Colour doppler ultrasonography and sclerosing therapy in diagnosis and treatment of tendinopathy in horses-a research model for human medicine.
Abstract: Sclerosing therapy has in recent studies showed promising results in patients with clinically and ultrasonographically diagnosed tendinosis in Achilles and patellar tendons. The aim of this investigation was to study the presence of intratendinous colour Doppler (CD) flow in horses with clinically diagnosed chronic tendinopathy and to test if experience from human studies could be extrapolated to horses. Special interest was focused on the treatment with sclerosing therapy and whether we could obtain the same successful peroperative findings as in humans. Four horses with clinically diagnosed unilateral chronic tendinosis in the forelimbs were examinated with both grey-scale ultrasonography (US) and CD. The horses were to be euthanised according to standard procedure is such cases. The US findings were used for guidance of sclerosing therapy. All horses showed abnormal findings on US, especially intratendinous neovascularisation in the affected limb but not in the contralateral limb. The CD findings had the same appearance as seen in human Achilles tendons with chronic tendinopathy. In all cases the intratendinous neovascularisation was successfully "shut down" peroperatively. The horses showed no signs of discomfort or worsening of symptoms during the short follow-up period after the procedure. The results indicate that the promising results from human medicine might be transferred to treatment of horses with chronic tendinopathy. In the future it will hopefully be possible to use the model from overused tendons in the horse to determine the best treatment of overuse injuries in humans as well. The animal model will allow experimental studies including substantial tissue sampling for mechanical and molecular biological analysis.
Publication Date: 2007-02-24 PubMed ID: 17323097DOI: 10.1007/s00167-006-0245-0Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Research Support
- Non-U.S. Gov't
Summary
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The study investigates the use of colour Doppler ultrasonography and sclerosing therapy for treating tendinopathy in horses with the intent of applying this knowledge to human medicine. It found promising results where the therapies successfully treated the condition in the horses, hinting at a possibility of applying the same to human patients.
Objective of the Study
- The primary goal was to examine the presence of intratendinous colour Doppler flow in horses that were clinically diagnosed with chronic tendinopathy. The researchers also aimed to see if their findings in equine subjects could be of potential relevance to human clinical approaches.
- They also evaluated the efficacy of sclerosing therapy in managing tendinopathy in horses.
- The study specifically aimed to see if the successful peroperative findings seen in humans undergoing similar treatments could be replicated in horses.
Methodology
- The study involved four horses that had been clinically diagnosed with unilateral chronic tendinosis in their forelimbs.
- These horses were examined with both grey-scale ultrasonography (US) and colour Doppler (CD). As per standard procedures for such cases, these horses were later euthanised.
- The ultrasound findings guided the administration of the sclerosing therapy.
Findings
- Ultrasound examinations revealed abnormal findings, particularly intratendinous neovascularisation, which was present in the affected limb but not in the non-affected limb. The colour Doppler findings closely resembled those seen in human patients with chronic tendinopathy.
- In all cases, the intratendinous neovascularisation was successfully “shut down” peroperatively. The horses showed no signs of discomfort or exacerbation of symptoms during the short follow-up period after the procedure.
Conclusion
- The results of the study suggest that the favourable outcomes seen in human medicine might be transferable to the treatment of horses with chronic tendinopathy.
- It also hints at the possibility of using overused horse tendons as a model to determine the best treatment for overuse injuries in humans.
- The animal model will allow for extensive tissue sampling for mechanical and molecular biological analysis in future studies.
Cite This Article
APA
Boesen MI, Nanni S, Langberg H, Boesen M, Falk-Ronne J, Bliddal H, Torp-Pedersen S.
(2007).
Colour doppler ultrasonography and sclerosing therapy in diagnosis and treatment of tendinopathy in horses-a research model for human medicine.
Knee Surg Sports Traumatol Arthrosc, 15(7), 935-939.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s00167-006-0245-0 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Parker Institute, Frederiksberg Hospital, Nordre Fasanvej 57, 2000 Frederiksberg, Denmark. parkerinst@fh.hosp.dk
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Disease Models, Animal
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horse Diseases / therapy
- Horses
- Humans
- Polidocanol
- Polyethylene Glycols / pharmacology
- Sclerosing Solutions / pharmacology
- Tendinopathy / diagnosis
- Tendinopathy / therapy
- Tendons / diagnostic imaging
- Ultrasonography, Doppler, Color
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This article includes 21 references
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Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Ghelfi J, Bacle M, Stephanov O, de Forges H, Soulairol I, Roger P, Ferretti GR, Beregi JP, Frandon J. Collagenase-Induced Patellar Tendinopathy with Neovascularization: First Results towards a Piglet Model of Musculoskeletal Embolization. Biomedicines 2021 Dec 21;10(1).
- Hatazoe T, Endo Y, Iwamoto Y, Korosue K, Kuroda T, Inoue S, Murata D, Hobo S, Misumi K. A study of the distribution of color Doppler flows in the superficial digital flexor tendon of young Thoroughbreds during their training periods. J Equine Sci 2015;26(4):99-104.
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