Airway cooling and mucosal injury during cold weather exercise.
Abstract: In human subjects that exercise strenuously in cold weather, there is evidence that hyperventilation with cold air leads to peripheral airway cooling, desiccation and mucosal injury. Our hypothesis was that hyperventilation with cold air can result in penetration of unconditioned air (air that is not completely warmed and humidified) into the peripheral airways of exercising horses, resulting in peripheral airway mucosal injury. To test this hypothesis, a thermister-tipped catheter was inserted through the midcervical trachea and advanced into a sublobar bronchus in three horses that cantered on a treadmill at 6.6 m/s while breathing cold (5 degrees C) air. The mean (+/- s.e.) intra-airway temperature during cantering was 33.3 +/- 0.4 degrees C, a value comparable to the bronchial lumen temperatures measured in man during maximal exercise while breathing subfreezing dry air. In a second experiment, 6 fit Thoroughbred racehorses with satisfactory performance were used to determine whether strenuous exercise in cold conditions can produce airway injury. Horses were assigned to Exercise (E) or Control (C) groups in a random crossover design. Samples of bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) in the E treatment were recovered within 30 min of galloping exercise in 4 degrees C, 100% relative humidity (E), while in C BALF samples were obtained when the horses had not performed any exercise for at least 48 h prior. Ciliated epithelial cells in BALF were higher in E than in the C treatment. Similar results have been found in human athletes and laboratory animal models of cold weather exercise. These results support the hypothesis that, similar to man, horses that exercise in cold weather experience peripheral airway mucosal injury due to the penetration of unconditioned air. Furthermore, these results suggest that airway cooling and desiccation may be a factor in airway inflammation commonly found in equine athletes.
Publication Date: 2002-10-31 PubMed ID: 12405726DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2002.tb05458.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Comparative Study
- Journal Article
Summary
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This research centers around the impact of strenuous exercise in cold weather on horses and human subjects. The analysis specifically pertains to hyperventilation with cold air during intense exertion, showing how unconditioned air leads to peripheral airway cooling, dehydration, and damage to the mucous membrane lining the airways.
Research Methodology
- To test their hypothesis, the researchers carried out experiments on horses due to their similar respiratory system to humans. The test used a thermister-tipped catheter inserted through the midthroat into a sublobar bronchus in three horses that were made to canter on a treadmill while breathing cold air (5 degrees Celsius).
- The analysis measured the average internal airway temperature during exercise, which was found to be on par with temperatures measured in humans during maximum exertion in subfreezing dry air.
Secondary Experiment
- The researchers further studied six fit thoroughbred racehorses to determine the possibility of airway injuries due to rigorous exercise in cold conditions.
- The horses were divided into Exercise (E) or Control (C) groups in a random crossover pattern. The E group horses were made to do a galloping exercise in cold, 100% humid conditions, and Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BALF) samples were taken within 30 minutes of the exercise.
- The C group horses did not exercise for at least 48 hours prior, and BALF samples were taken.
- The investigation identified a higher presence of ciliated epithelial cells in the BALF of the exercising horses – the E group – than in the control group.
Findings and Conclusion
- The outcome revealed that just as in humans, the horses that exercised in cold weather displayed injuries to the peripheral airway mucosa due to the intrusion of unconditioned air.
- Corroborating prior observations made in human athletes and lab animal models during cold weather exercises, the outcome supported the hypothesis of the research. Horses that physically exert themselves in cold weather conditions experience peripheral airway mucosal injury.
- The results also suggested that airway cooling and dehydration might contribute to airway inflammation observed commonly in equine athletes.
Cite This Article
APA
Davis MS, Lockard AJ, Marlin DJ, Freed AN.
(2002).
Airway cooling and mucosal injury during cold weather exercise.
Equine Vet J Suppl(34), 413-416.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.2002.tb05458.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Equine Athletic Performance Laboratory, Oklahoma State University College of Veterinary Medicine, Stillwater 74078, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Air
- Animals
- Bronchoalveolar Lavage Fluid / cytology
- Cold Temperature / adverse effects
- Cross-Over Studies
- Dehydration / complications
- Dehydration / etiology
- Dehydration / veterinary
- Exercise Test / veterinary
- Horse Diseases / etiology
- Horses
- Humans
- Physical Conditioning, Animal / physiology
- Random Allocation
- Respiratory Mucosa / pathology
- Respiratory Tract Diseases / etiology
- Respiratory Tract Diseases / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Gethöffer F, Gregor KM, Zdora I, Wohlsein P, Schöttes F, Siebert U. Suspected Frostbite Injuries in Coypu (Myocastor coypus).. Animals (Basel) 2022 Oct 14;12(20).
- Frellstedt L, Gosset P, Kervoaze G, Hans A, Desmet C, Pirottin D, Bureau F, Lekeux P, Art T. The innate immune response of equine bronchial epithelial cells is altered by training.. Vet Res 2015 Jan 17;46(1):3.
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