Horses Seropositive for Neospora spp.: Immunoglobulins, Cytokines, and C-Reactive Protein Levels

Assessment of the impact of age and of blood‐derived inflammatory markers in horses with colitis

“…This supports the notion that aged horses with colitis showed a greater baseline inflammatory state (at the onset of diarrhea), supportive of inflammaging, rather than experiencing more severe or more progressive disease that would have induced a rising inflammatory response over time. As expected, serum concentrations of Il-6 and TNF-α at diarrhea onset in both age groups were greater than published values for healthy adult horses, [43][44][45] which was attributed to the higher inflammatory disease state in patients with colitis. Increased levels of IL-6 and TNF-α were previously documented in healthy aged compared to young horses 21,22 but substantially lower than values reported in the current study of colitis.…”

“…IL-6 and TNF-α levels in adult horses are affected by the type and severity of disease. 43,44,46,47 However, presenting complaints, clinical parameters, and routine laboratory values did not differ between age groups in the present study, suggesting that disease severity or agerelated comorbidities did not significantly confound our results. The purpose of the prospective cytokine analyses (Part 2) was to better elucidate why geriatric horses with colitis showed a lower survival rate than young adults in our hospital.…”