudinal observational study. Methods: 103 horses. Methods: 2-dimensional and M-mode echocardiography was performed 4 times at 6-month intervals. Results: Significant cardiac enlargement took place during the study period as indicated by increases in left ventricular internal diameter in diastole (LVIDd), estimated left ventricular muscle mass (LV mass), an...
Watts AE, Nixon AJ, Yeager AE, Mohammed HO.A consistent and clinically relevant model for the induction of core lesions confined to the mid-metacarpal superficial digital flexor tendon (SDFT) has not been previously reported. Injection of bacterial collagenase is commonly used but often results in large, irregular and inconsistent lesions that disrupt the superficial tendon layers and epitenon. Objective: To develop and evaluate a new injection technique for collagenase induction of SDFT injury. Methods: Collagenase gel was injected into a physical columnar defect created by longitudinally placing a curved 16 gauge 8.89 cm needle in ...
Morris DD.Endotoxemia remains the leading cause of death in horses, being intimately involved in the pathogenesis of gastrointestinal disorders that cause colic and neonatal foal septicemia. Endotoxins, normally present within the bowel, gain access to the blood across damaged intestinal mucosa, or endotoxemia occurs when gram negative organisms proliferate in tissues. Endotoxins are removed from the circulation by the mononuclear phagocyte system, and the response of mononuclear phagocytes to these lipopolysaccharides (LPS) play an important role in determining the severity of clinical disease. Macroph...
Attoui H, Mohd Jaafar F.Many novel emerging orbiviruses have been isolated in the past 15 years. Important viruses include Peruvian horse sickness virus (PHSV) and Yunnan orbivirus (YUOV), pathogens of equids which were originally isolated almost simultaneously from 1997 to 1999 in the People's Republic of China, Australia and Peru. YUOV has also been isolated from cattle, sheep and a dog. The isolation of YUOVfrom a dog is not the first case of an orbivirus being isolated from a carnivore. Bluetongue virus and African horse sickness virus were earlier detected in carnivores which fed on contaminated meat. PHSV and Y...
Akerreta S, Calvo MI, Cavero RY.To collect, analyze and evaluate the ethnoveterinary knowledge about medicinal plants in a northern Iberian region (Navarra, 10,421 km(2), 620,377 inhabitants). Methods: Field work was conducted between 2003 and 2007, using semi-structured questionnaire and participant observation as well as transects walks in wild herbal plant collection areas. We performed semi-structured interviews with 667 informants (mean age 72; 55.47% women, 44.53% men) in 265 locations, identified the plant reported and analyzed the results, comparing them with those from other territories. Results: Out of 287 species ...
Richardson JS, Parrera GS, Astacio H, Sahota H, Anderson DM, Hall C, Babinchak T.Botulism is a rare, life-threatening paralytic illness. Botulism Antitoxin Heptavalent (A,B,C,D,E,F,G)-(Equine) (BAT) manufactured by Emergent BioSolutions Canada Inc is an equine-derived heptavalent botulinum antitoxin product indicated for the treatment of symptomatic botulism following documented or suspected exposure to botulinum neurotoxin serotypes A-G in adults and pediatric patients. BAT product was US-licensed in 2013. In the United States, from October 2014 through July 2017, safety and clinical outcomes data were collected under a registry for patients treated with BAT product. Regi...
Deeg CA, Ehrenhofer M, Thurau SR, Reese S, Wildner G, Kaspers B.Equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) is the most serious eye disease in horses worldwide. Despite the fact that ERU is generally considered to be immune mediated, a detailed description of the histopathology of the posterior part of ERU eyes is lacking. Here, we examined sections of paraffin-embedded eyes using histological and immunhistological methods. Twenty seven eyes of 20 horses with ERU and 30 eyes of 15 healthy control horses were included in this study. We could consistently demonstrate an involvement of the retina and the choroid in all examined eyes of horses with spontaneous ERU. In eyes...
van Loon JP, de Grauw JC, van Dierendonck M, L'ami JJ, Back W, van Weeren PR.Intra-articular administration of morphine as a local analgesic and anti-inflammatory drug is widely used in human medicine. In equids, little is known about its clinical analgesic and anti-inflammatory efficacy. Objective: To use an inflammatory orthopaedic pain model to investigate the analgesic and anti-inflammatory effects of intra-articularly administered morphine as a new treatment modality in horses with acute arthritis. Methods: In a crossover study design, synovitis was induced in the left or right talocrural joint by means of intra-articular injection of 0.5 ng lipopolyssacharide (LP...
Rikihisa Y, Pretzman CI, Johnson GC, Reed SM, Yamamoto S, Andrews F.Ehrlichia risticii has a close antigenic relationship to E. sennetsu. Sera of ponies experimentally infected with E. risticii, the etiologic agent of Potomac horse fever, consistently reacted with E. sennetsu, a human pathogen, in indirect fluorescent-antibody (IFA) testing, while human E. sennetsu convalescent serum reacted with E. risticii by IFA testing and immunoferritin labeling of cells infected in vitro. Two ponies injected intravenously with live E. sennetsu did no develop clinical illness. Subsequent injection with live E. sennetsu did not develop clinical illness. Subsequent injectio...
Salamone DF, Canel NG, Rodríguez MB.Intracytoplasmic sperm injection (ICSI) has become a useful technique for clinical applications in the horse-breeding industry. However, both ICSI blastocyst and offspring production continues to be limited for most farm and wild species. This article reviews technical differences of ICSI performance among species, possible biological and methodological reasons for the variable efficiency and potential strategies to improve the outcomes. One of the major applications of ICSI in animal production is the reproduction of high-value specimens. Unfortunately, some domestic species like the bovine s...
González-Fernández L, Ortega-Ferrusola C, Macias-Garcia B, Salido GM, Peña FJ, Tapia JA.Protein tyrosine kinases have important roles in spermatozoa; however, little is known about the presence and regulation in these cells of their counterparts in signaling, namely, protein tyrosine phosphatases (PTPs) and dual-specificity phosphatases (DSPs). The objectives of the present study were to identify PTPs and DSPs in boar, stallion, and dog spermatozoa; to characterize their subcellular distribution; and to investigate the roles of tyrosine phosphatases in maintenance of protein tyrosine phosphorylation level and in sperm motility. Using Western blotting with specific antibodies in b...
Müller J, Feige K, Wunderlin P, Hödl A, Meli ML, Seltenhammer M, Grest P, Nicolson L, Schelling C, Heinzerling LM.Melanoma is a disease with high incidence in gray horses and has limited therapeutic options in metastatic disease. Gene therapy has shown some success in animal models and human patients. A randomized double-blind, placebo-controlled study was conducted to investigate 2 treatment options using cytokine-encoding plasmid DNA in horses with metastatic melanoma to induce immunologic antitumor effects. Adult gray horses with spontaneously occurring metastatic melanoma (n=26) were included in the study. Treatment of 26 gray horses with metastatic melanoma consisted of interleukin-18-encoding plasmi...
Proudman CJ.The records of 200 colic episodes, collected prospectively, over a two year period, from first opinion cases, were analysed and compared with a control sample selected at random from the same population. Analysis by colic type revealed 72% spasmodic/undiagnosed; 7% surgical; 5.5% flatulent; 5% pelvic flexure impactions; 9.5% other implications and 1% colitis. A possible predisposing cause was identified in 43% of the spasmodic/undiagnosed cases. The total incidence of colic in each age group showed no statistically significant differences from the control population. Stallions were significant...
MacLachlan NJ, Balasuriya UB, Hedges JF, Schweidler TM, McCollum WH, Timoney PJ, Hullinger PJ, Patton JF.Equine arteritis virus (EAV) is the causative agent of equine viral arteritis, an apparently emerging disease of equids. In this study, the antibody response of horses to the structural proteins of EAV was evaluated using gradient-purified EAV virions and baculovirus-expressed recombinant EAV structural proteins (G(L), G(S), M, N) as antigens in a Western immunoblotting assay. Thirty-three sera from horses that previously had been naturally or experimentally infected with EAV were evaluated, including samples from mares, geldings, and both persistently and nonpersistently infected stallions. S...
van Zyl A, Daniel J, Wayne J, McCowan C, Malik R, Jelfs P, Lavender CJ, Fyfe JA.Two horses were diagnosed as having Mycobacterium ulcerans infections. The first was a 21-year-old Quarterhorse-cross mare living in Mallacoota (a coastal town near the border of New South Wales and Victoria, Australia) that presented with lichenification, hair-loss and oedema on a fetlock, which subsequently ulcerated, as well as a non-healing ulcer on the wither. The second horse was a 32 year-old Standardbred gelding from Nicholson, near Bairnsdale, Victoria, that had an ulcerated lesion on its caudal thigh. Histologically, there were characteristic changes seen with M. ulcerans infections ...
Luo J, Bruice TC.Molecular dynamics and cross-correlation analysis of the horse liver alcohol dehydrogenase HLADH.NAD(+).PhCH(2)O(-) complex has established anticorrelated motions between the NAD(+)-binding domain and other portions of the enzyme. Four pairs of anticorrelated interactions are (i and ii) cofactor-binding domain: C(alpha) of V292 and the CG1 of V203 with C7 of PhCH(2)O(-); (iii) cofactor-binding domain: amide carbonyl oxygen of I318 with amide N of H67; and (iv) cofactor domain: C(alpha) of T178 with carbonyl oxygen of L141. The average distances between pairs are 9.2 A for i, 8.2 A for ii, 14.7...
Chang YF, Novosol V, McDonough SP, Chang CF, Jacobson RH, Divers T, Quimby FW, Shin S, Lein DH.Seven specific-pathogen-free (SPF) ponies, 1-5 years old, were exposed to Borrelia burgdorferi-infected adult ticks while being treated with dexamethasone over 5 consecutive days. One SPF pony (pony No. 178) was first exposed to laboratory-reared nymphs without B. burgdorferi infection and 3 weeks later was exposed to B. burgdorferi-infected adult ticks with concurrent dexamethasone treatment for 5 consecutive days. Four uninfected ponies treated with dexamethasone, exposed to laboratory-reared ticks without B. burgdorferi infection served as uninfected controls. Clinical signs, bacteriologic ...
Castanheira C, Balaskas P, Falls C, Ashraf-Kharaz Y, Clegg P, Burke K, Fang Y, Dyer P, Welting TJM, Peffers MJ.Osteoarthritis remains one of the greatest causes of morbidity and mortality in the equine population. The inability to detect pre-clinical changes in osteoarthritis has been a significant impediment to the development of effective therapies against this disease. Synovial fluid represents a potential source of disease-specific small non-coding RNAs (sncRNAs) that could aid in the understanding of the pathogenesis of osteoarthritis. We hypothesised that early stages of osteoarthritis would alter the expression of sncRNAs, facilitating the understanding of the underlying pathogenesis and potenti...
Kornaś S, Cabaret J, Skalska M, Nowosad B.A 11-year survey on helminth intestinal infection of horses was done in seven provinces of southern Poland. 21,641 faecal samples were collected from horses of different age, sex, breed and management system originating from 84 farms. Age was the major factor influencing the cyathostome egg excretion, the maximum being observed in yearlings and second year horses. Parascaris was found mostly in foals and yearlings. The main factor for Anoplocephala was the access to pasture. The level of cyathostome egg shedding (EPG) could be related to sex (geldings had higher values of EPG), breed (Thorough...
Patel JR, Edington N, Mumford JA.Subtype-1 isolates of Equine herpesvirus-1 (EHV-1) from a quadriplegic horse and from an aborted foetus were compared with each other and with a subtype-2 respiratory isolate. All 3 isolates were detected in the epithelium and macrophages of the respiratory tract. Both the paresis and foetal subtype-1 isolates replicated in the epithelium of the ileum and this correlated with the recovery of virus from faeces in vivo. The paresis subtype-1 isolate also had a predelection for vascular endothelial cells, particularly in the nasal mucosa, but also in the lungs, central nervous system, adrenal and...
Lykkjen S, Dolvik NI, McCue ME, Rendahl AK, Mickelson JR, Roed KH.Osteochondrosis (OC), a disturbance in the process of endochondral ossification, is by far the most important equine developmental orthopaedic disease and is also common in other domestic animals and humans. The purpose of this study was to identify quantitative trait loci (QTL) associated with osteochondrosis dissecans (OCD) at the intermediate ridge of the distal tibia in Norwegian Standardbred (SB) using the Illumina Equine SNP50 BeadChip whole-genome single-nucleotide polymorphism (SNP) assay. Radiographic data and blood samples were obtained from 464 SB yearlings. Based on the radiographi...
Locke MM, Penedo MC, Bricker SJ, Millon LV, Murray JD.The progressive loss of colour in the hair of grey horses is controlled by a dominantly inherited allele at the Grey locus (GG). In this study, two paternal Quarter Horse (QH) families segregating for the GG allele were genotyped with a set of 101 microsatellite markers spanning the 31 autosomes and the X chromosome. This genome scan demonstrated linkage of Grey to COR018 (RF=0.02, LOD=12.04) on horse chromosome 25 (ECA25). Further chromosome-specific analysis of seven total QH families confirmed the linkage of Grey to a group of ECA25 markers and the map order of NVHEQ43-(0.24)-UCDEQ405-(0.09...
Adams AA, Breathnach CC, Katepalli MP, Kohler K, Horohov DW.A number of model systems have been employed to investigate age-associated changes in immune function. The purpose of the current study was to characterize senescent T cells and to investigate the inflamm-aging phenomenon both in vitro and in vivo using the old horse as a model. We examined whether decreased T cell proliferation induced by Con A is caused by increased apoptosis. We also utilized intracellular CFSE to analyze changes within each round of cell proliferation, in particular cytokine production. Intracellular staining with flow cytometry, RT-PCR, and ELISA were used to measure pro-...
Lavoie JP, Bullone M, Rodrigues N, Germim P, Albrecht B, von Salis-Soglio M.Inhaled corticosteroids are effective for the treatment of equine asthma but they induce cortisol suppression with potential side effects. Objective: To study the efficacy of ciclesonide, an inhaled corticosteroid with an improved safety profile, on lung function, clinical signs related to airway obstruction, and serum cortisol levels in asthmatic horses exposed to a mouldy hay challenge. Methods: Cross-over placebo controlled, blinded, randomised experiment. Methods: Sixteen horses were enrolled in three subsequent dose-titration studies (8 horses/study) to investigate the effects of inhaled ...
