Possible distinction between sole ulcers and heel ulcers as a cause of bovine lameness

Blowey, Roger; Ossent, Pete; Watson, Chalmers; Hedges, V.; Green, Laura; Packington, A.J.

doi:10.1136/vr.147.4.110

Cited by 11 publications

(10 citation statements)

References 5 publications

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“…It has been theorized that subclinical laminitis weakens the suspensory system and thereby predisposes the cow to SU and WLD (Thoefner et al, 2004), although evidence supporting this theory is limited (Danscher et al, 2010). New bone development on the third phalanx (Rusterholz, 1920;Blowey et al, 2000;Lischer et al, 2002) is associated with increasing age (Tsuka et al, 2012;Newsome et al, 2016) and is thought to contribute to a higher incidence of ulceration (Rusterholz, 1920;Tsuka et al, 2012). Because foot and leg conformation influences weight distribution within and between claws, the foot and leg conformation traits are thought to be correlated with SU + WLD susceptibility, although stronger evidence is needed to support the low to moderate phenotypic (Capion et al, 2008;Pérez-Cabal and Charfeddine, 2016) and genetic (Chapinal et al, 2013) correlations that were previously observed.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome-Wide Association Studies Reveal Susceptibility Loci for Noninfectious Claw Lesions in Holstein Dairy Cattle

et al. 2021

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Sole ulcers (SUs) and white line disease (WLD) are two common noninfectious claw lesions (NICL) that arise due to a compromised horn production and are frequent causes of lameness in dairy cattle, imposing welfare and profitability concerns. Low to moderate heritability estimates of SU and WLD susceptibility indicate that genetic selection could reduce their prevalence. To identify the susceptibility loci for SU, WLD, SU and/or WLD, and any type of noninfectious claw lesion, genome-wide association studies (GWAS) were performed using generalized linear mixed model (GLMM) regression, chunk-based association testing (CBAT), and a random forest (RF) approach. Cows from five commercial dairies in California were classified as controls having no lameness records and ≥6 years old (n = 102) or cases having SU (n = 152), WLD (n = 117), SU and/or WLD (SU + WLD, n = 198), or any type of noninfectious claw lesion (n = 217). The top single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) were defined as those passing the Bonferroni-corrected suggestive and significance thresholds in the GLMM analysis or those that a validated RF model considered important. Effects of the top SNPs were quantified using Bayesian estimation. Linkage disequilibrium (LD) blocks defined by the top SNPs were explored for candidate genes and previously identified, functionally relevant quantitative trait loci. The GLMM and CBAT approaches revealed the same regions of association on BTA8 for SU and BTA13 common to WLD, SU + WLD, and NICL. These SNPs had effects significantly different from zero, and the LD blocks they defined explained a significant amount of phenotypic variance for each dataset (6.1–8.1%, p < 0.05), indicating the small but notable contribution of these regions to susceptibility. These regions contained candidate genes involved in wound healing, skin lesions, bone growth and mineralization, adipose tissue, and keratinization. The LD block defined by the most significant SNP on BTA8 for SU included a SNP previously associated with SU. The RF models were overfitted, indicating that the SNP effects were very small, thereby preventing meaningful interpretation of SNPs and any downstream analyses. These findings suggested that variants associated with various physiological systems may contribute to susceptibility for NICL, demonstrating the complexity of genetic predisposition.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Genome-Wide Association Studies Reveal Susceptibility Loci for Noninfectious Claw Lesions in Holstein Dairy Cattle

et al. 2021

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“…Compression damage of the corium occurs readily in these zones because the distal phalanx drops both in the downward direction and toward the axial wall of the hoof (Maclean, 1970;Lischer et al, 2002; van Amstel and Shearer, 2006). These zones are directly beneath the tuberculum flexorium of the distal phalanx, the ventral surface of the distal phalanx in the region of the insertion of the deep digital flexor tendon (Blowey et al, 2000;Desrochers and Anderson, 2001). The tuberculum flexorium possesses a natural downward protruding structure and is anatomically involved in the pathogenesis of sole ulcer (Desrochers and Anderson, 2001).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Quantitative evaluation of bone development of the distal phalanx of the cow hind limb using computed tomography T. Tsuka ,* 1 K. Ooshita, † A. Sugiyama,* T. Osaki,* Y. Okamoto,* S. Minami,* and T. Imagawa * Therefore, exostosis of the distal phalanx is believed to be an exacerbating factor for ulcer formation (Blowey et al, 2000;Lischer et al, 2002). Mechanical damage of the corium layer due to the exostosis in the tuberculum flexorium is evident by sole hemorrhage and necrosis of the corium (Blowey et al, 2000).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Quantitative evaluation of bone development of the distal phalanx of the cow hind limb using computed tomography

Tsuka

Ooshita

Sugiyama

et al. 2012

Journal of Dairy Science

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Computed tomography (CT) was performed on 400 claws (200 inner and 200 outer claws) of 100 pairs of bovine hind limbs to investigate the etiological theory that an exacerbating factor for ulceration is exostosis of the tuberculum flexorium within the distal phalanx. A variety of morphological changes of the tuberculum flexorium of bovine hind limb claws was visualized by 3-dimensional CT, and the geometry of these claws suggested a growth pattern of bone development with respect to the assumed daily loading patterns. This growth occurs initially at the abaxial caudal aspect of the distal phalanx and is followed by horizontal progression toward the axial aspect. The length of downward bone development on the solar face of the distal phalanx was 2.73±1.32 mm in the outer claws, significantly greater than in the inner claws (2.38±0.96 mm). Ratios of downward (vertical) bone development to the thickness of the subcutis and the corium (VerBD ratios) did not differ between the outer and inner claws (36.7 vs. 38.3%, respectively). Ratios of horizontal bone development to the axial-to-abaxial line of the tuberculum flexorium (HorBD ratios) were approximately 60% for both outer and inner claws. These quantitative measures regarding horizontal and vertical bone development within the distal phalanx were positively correlated with age and VerBD ratios (r=0.53 and r=0.36 for the inner and outer claws, respectively). Correlations between claw width of the outer claw and length of vertical bone development (r=0.43), the HorBD ratio (r=0.51), and the VerBD ratio (r=0.42) suggested that the relative size difference between the inner and outer claws enhances bone development in the outer claw. Correlation coefficients between VerBD and HorBD ratios (r=0.52 and 0.63 for the inner and outer claws, respectively) suggested that horizontal and vertical bone development occurs as a synchronized process within the tuberculum flexorium. This age-related progress of bone development within the tuberculum flexorium is associated with increased exposure to several exacerbating factors and the laminitic process.

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“…Heel ulcers have been described as being related to but distinct from sole ulcers; they occur more caudally than the typical sole ulcer site, appear more prevalent in older animals, and recover poorly in comparison (Toussaint-Raven, 1985;Blowey et al, 2000;Haslam and Roberts, 2011). We observed extensive bone development caudal to the distal phalanx, which extended up to 28.2 mm; the caudal limit of large bone development corresponded with the heel ulcer site.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Bone developments appear on and around the flexor tuberosity with age (Tsuka et al, 2012) and have been termed "exostosis" (Maclean, 1970;Blowey et al, 2000;Lischer et al, 2002), indicating growth of new bone from the surface of a bone, or "enthesopathy" (Tsuka et al, 2012), indicating the inclusion of an enthesis (the insertion of a tendon or ligament onto bone). The new bone development may be an exacerbating factor for ulceration (Rusterholz, 1920;Maclean, 1970;Tsuka et al, 2012), and appears greater in cows with sole ulcers at slaughter (Tsuka et al, 2012), yet a link between lifetime history of lameness and lesions has not yet been demonstrated.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Linking bone development on the caudal aspect of the distal phalanx with lameness during life

Newsome

Green

Bell

et al. 2016

Journal of Dairy Science

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Claw horn disruption lesions (CHDL; sole hemorrhage, sole ulcer, and white line disease) cause a large proportion of lameness in dairy cattle, yet their etiopathogenesis remains poorly understood. Untreated CHDL may be associated with damage to the internal anatomy of the foot, including to the caudal aspect of the distal phalanx upon which bone developments have been reported with age and with sole ulcers at slaughter. The primary aim of this study was to assess whether bone development was associated with poor locomotion and occurrence of CHDL during a cow's life. A retrospective cohort study imaged 282 hind claws from 72 Holstein-Friesian dairy cows culled from a research herd using X-ray micro-computed tomography (μ-CT; resolution: 0.11mm). Four measures of bone development were taken from the caudal aspect of each distal phalanx, in caudal, ventral, and dorsal directions, and combined within each claw. Cow-level variables were constructed to quantify the average bone development on all hind feet (BD-Ave) and bone development on the most severely affected claw (BD-Max). Weekly locomotion scores (1-5 scale) were available from first calving. The variables BD-Ave and BD-Max were used as outcomes in linear regression models; the explanatory variables included locomotion score during life, age, binary variables denoting lifetime occurrence of CHDL and of infectious causes of lameness, and other cow variables. Both BD-Max and BD-Ave increased with age, CHDL occurrence, and an increasing proportion of locomotion scores at which a cow was lame (score 4 or 5). The models estimated that BD-Max would be 9.8mm (SE 3.9) greater in cows that had been lame at >50% of scores within the 12mo before slaughter (compared with cows that had been assigned no lame scores during the same period), or 7.0mm (SE 2.2) greater if the cow had been treated for a CHDL during life (compared with cows that had not). Additionally, histology demonstrated that new bone development was osteoma, also termed "exostosis." Age explained much of the variation in bone development. The association between bone development and locomotion score during life is a novel finding, and bone development appears specific to CHDL. Bone development on the most severely affected foot was the best explained outcome and would seem most likely to influence locomotion score. To stop irreparable anatomical damage within the foot, early identification of CHDL and effective treatment could be critical.

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Possible distinction between sole ulcers and heel ulcers as a cause of bovine lameness

Cited by 11 publications

References 5 publications

Genome-Wide Association Studies Reveal Susceptibility Loci for Noninfectious Claw Lesions in Holstein Dairy Cattle

Genome-Wide Association Studies Reveal Susceptibility Loci for Noninfectious Claw Lesions in Holstein Dairy Cattle

Quantitative evaluation of bone development of the distal phalanx of the cow hind limb using computed tomography

Linking bone development on the caudal aspect of the distal phalanx with lameness during life

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