Enteroliths are intestinal mineral calculi predominantly composed of struvite. In horses this material accumulates concentrically around a core, causing total or partial obstruction of the higher and lower colon, and can lead to death by rupture. The enterolithiasis has worldwide distribution, and occurs frequently in Rio Grande do Sul, especially in Crioulo Horses. The aim of this work is to report a sequence of cases of Crioulo Horses with enterolithiasis, linking risk factors through historical analysis, clinical presentation and management employed by the breeding farms. Case: Between the years 2012 and 2015, 16 Crioulo Horses with colic syndrome caused by enteroliths were treated at the Hospital de Clínicas Veterinária of Universidade Federal de Pelotas (UFPel), RS, Brazil and Clínica Hípica, in Porto Alegre, RS. The group was formed predominantly by males, weighted 430 kg in average and the average age was eight years old. All horses underwent general and specific clinical examination, laboratory tests and surgical procedure to remove the enterolith. After discharge, there was an epidemiological questionnaire seeking information about the history, food and environmental management that could be related to the development of enterolithiasis. In relationship to the history of previous episodes of colic, the results were: 4 horses (25%) had no previous episodes of colic, while 12 horses (75%) had experienced previous colic. Regarding the horses’ bedding, 70% use sawdust and 30% rice husk, and about behavior, ten (62.5%) of the 16 horses attended had no stereotypies. Related to food and water supply, it was observed that nine horses (56.25%) had alfalfa as the only roughage source in the diet, and all animals (100%) were fed commercial food and water ad libitum. According to the number of hours the patients remained stabled, the rearing system was classified as intensive (over 12 h/stable/day), extensive (0 h, at the field) or semi-extensive (up to 12 h/stable/day). The frequencies observed were: intensive (9 animals - 56.25%), semi-intensive (6 animals - 37.5%) and extensive (1 animal - 6.25%). The average time of stabling was 17.2 h/day. Discussion: The alfalfa consumption as the only forage observed in our study is the main risk factor described for the formation of enteroliths. This is because in digestion, alfalfa tends to alkalize the intestinal pH, hindering the metabolism of some minerals and thus forming the enterolith. Another important risk factor observed in this work is the intensive rearing, with long periods of stabling. This explains why confinement leads to decreased intestinal motility, due to reduced or absent grazing. Furthermore, reduced physical activity is another contributing factor to the reduction of motility, because the exercise influence the intestinal peristalsis. The rearing of horses intensively is usual with the Crioulo, especially in training and morphological preparation. Based on this case study, we can’t say that there is a racial predisposition to enterolithiasis of the Crioulo Horse, since it would require more studies on the physiology and a standard feeding of these horses. However, we can attribute the considerable volume of enteroliths observed in Crioulo Horses in Rio Grande do Sul to the increase in the number of referrals to the reference hospitals, feeding alfalfa as the only roughage source in the diet and to intensive management of the farms, with long periods of daily stabling.
High carbohydrate diets are increasingly used in horse rearing systems. This can result in weight gain and fat accumulation in young horses. There is a growing incidence of juvenile osteoarthritis and other inflammatory conditions in overweight young horses that undergo intense physical exercise. The aim of this study was to associate corporal adiposity with energy profile, serum concentration of acute phase proteins and presence of osteo-articular lesion in the tarsal region of young horses raised in two different rearing systems: intensive system and extensive system. We evaluated 40 young horses 18 months old, 23 of them were females and 17 were males. Twenty horses were raised in the extensive rearing system and twenty horses were raised in intensive rearing system. Blood samples were collected for biochemical analysis and protein electrophoresis. Fat deposition on the crest of the neck, peritoneum and tailhead was measured by ultrasonography. Radiographic examination of the left tarsus was performed in 17 horses of the farm rearing system and in nine horses of the extensive rearing system. We observed higher levels of total cholesterol, LDL, glucose, serum amyloid A (SAA), transferrin, haptoglobin, acid glycoprotein and unidentified protein 23Kda in horses of the intensive system. These horses also showed higher fat deposition on the crest of the neck, peritoneum and tailhead than horses raised on extensive system. All horses on the intensive system group that underwent radiographic examination had lesions compatible with juvenile osteoarthritis while only 23% of the animals of the extensive system group showed such changes. With Fisher's exact test we observed that horses of the intensive rearing system are 105% more likely to develop osteoarthritis than horses of the extensive rearing system. With the Pearson correlation test we found a positive correlation between fat deposition on the crest of the neck and degree of articular injury. Fat deposition on the crest of the neck also showed a positive correlation with serum levels of LDL, glucose, acid glycoprotein, haptoglobin, transferrin and SAA. The SAA correlated with the thickness of retroperitoneal fat. There was a positive correlation between retroperitoneal fat deposition and presence of osteoarticular abnormalities. In conclusion, fat deposition on the crest of the neck has a correlation with energetic profile changes, cute phase proteins changes and with articular injuries. Levels of glucose, LDL cholesterol, acid glycoprotein, haptoglobin, ceruloplasmin, transferrin and 1 Recebido em 9 de julho de 2015.Aceito para publicação em 22 de agosto de 2016.
Theileria equi is an infectious hemoprotozoan agent of equine piroplasmosis, a disease that has severe economic and sanitary impact internationally. In addition to its common clinical features, piroplasmosis can cause gestational losses and neonatal damage, which makes neonates susceptible to this disease. The aim of this study was to evaluate the dynamics of humoral immune response to recombinant EMA-2 of T. equi in pregnant mares and foals, as well as the transfer of vaccine antibodies through the colostrum ingested by sucking foals. For vaccine production, the EMA-2 expression gene was cloned and expressed in the yeast species, Pichia pastoris. Thirty-six horses were used, of which 18 were pregnant mares and 18 were foals. The mares were divided into control and vaccinated groups, and the vaccinated group received three doses of rEMA-2 every 21 days starting at 300 days of gestation. Foals from vaccinated and control groups were evaluated until the sixth month of life. The production of antibodies by foals on the rEMA-2 vaccination schedule was also evaluated from the second month of life. Foals in the vaccinated group had received three doses of the vaccine every 21 days. The method used to evaluate serum and colostrum samples was indirect ELISA, and plates were sensitized with the rEMA-2 protein. At the end of the vaccination schedule, vaccinated mares showed a 2.3-fold increase in antibody levels when compared to baseline values. The colostrum of vaccinated mares presented antibody levels of 1.0432±0.33. Foals delivered by vaccinated mares presented levels of antibodies greater than those of foals delivered by control mares after their first time sucking (at about twelve hours after birth). Foals vaccinated in the second month of life showed an 8.3-fold increase in antibody levels when compared to baseline values. The vaccination schedule with rEMA-2 was able to stimulate humoral immunity in pregnant mares. Vaccine immunoglobins were concentrated in the colostrum of vaccinated mares and foals delivered by these mares showed an increase in serum levels of vaccine antibodies after the first-time sucking.
Resposta clínica e metabólica de potros neonatos em relação aos achados histopatológicos da placenta na égua [Clinical and
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