Lymphoscintigraphy of draught horses with chronic progressive lymphoedema.
Abstract: Early diagnosis of chronic progressive lymphoedema (CPL) may result in more effective interventions and provide a basis for further investigation of whether early diagnosis could be used as a means of eliminating potential genetic influences by cessation of breeding from affected individuals. Objective: Lymphoscintigraphy may be useful in draught horses to differentiate early lesions of CPL from other conditions in the pastern region. Methods: Forelimbs of 2 normal and 5 CPL-affected draught horses were evaluated with lymphoscintigraphy. Results: Lymphoscintigraphy showed clearly the presence of interstitial fluid stasis and delayed lymphatic drainage in the affected extremities of diseased animals in contrast to normal animals of these breeds. The rate of decreased clearance of a particulate radiopharmaceutical from the tissues was related positively to the severity of clinical signs. Conclusions: Our findings support the hypothesis that lymph stasis is probably responsible for the progressive swelling and concurrent skin lesions observed in association with CPL in draught horses. Lymphoscintigraphy should also prove useful in diagnosis of CPL in draught horses, even in the mild stages of the disease; such early diagnosis may result in more effective intervention.
Publication Date: 2006-03-16 PubMed ID: 16536384DOI: 10.2746/042516406776563297Google Scholar: Lookup
The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
Summary
This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.
This research investigates the use of lymphoscintigraphy for early diagnosis of chronic progressive lymphoedema (CPL) in draught horses, finding that this approach could effectively differentiate early lesions of CPL from other conditions and potentially lead to more effective interventions.
Objective and Methods
- The aim of this study was to evaluate if lymphoscintigraphy, a medical imaging technique that visualizes lymphatic flow, could be used to detect early-stage Chronic Progressive Lymphoedema (CPL) in draught horses.
- This is an important research question to tackle, as earlier detection of the disease could lead to more effective treatments and possibly halt transmission of the condition to offspring if breeding of affected animals is ceased.
- To explore this objective, the researchers conducted lymphoscintigraphic evaluations on the forelimbs of seven draught horses, two of which were healthy and five of which displayed symptoms consistent with CPL.
Results
- The findings of the lymphoscintigraphy clearly showed the presence of interstitial fluid stasis (a condition where fluid accumulates in tissues) and delayed lymphatic drainage in the affected limbs of the CPL-afflicted horses.
- The researchers also noted that the rate of decrease in the clearance of a specific radiopharmaceutical (which is used during the lymphoscintigraphy procedure to allow tracking of lymphatic flow) from the tissues was directly related to the severity of the clinical signs.
Conclusions
- The results support the hypothesis that lymph stasis, or the cessation of lymph flow, is likely the cause behind the progressive swelling and skin lesions seen with CPL in draught horses.
- The findings also suggest that lymphoscintigraphy is a promising diagnostic tool for detecting CPL in draught horses, even in the disease’s early stages.
- This early detection may lead to more effective interventions and prevention of further disease proliferation through careful breeding control.
Cite This Article
APA
de Cock HE, Affolter VK, Wisner ER, Larson RF, Ferraro GL.
(2006).
Lymphoscintigraphy of draught horses with chronic progressive lymphoedema.
Equine Vet J, 38(2), 148-151.
https://doi.org/10.2746/042516406776563297 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Department of Pathology, Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, Davis, California 95616-8589, USA.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Breeding
- Chronic Disease
- Diagnosis, Differential
- Female
- Forelimb
- Horse Diseases / diagnosis
- Horse Diseases / diagnostic imaging
- Horses
- Lymphedema / diagnosis
- Lymphedema / diagnostic imaging
- Lymphedema / veterinary
- Male
- Radionuclide Imaging
- Severity of Illness Index
Citations
This article has been cited 2 times.- Brys M, Claerebout E, Chiers K. Chronic Progressive Lymphedema in Belgian Draft Horses: Understanding and Managing a Challenging Disease.. Vet Sci 2023 May 12;10(5).
- Sievers J, Distl O. Prevalence of Chronic Progressive Lymphedema in the Rhenish German Draught Horse.. Animals (Basel) 2023 Mar 9;13(6).
Use Nutrition Calculator
Check if your horse's diet meets their nutrition requirements with our easy-to-use tool Check your horse's diet with our easy-to-use tool
Talk to a Nutritionist
Discuss your horse's feeding plan with our experts over a free phone consultation Discuss your horse's diet over a phone consultation
Submit Diet Evaluation
Get a customized feeding plan for your horse formulated by our equine nutritionists Get a custom feeding plan formulated by our nutritionists
