Evaluation of topically administered diclofenac liposomal cream for treatment of horses with experimentally induced osteoarthritis.

This study evaluates the effectiveness of a topically applied cream, Diclofenac liposomal cream (DLC), in treating horses with experimentally induced osteoarthritis. The findings suggest that the cream provides significant improvements in horses’ condition and could be a valuable treatment option for horses suffering from osteoarthritis.

Methods

• The study involved 24 horses in which osteoarthritis was intentionally induced in one of their middle carpal joints.
• Eight of these horses were treated with DLC, which was given at a dose of 7.3g twice daily via topical application.
• Another eight horses were treated with phenylbutazone, a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug, administered at a dosage of 2g orally once daily.
• The remaining eight horses served as control subjects and did not receive any treatment.
• The evaluation of these treatments were based on several factors including clinical, radiographic, magnetic resonance imaging, synovial fluid, and histologic examinations, as well as histochemical and biochemical analyses.

Results

• No adverse effects related to the treatments were recorded in the study.
• The horses that received either DLC or phenylbutazone displayed significant clinical improvement of lameness, a symptom of osteoarthritis, unlike the control group.
• The horses treated with DLC showed significant improvement in staining and total articular glycosaminoglycan content, a key component of cartilage, in comparison with the horses that did not receive any treatment.
• The horses treated with phenylbutazone showed significant reduction in synovial fluid prostaglandin E2 concentration, an inflammatory mediator, in comparison with DLC treatment and the control group.
• The DLC treatment triggered significantly less radial carpal bone sclerosis and overall gross cartilage erosion than the phenylbutazone treatment.

Conclusions

• The study concluded that the DLC treatment had both clinical sign-modifying and disease-modifying effects, highlighting its potential as a valuable therapeutic option for horses suffering from osteoarthritis.
• Phenylbutazone, on the other hand, showed only clinical sign-modifying effects.
• Login addition, the study found that the DLC treatment demonstrated significant beneficial effects compared to phenylbutazone, without causing any detrimental effects.