The prevalence of elevated gamma-glutamyltransferase and sorbitol dehydrogenase activity in racing Thoroughbreds and their associations with viral infection.
Equine Vet J
; 51(6): 738-742, 2019 Nov.
Article
em En
| MEDLINE
| ID: mdl-30849186
ABSTRACT
BACKGROUND:
In racehorses, serum gamma-glutamyltransferase (GGT) activity is positively correlated with cumulative days in training and, when ≥100 IU/L, has been associated with poor performance. The prevalence of increased GGT activity in North American Thoroughbreds and its aetiopathogenesis are unknown. Four emerging viruses, pegivirus E (PgV E; equine pegivirus), hepacivirus A (HcV A; equine hepacivirus), pegivirus D (PgV D; Theiler's disease virus), and equine parvovirus-hepatitis (EqPV-H) have been identified in horses with clinical and subclinical hepatopathy. Available prevalence data indicate these viruses may commonly infect racehorses and contribute to increased liver enzyme activity in this population.OBJECTIVES:
To investigate the association between viral infection and increased liver enzyme activity in racing Thoroughbreds. STUDYDESIGN:
Cross-sectional study.METHODS:
Prerace blood samples were collected from 802 Thoroughbreds and tested for GGT and sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) activity, and the presence of PgV E, HcV A, PgV D and EqPV-H nucleic acid.RESULTS:
Increased SDH and/or GGT were detected in 56.2% of the 802 serum samples. The infection prevalence and relative risk (RR) of having concurrently increased liver enzyme activity were PgV E = 18.2% (RR = 0.820, 95% CI = 0.662-0.978, P = 0.03), HcV A = 2.5% (RR = 1.132, 95% CI = 0.719-1.466, P = 0.6), PgV D = 0.5% (RR = 0.875, 95% CI = 0.165-1.598, P>0.9), EqPV-H = 2.9% (RR = 0.916, 95% CI = 0.564-1.266, P = 0.7). MAINLIMITATIONS:
Longitudinal samples were not tested.CONCLUSIONS:
While viral infection was common among Thoroughbreds in this study, infection did not explain the high prevalence of increased liver enzyme activity. In fact, PgV E infection was associated with a reduced risk of having increased liver enzyme activity, indicating PgV E is unlikely to be a cause of hepatitis in horses. Importantly, like GGT, increased SDH activity was highly prevalent in this study, and provides additional evidence that hepatocellular injury was occurring in these horses.Palavras-chave
Texto completo:
1
Coleções:
01-internacional
Base de dados:
MEDLINE
Assunto principal:
Infecções por Flaviviridae
/
Infecções por Parvoviridae
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Gama-Glutamiltransferase
/
Doenças dos Cavalos
/
L-Iditol 2-Desidrogenase
Tipo de estudo:
Etiology_studies
/
Observational_studies
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Prevalence_studies
/
Risk_factors_studies
Limite:
Animals
Idioma:
En
Revista:
Equine Vet J
Ano de publicação:
2019
Tipo de documento:
Article
País de afiliação:
Estados Unidos