Progressive swelling, hyperkeratosis, and fibrosis of distal limbs in Clydesdales, Shires, and Belgian draft horses, suggestive of primary lymphedema.

The article discusses a research study conducted on a chronic, progressive disease observed in Shire, Clydesdale, and Belgian draft horses which bears resemblance to the human condition of elephantiasis nostras verrucosa and is characterized by swelling, hyperkeratosis, and fibrosis of the distal limbs.

About the Disease in Horses

• The research focuses on a condition found in Shire, Clydesdale, and Belgian draft horses which is marked by progressive swelling, hyperkeratosis, and fibrosis of the distal limbs.
• This disease begins in the early years of the horse’s life and keeps progressing, often leading to deformity and impairment of the afflicted limbs.
• The deteriorative disease often results in the horse’s premature death.

Objective and Methodology of the Research

• This study was initiated with an aim to better characterize the observed disease.
• Six horses affected by this condition were donated for the diagnostic workup.
• The research gives a detailed clinical, radiological, gross, and histologic description of this disease in horses.

Findings from the Study

• The findings reveal that the disease is accompanied by the progressive development of thick-walled lymphatics.
• It’s associated with chronic dermal edema, inflammation, fibrosis, neovascularization, and elastin degeneration.
• In its final stages, the disease also includes arteriosclerosis and fibrosed veins.

Similarities with Human Disease

• The clinical signs and pathological changes shown in this disease are found to closely resemble elephantiasis nostras verrucosa, a human condition.
• In both the diseases, chronic lymphedema plays a critical role in pathogenesis.