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Topic:Veterinary Research
Veterinary research in horses encompasses the study of diseases, health management, and medical treatments specific to equine species. This field investigates various aspects of horse health, including infectious diseases, metabolic disorders, and musculoskeletal conditions. Researchers focus on understanding the pathophysiology of equine ailments, developing diagnostic tools, and evaluating therapeutic interventions. The study of horse health also involves examining preventive measures such as vaccination protocols and nutritional management to promote overall well-being. This page collects peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the diverse areas of veterinary science related to horses, providing insights into disease mechanisms, treatment strategies, and advancements in equine healthcare.
Effects of continuous passage on the immunomodulatory properties of equine bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells in vitro. The immunomodulatory properties of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) have been studied extensively due to their increasing clinical application for tissue regeneration and repair following culture expansion. We have studied the effect of continuous passage on the immunomodulatory capacity of equine bone marrow-derived MSCs (BM-MSCs). Equine BM-MSCs were isolated and culture expanded to passage three, six, and nine (P3, P6, P9). Immunomodulatory properties of each passage were assessed using a T cell proliferation assay and cytokine synthesis following stimulation with interferon gamma (IFN-γ). Re...
Combined macromolecule biomaterials together with fluid shear stress promote the osteogenic differentiation capacity of equine adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells. Combination of mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and biomaterials is a rapidly growing approach in regenerative medicine particularly for chronic degenerative disorders including osteoarthritis and osteoporosis. The present study examined the effect of biomaterial scaffolds on equine adipose-derived MSC morphology, viability, adherence, migration, and osteogenic differentiation. MSCs were cultivated in conjunction with collagen CultiSpher-S Microcarrier (MC), nanocomposite xerogels B30 and combined B30 with strontium (B30Str) biomaterials in osteogenic differentiation medium either under static or...
Comprehensive characterization of the peroxisome proliferator activated receptor-δ agonist GW501516 for horse doping control analysis. According to international sport institutions, the use of peroxisome proliferator activated receptor (PPAR)-δ agonists is forbidden at any time in athlete career due to their capabilities to increase physical and endurance performances. The (PPAR)-δ agonist GW501516 is prohibited for sale but is easily available on internet and can be used by cheaters. In the context of doping control, urine is the preferred matrix because of the non-invasive nature of sampling and providing broader exposure detection times to forbidden molecules but often not detected under its native form due to the organi...
The Safety, Tolerability and Efficacy of Probiotic Bacteria for Equine Use. Probiotic bacteria are used widely as nutritional supplements and treatment interventions in the management of livestock and companion animals. The aim of this review is to summarize the current evidence reporting on the safety, tolerability and efficacy of probiotic bacteria use in horses. An online search of five databases for studies reporting on the use of probiotic bacteria use in horses which were either healthy or had a gastrointestinal or extraintestinal disease was conducted. A total of 18 articles were eligible for full review. No clear benefits were identified to support supplementa...
A Novel Load Cell-Supported Research Platform to Measure Vertical and Horizontal Motion of a Horse’s Centre of Mass During Trailer Transport. During transport, horses are subjected to acceleration in three dimensions, rapid braking, turning, noise, and other stressors. The animal's ability to make postural corrections may be insufficient to prevent injury or distress, and so knowledge of the compensatory motion patterns of the horse in the trailer is a necessary precondition for smart design of transport systems. A custom two-horse trailer was built for this project. It had a horse compartment 1.85 m wide by 3.95 m long, with adjustable bulkheads and a centre divider separating the horses. The floor was instrumented with 24 shearbea...
Does the Low-Field MRI Appearance of Intraosseous STIR Hyperintensity in Equine Cadaver Limbs Change when Subjected to a Freeze-Thaw Process? Equine advanced imaging research involving racehorse fetlock pathology commonly uses cadaver limbs and a freeze-thaw process. The presence of short tau inversion recovery (STIR) signal intensity in the distal third metacarpal/metatarsal bone is of particular interest and may be clinically relevant in the diagnosis of horses at risk of fracture. However, little is known about the effect of the freeze-thaw process on the MRI appearance of STIR hyperintensity in these bones. This study compares the low-field MRI appearance of the distal third metacarpal/metatarsal bone from cadaver limbs of Thoro...
The Feasibility of Equine Field-Based Postural Sway Analysis Using a Single Inertial Sensor. (1) Background: Postural sway is frequently used to quantify human postural control, balance, injury, and neurological deficits. However, there is considerably less research investigating the value of the metric in horses. Much of the existing equine postural sway research uses force or pressure plates to examine the centre of pressure, inferring change at the centre of mass (COM). This study looks at the inverse, using an inertial measurement unit (IMU) on the withers to investigate change at the COM, exploring the potential of postural sway evaluation in the applied domain. (2) Methods: The ...
Plasma lipidome of healthy and Rhodococcus equi-infected foals over time. Many foals that develop thoracic ultrasonographic lesions as a result of Rhodococcus equi infection heal on their own. However, most of these foals receive antimicrobials because foals at risk of developing clinical pneumonia cannot be identified. Untargeted lipidomics is useful to identify candidate biomarkers. Objective: (a) To describe the changes that occur in foal lipidomics as a result of ageing (birth to 8 weeks) and (b) To compare these results with those observed in foals after experimental infection with R. equi. Methods: Experimental study. Methods: Healthy newborn foals (n = 9) ...
Seroprevalence of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi in Croatia – Short communication. Clinical cases resembling strangles are regularly seen in some areas of Croatia. However, there are no data on the prevalence of infection and the clinical forms or geographic distribution of the disease. The aim of this study was to determine the seroprevalence of Streptococcus equi subspecies equi in horses resident in Croatia, in order to estimate the geographic distribution of infection. The study included 291 horse sera from the eight counties where the majority of Croatian horses are kept. Sera were tested by indirect ELISA (iELISA) for the presence of serum antibodies against S. equi pr...
Effect of Feeding Fructooligosaccharides and Enterococcus faecium and Their Interaction on Digestibility, Blood, and Immune Parameters of Adult Horses. The objectives of this study were to determine the effects of dietary prebiotic fructooligosaccharides (FOS) from inulin and Enterococcus faecium on nutrient digestibility, fecal pH, and some blood parameters. In this experiment, twelve adult Kurdish horses with average bogy weight of 416 ± 43.3 kg and age averaging 6 ± 1.8 year were used in a replicated 4 × 4 Latin Square experiment with a 2 × 2 factorial design during 4 periods of 28 days, including 21 days for dietary adaptation and 7 days for sampling. Horses were offered 1 of 4 treatments: (1) no FOS or 2.5 × 10 colony forming ...
Interleukin-6 pathobiology in equine placental infection. Ascending placentitis is the leading cause of abortion in the horse. Interleukin (IL)-6 is considered predictive of placental infection in other species, but little is understood regarding its role in the pathophysiology of ascending placentitis. Sub-acute ascending placentitis was induced via trans-cervical inoculation of S zooepidemicus, and various fluids/serum/tissues collected 8 days later. Concentrations of IL-6 were detected within fetal fluids and serum in inoculated (n = 6) and control (n = 6) mares. RNASeq was performed on the placenta (endometrium and chorioallantois) to asses...
Determination of vitamin E and its metabolites in equine urine using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry. Equine neuroaxonal dystrophy/degenerative myeloencephalopathy (eNAD/EDM) is a hereditary, deteriorating central nervous disease in horses. Currently, the only way to confirm eNAD/EDM is through a postmortem histological evaluation of the central nervous system. Vitamin E, specifically the isoform alpha-tocopherol (α-TP), is known to protect eNAD/EDM susceptible horses from developing the clinical phenotype. While vitamin E is an essential nutrient in the diet of horses, there are no diagnostic tests able to quantitate vitamin E and its metabolites in urine. An ultra-performance liquid chromat...
Effect of First Long-Term Training on Whole Blood Count and Blood Clotting Parameters in Thoroughbreds. Training has a strong effect on the physiology of hematological parameters and blood coagulation, both in humans and in horses. Several blood changes have been reported after exercise in horses but available data differ. We aimed to investigate modifications in complete blood count and some hemostatic parameters induced by the first training period in young untrained Thoroughbred racehorses to detect a possible labile blood coagulability in racehorses. Twenty-nine untrained 2-year-old Thoroughbreds were followed during their incremental 4-month sprint exercise schedule. Blood collection was pe...
Inhibition of Small-Conductance Calcium-Activated Potassium Current (I K,Ca) Leads to Differential Atrial Electrophysiological Effects in a Horse Model of Persistent Atrial Fibrillation. Small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ (KCa2) channels have been proposed as a possible atrial-selective target to pharmacologically terminate atrial fibrillation (AF) and to maintain sinus rhythm. However, it has been hypothesized that the importance of the KCa2 current-and thereby the efficacy of small-conductance Ca2+-activated K+ current (I K,Ca) inhibition-might be negatively related to AF duration and the extent of AF-induced remodeling. Unassigned: To address the hypothesis of the efficacy of I K,Ca inhibition being dependent on AF duration, the anti-arrhythmic properties of the I K,Ca inh...
A Novel Organic Composite Accelerates Wound Healing: Experimental and Clinical Study in Equine. Natural products such as honey, rosemary and chamomile oils have many health benefits particularly skin regeneration. These products were previously examined individually as enhancer of skin wound healing. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the clinical and histopathological features associated with using a mixture of rosemary and chamomile oils with honey, as a composite, in healing of equine-skin wounds experimentally and clinically. For experimental and clinical evaluation 15 donkeys and 122 clinical cases were used, respectively. For the experimental part, animals were divided into ...
Preservation of viable Taylorella equigenitalis in different commercially available transport systems. The cultural diagnosis of the causal agent of contagious equine metritis (Taylorella equigenitalis) using transport swabs is challenging. Swabs must be placed in Amies charcoal medium, refrigerated during transport, and plated out at the laboratory no later than 48 h after sampling. In this study, the viability of T. equigenitalis strain CIP 79.7T in 11 commercial swab transport systems was initially compared at 1 day and 2 days of storage at ambient (20 ± 3 °C) or refrigerated (5 ± 3 °C) temperature. The four best swab transport systems, systems B, E, F (used as the reference) and K, were...
The equine graying with age mutation of the STX17 gene: A copy number study using droplet digital PCR reveals a new pattern. The equine graying with age causative mutation in the syntaxin-17 gene (STX17) has been known for over a decade, but proper genotyping of this variant remains challenging due to its molecular character (4.6-kb tandem duplication). Precise information on gray mutation status is important for horse breeders and veterinarians, since gray homozygous horses are more prone to developing aggressive melanoma tumors than heterozygotes. Since recent studies have confirmed that droplet digital PCR is a valuable technique for copy number analysis, we decided to investigate whether this method can be used ...
Equine Cervical Pain and Dysfunction: Pathology, Diagnosis and Treatment. Interest in the cervical spine as a cause of pain or dysfunction is increasingly becoming the focus of many equine practitioners. Many affected horses are presented for poor performance, while others will present with dramatic, sometimes dangerous behavior. Understanding and distinguishing the different types of neck pain is a starting point to comprehending how the clinical presentations can vary so greatly. There are many steps needed to systematically evaluate the various tissues of the cervical spine to determine which components are contributing to cervical pain and dysfunction. Osseous s...
A validated method for the quantification of IOX-2, a potent prolyl hydroxylase inhibitor in equine urine and plasma using liquid chromatography-high-resolution mass spectrometry. IOX-2 is a potent inhibitor of enzyme prolyl hydroxylases-2 (PHD) that plays a critical role in regulating hypoxia inducible factor (HIF) abundance and oxygen homeostasis. Federation for Equestrian Sports has listed HIF activators as prohibited substances to prevent their usage in doping. Consequently, it became essential to develop adequate knowledge and testing methods to detect it in equine sports drug testing samples. The validated method utilizes ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography coupled to high-resolution mass spectrometry in order to detect extremely low concentration of the ...
Symmetric dimethylarginine and creatinine concentrations in serum of healthy draft horses. Symmetric dimethylarginine (SDMA) is considered a more sensitive indirect estimate of glomerular filtration rate (GFR) than creatinine (Cr). Symmetric dimethylarginine is not affected by sex or muscle mass in small animals. Objective: To validate a commercial SDMA immunoassay (IA) for equine serum; to compare SDMA and Cr in cohorts of draft horse breeds; and to assess effects of age, sex, and breed. Methods: One hundred and sixty-five healthy draft horses (0.5-16 years), including 63 Percherons, 52 Clydesdales, and 50 Belgians. Methods: Cross-sectional study. The SDMA IA was validated for eq...
Muscle Function and Kinematics during Submaximal Equine Jumping: What Can Objective Outcomes Tell Us about Athletic Performance Indicators? Selection and training practices for jumping horses have not yet been validated using objective performance analyses. This study aimed to quantify the differences and relationships between movement and muscle activation strategies in horses with varying jump technique to identify objective jumping performance indicators. Surface electromyography (sEMG) and three-dimensional kinematic data were collected from horses executing a submaximal jump. Kinematic variables were calculated based on equestrian-derived performance indicators relating to impulsion, engagement and joint articulation. Horses ...
Differential gene expression and Ingenuity Pathway Analysis of bronchoalveolar lavage cells from horses with mild/moderate neutrophilic or mastocytic inflammation on BAL cytology. Mild to moderate equine asthma syndrome (mEAS) affects horses of all ages and breeds. To date, the etiology and pathophysiology of mEAS are active areas of research, and it remains incompletely understood whether mEAS horses with different immune cell 'signatures' on BAL cytology represent different phenotypes, distinct pathobiological mechanisms (endotypes), varied environmental conditions, disease severity, genetic predispositions, or all of the above. In this descriptive study, we compared gene expression data from BAL cells isolated from horses with normal BALF cytology (n = 5), to those i...
Helminth infections in Italian donkeys: Strongylus vulgaris more common than Dictyocaulus arnfieldi. Donkeys have been used as working animals for transport and farm activities worldwide. Recently, in European countries, there has been an increasing interest in donkeys due to their use as pets, onotherapy or milk production. During 2014-2016, a countrywide survey was conducted to determine prevalence and risk factors of principal helminth infections in 1775 donkeys in 77 Italian farms. A questionnaire on management and parasite control practices was filled out for each farm. Faecal samples were examined using a modified McMaster technique, a centrifugation/flotation method and a sedimentation...
Evaluation of the ocular surface mycobiota in clinically normal horses. The eye is host to myriad bacterial, fungal, and viral organisms that likely influence ocular surface physiology in normal and diseased states. The ocular surface mycobiota of horses has not yet been described using NGS techniques. This study aimed to characterize the ocular surface fungal microbiota (mycobiota) in healthy horses in 2 environmental conditions (stalled versus pasture). Conjunctival swabs of both eyes were obtained from 7 adult stallions stabled in an open-air pavilion and 5 adult mares living on pasture. Genomic DNA was extracted from ocular surface swabs and sequenced using pr...
Third Generation Cephalosporin Resistant Enterobacterales Infections in Hospitalized Horses and Donkeys: A Case-Case-Control Analysis. In human medicine, infections caused by third-generation cephalosporin-resistant (3GCRE) are associated with detrimental outcomes. In veterinary medicine, controlled epidemiological analyses are lacking. A matched case-case-control investigation (1:1:1 ratio) was conducted in a large veterinary hospital (2017-2019). In total, 29 infected horses and donkeys were matched to 29 animals with third-generation cephalosporin-susceptible (3GCSE) infections, and 29 uninfected controls (overall = 87). Despite multiple significant associations per bivariable analyses, the only independent predictor fo...
Retrospective case review investigating the effect of replacing oaten hay with a non-cereal hay on equine peripheral caries in 42 cases. Equine peripheral caries can cause significant morbidity and can have considerable welfare implications. Recent research suggests that diets with high water soluble carbohydrate (WSC) content are associated with high risk of peripheral caries. Previous work has indicated that the condition may be treatable if the inciting cause is removed and the damaged tooth allowed to erupt out, being replaced by the unaffected tooth previously under the gingival margin. Objective: To see whether the peripheral caries process can be ceased if oaten hay (typically high WSC) is removed from the diet and repla...
Sprint Exercise of Juvenile Animals Does Not Impact Cartilage Glycosaminoglycan or Synovial Fluid Neopeptide Collagenase Cleavage of Type I and II Collagen Content. Short sprints performed during growth can increase bone strength, mineral density, and cortical widths, but their impact on joint health is not fully understood. Some studies have found joints of young animals are damaged by forced sprints, while others found confinement hindered joint development. This study aimed to determine the impact of short sprints on synovial fluid neopeptide collagenase cleavage of type I and II collagen (C1,2C) and cartilage glycosaminoglycan (GAG) content. Calves were used as a model for young horses in this terminal study. Twenty-four Holstein bull calves were assi...
Alterations of Circulating Biomarkers During Late Term Pregnancy Complications in the Horse Part II: Steroid Hormones and Alpha-Fetoprotein. Preterm labor and/or abortion causes considerable economic impact on the equine industry. Unfortunately, few experimental models exist for the induction of various pregnancy-related complications, and therefore extrapolations are made from the experimental model for ascending placentits, although inferences may be minimal. Certain steroid hormones (progestogens, estrogens) and fetal proteins (alpha-fetoprotein; AFP) might improve the diagnostics for abnormal pregnancy, but the utility of these markers in the field is unknown. To assess this, thoroughbred mares (n = 702) were bled weekly begi...
Comparative anatomy and morphology of the knee in translational models for articular cartilage disorders. Part I: Large animals. The human knee is a complex joint, and affected by a variety of articular cartilage disorders. Large animal models are critical to model the complex disease mechanisms affecting a functional joint. Species-dependent differences highly affect the results of a pre-clinical study and need to be considered, necessitating specific knowledge not only of macroscopic and microscopic anatomical and pathological aspects, but also characteristics of their individual gait and joint movements. Methods: Literature search in Pubmed. Conclusions: This narrative review summarizes the most relevant anatomical s...
Impaired Reproductive Function in Equines: From Genetics to Genomics. Fertility is one of the key factors in the economic and productive success of the equine industry. Despite this, studies on the genetic causes affecting reproductive performance are scarce, especially in mares, where the genetic architecture of the reproductive traits is extremely complex. Today, with the increasing availability of new genomic methodologies for this species, we are presented with an interesting opportunity to understand the genetic basis of equine reproductive disorders. These include, among others, novel techniques for detecting chromosomal abnormalities, whose association wi...
