In equine grass sickness, serum amyloid A and fibrinogen are elevated, and can aid differential diagnosis from non-inflammatory causes of colic.
Abstract: Equine grass sickness (EGS) is a debilitating and often fatal neurodegenerative disease. A presumptive diagnosis of EGS may be made on the basis of clinical signs and subjective ancillary tests, but a definitive antemortem diagnosis can only be made following histopathological examination of intestinal biopsies. It has previously been reported that horses with EGS may show clinical and clinicopathological signs of systemic inflammation. The objective of this study was to (a) quantify acute inflammatory markers in blood samples collected from acute, subacute and chronic EGS cases, and (b) compare them with (i) clinically normal horses co-grazing with acute EGS cases (co-grazers), (ii) horses with other causes of colic and (iii) healthy horses. Serum amyloid A (SAA), serum activin A and plasma fibrinogen were quantified. There were marked increases in SAA and fibrinogen in EGS cases compared with healthy horses, co-grazers and non-inflammatory colic cases. The concentrations of SAA and fibrinogen in EGS cases were not significantly different from inflammatory colic cases. When concentrations of SAA, fibrinogen and activin A in each EGS subgroup were compared, no significant differences were detected. Activin A concentrations were significantly elevated in EGS cases and co-grazing horses; this could reflect the presence of subclinical disease in some horses that do not develop clinical signs of EGS, and suggests widespread exposure to the aetiological agent. When faced with sparse antemortem diagnostic techniques, identification of marked increases in acute phase protein concentrations may help to differentiate EGS from other causes of abdominal pain, such as intestinal obstructions; however, there could be diagnostic difficulty in differentiating other inflammatory abdominal conditions, such as peritonitis or enteritis.
Publication Date: 2013-02-21 PubMed ID: 23428423DOI: 10.1136/vr.101224Google Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
Summary
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This research explored the role of inflammatory markers in blood samples for diagnosing Equine Grass Sickness (EGS), a fatal neurodegenerative disease in horses. Through testing, researchers found that the presence of Serum Amyloid A (SAA) and fibrinogen were significantly elevated in horses with EGS compared to healthy horses.
Objective and Methodology
- The study aimed to quantify acute inflammatory markers in blood samples from horses suffering from acute, subacute and chronic EGS.
- The researchers measured these inflammatory markers and compared them with blood samples from healthy horses, those with other causes of colic and horses that co-grazed with EGS affected horses.
- The markers under study were Serum Amyloid A (SAA), serum activin A, and plasma fibrinogen.
Results and Findings
- Levels of SAA and fibrinogen were significantly higher in horses with EGS compared to healthy horses, co-grazers and horses with non-inflammatory colic cases.
- The concentrations of these markers in EGS cases were not significantly different from inflammatory colic cases, suggesting their potential role in diagnosing EGS.
- No significant differences were detected when checking the concentrations of SAA, fibrinogen, and activin A in the different EGS subgroups (acute, subacute and chronic).
- Activin A concentrations were significantly elevated in both EGS cases and co-grazing horses, implying the potential presence of hidden or subclinical disease in some horses that do not exhibit visible signs of EGS.
Conclusion and Implications
- The elevated presence of these acute phase protein concentrations can potentially be used to distinguish EGS from other causes of abdominal pain in horses, such as intestinal obstructions.
- However, the study also noted possible difficulty in differentiating EGS from other inflammatory abdominal conditions like peritonitis or enteritis due to the similar elevated markers in both.
- Such an approach could be helpful given the current limited antemortem diagnostic techniques available for EGS.
Cite This Article
APA
Copas VE, Durham AE, Stratford CH, McGorum BC, Waggett B, Pirie RS.
(2013).
In equine grass sickness, serum amyloid A and fibrinogen are elevated, and can aid differential diagnosis from non-inflammatory causes of colic.
Vet Rec, 172(15), 395.
https://doi.org/10.1136/vr.101224 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Liphook Equine Hospital, Forest Mere, Liphook, Hampshire, Liphook GU30 7JG, UK. v.copas@theleh.co.uk
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / blood
- Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / diagnosis
- Autonomic Nervous System Diseases / veterinary
- Biomarkers / blood
- Case-Control Studies
- Colic / blood
- Colic / diagnosis
- Colic / veterinary
- Diagnosis, Differential
- Female
- Fibrinogen / analysis
- Fibrinogen / metabolism
- Horse Diseases / blood
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horses
- Male
- Serum Amyloid A Protein / analysis
- Serum Amyloid A Protein / metabolism
Citations
This article has been cited 9 times.- Ludwig EK, Hobbs KJ, McKinney-Aguirre CA, Gonzalez LM. Biomarkers of Intestinal Injury in Colic.. Animals (Basel) 2023 Jan 7;13(2).
- Przewoźny M, Senderska-Płonowska M, Rząsa A, Wierzbicki H, Borkowski J, Swagemakers JH, Żak-Bochenek A, Stefaniak T. Usefulness of Selected Acute-Phase Proteins in the Postsurgical Monitoring of Arthroscopy and Splint Bone Removal in Horses.. Animals (Basel) 2021 Oct 13;11(10).
- McGorum BC, Chen Z, Glendinning L, Gweon HS, Hunt L, Ivens A, Keen JA, Pirie RS, Taylor J, Wilkinson T, McLachlan G. Equine grass sickness (a multiple systems neuropathy) is associated with alterations in the gastrointestinal mycobiome.. Anim Microbiome 2021 Oct 9;3(1):70.
- Campolo A, Frantz MW, de Laat MA, Hartson SD, Furr MO, Lacombe VA. Differential Proteomic Expression of Equine Cardiac and Lamellar Tissue During Insulin-Induced Laminitis.. Front Vet Sci 2020;7:308.
- Long A, Nolen-Walston R. Equine Inflammatory Markers in the Twenty-First Century: A Focus on Serum Amyloid A.. Vet Clin North Am Equine Pract 2020 Apr;36(1):147-160.
- Witkowska-Piłaszewicz OD, Żmigrodzka M, Winnicka A, Miśkiewicz A, Strzelec K, Cywińska A. Serum amyloid A in equine health and disease.. Equine Vet J 2019 May;51(3):293-298.
- Hooijberg EH, van den Hoven R, Tichy A, Schwendenwein I. Diagnostic and predictive capability of routine laboratory tests for the diagnosis and staging of equine inflammatory disease.. J Vet Intern Med 2014 Sep-Oct;28(5):1587-93.
- Bundgaard L, Jacobsen S, Sørensen MA, Sun Z, Deutsch EW, Moritz RL, Bendixen E. The Equine PeptideAtlas: a resource for developing proteomics-based veterinary research.. Proteomics 2014 Mar;14(6):763-73.
- Cywinska A, Witkowski L, Szarska E, Schollenberger A, Winnicka A. Serum amyloid A (SAA) concentration after training sessions in Arabian race and endurance horses.. BMC Vet Res 2013 May 1;9:91.
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