Packed cell volume and heart rate to predict medical and surgical cases and their short-term survival in horses with gastrointestinal-induced colic.

The objective of this prospective case-control study of 125 horses with gastrointestinal tract-induced colic was to determine whether heart rate (HR) and packed cell volume (PCV) can predict surgical versus medical treatment and its short-term survival (time of discharge of the patient). Sixty-four horses were treated medically and 61 surgically (29 small intestinal and 32 large intestinal cases). At admission, both PCV and HR were higher in horses treated surgically than in horses treated medically; however, with longer duration of colic before presentation, the PCV was higher in the small intestinal surgical group only. In addition, both PCV and HR were higher, and the duration of colic was longer in non-survivors compared to survivors. Binary logistic regression demonstrated a significant association between HR and type of treatment, and both HR and PCV were predictive of survival. Simple parameters such as HR and PCV provide useful information for management of colic cases.

L'hématocrite et la fréquence cardiaque pour prédire les cas médicaux et chirurgicaux et leur survie à court terme chez les chevaux souffrant de coliques d'origine gastro-intestinale. L'objectif de cette étude prospective cas-témoins de 125 chevaux souffrant de coliques induites par le tractus gastro-intestinal était de déterminer si la fréquence cardiaque (HR) et l'hématocrite (PCV) peuvent prédire le traitement chirurgical par rapport au traitement médical et sa survie à court terme (temps de congé du patient). Soixante-quatre chevaux ont été traités médicalement et 61 chirurgicalement (29 cas d'intestin grêle et 32 cas de gros intestin). A l'admission, le PCV et le HR étaient plus élevés chez les chevaux traités chirurgicalement que chez les chevaux traités médicalement; cependant, avec une durée plus longue des coliques avant la présentation, le PCV était plus élevé uniquement dans le groupe de chirurgie de l'intestin grêle. De plus, le PCV et le HR étaient plus élevés, et la durée des coliques était plus longue chez les non-survivants que chez les survivants. La régression logistique binaire a démontré une association significative entre le HR et le type de traitement, et le HR et le PCV étaient tous deux prédictifs de la survie. Des paramètres simples tels que HR et PCV fournissent des informations utiles pour la gestion des cas de coliques.(Traduit par Dr Serge Messier).

Effect of intrabronchial administration of autologous adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells on severe equine asthma.

BACKGROUND: Severe equine asthma (SEA) is a common chronic respiratory disease and a significant health and well-being problem in horses. Current therapeutic strategies improve pulmonary function and clinical signs in some horses, but in the long-term, return to full athletic function appears to be rare. The aim of this study was to assess the safety and the effect of intrabronchial administration of adipose-derived mesenchymal stem cells (AD-MSC) on pulmonary inflammatory and clinical parameters in horses with SEA. METHODS: This was a randomized controlled trial. Twenty adult horses diagnosed with SEA were randomly divided into two groups (n = 10), and treated either with a single intrabronchial application of autologous AD-MSC or oral dexamethasone for three weeks. A targeted clinical examination with determination of clinical score, maximal change in pleural pressure during the breathing cycle, and an endoscopic examination of the airways were performed at baseline and three weeks after treatment. Bronchoalveolar lavage fluid was analyzed cytologically, and IL-1ß, IL-4, IL-8, IL-17, TNFα and IFNγ mRNA and protein concentrations were measured at baseline and three weeks. The horses were then monitored over one year for recurrence of SEA. A non-inferiority analysis and a linear mixed-effects model were performed to assess differences between treatments. RESULTS: The non-inferiority of AD-MSC treatment was not established. However, AD-MSC administration significantly ameliorated the clinical score (P = 0.01), decreased the expression of IL-17 mRNA (P = 0.05) and IL-1ß (P ≤ 0.001), IL-4 (P ≤ 0.001), TNFα (P = 0.02) protein levels, and had a positive long-term effect on SEA-associated clinical signs (P = 0.02). CONCLUSIONS: Intrabronchial administration of AD-MSC had limited short-term anti-inflammatory effects but improved the clinical signs of SEA at one year.

Membrane switch hypothesis. 2. Domain structure of phagocytes in horses with recurrent airway obstruction.

The mechanism of recurrent airway obstruction (RAO) in horses was investigated by measuring the membrane domain structure and oxy-redoxy activity in phagocytes isolated from bronchoalveolar lavage fluid (BAL) and from the blood of healthy and RAO horses by electron paramagnetic resonance (EPR). Differences in the activity of intracellular antioxidant enzymes CAT, GPx, and SOD measured in phagocytes of RAO horses in comparison to healthy horses showed that the phagocytes were affected by oxidative stress. In comparison with polymorphonuclear leukocytes (phagocytes) from the blood of healthy horses the reduction mechanisms in BAL were faster and coincided with the merging of disordered membrane domains, while in horses with RAO the reduction and membrane domain structure remained unchanged. We assume that the merging of lipid domains observed in phagocytes from BAL of healthy horses could promote cluster formation of membrane proteins or ligands, which could trigger the activation process in phagocytes of healthy horses and consequently the physiological response that probably did not happen in phagocytes of RAO horses.