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- Author or Editor: Andrew L. Allen x
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Abstract
Objective—To evaluate the effect of rostrocaudal mobility (RCM) of the mandible during extension and flexion of the atlanto-occipital joint on weight gain, feed digestibility, and fecal particle size in horses.
Design—Randomized controlled trial.
Animals—34 pregnant mares housed in 1 barn.
Procedures—Horses were randomized into a treatment (n = 17) or control (17) group. All horses were sedated, and the distance between the rostral portions of the upper and lower incisor arcades was determined during extension and flexion of the atlanto-occipital joint; mandibular RCM was calculated as the difference between these values. In the treatment group, measurements were made after dental floating. Body weight was recorded 1 day before dental floating and at intervals after mandibular RCM determination for a period of 24 weeks. Feces were collected from each horse during two 5-day periods. Samples of feed and feces were analyzed to determine feed digestibility; particle size analysis was performed on dried fecal samples.
Results—Data obtained from each group of horses revealed that RCM of the mandible did not affect weight gain, feed digestibility, or particle size in feces; there were no differences among breeds. Controlling for age and number of dental lesions did not significantly affect results.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—In horses, RCM of the mandible did not appear to affect weight gain, feed digestibility, or fecal particle size. On the basis of these and other published data, the assumption that dental abnormalities affect digestion detrimentally in horses needs to be reevaluated.
Abstract
Objective—To investigate potential relationships between cheek tooth occlusal morphology, apparent feed digestibility, and the reduction in feed particle size that occurs during digestion in horses.
Design—Cross-sectional study.
Animals—17 horses of various ages and breeds and either sex.
Procedures—Horses were fed 1 of 3 hay-based diets ad libitum for 14 days prior to euthanasia; nutrient analysis was performed on samples of each of the 3 diets. At the time of postmortem examination, the head was disarticulated, photographs were taken of the occlusal surfaces of the maxillary and mandibular cheek tooth arcades, and samples of stomach and small colon or rectum contents were collected for determination of apparent feed digestibility and particle size determination. An overall oral pathology score was assigned, and morphologic features of the occlusal surfaces of the cheek tooth arcades were determined.
Results—Results of nutrient analyses did not differ among the 3 hay diets, and there was no significant difference in apparent feed digestibility among diets. Feed particle size differed significantly among the 3 diets, but stomach content and fecal particle sizes did not differ among diet groups. No significant correlations were identified between cheek tooth morphologic variables and feed digestibility, and fecal particle size was not significantly associated with oral pathology score.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Results did not provide any evidence of associations between cheek tooth morphologic variables, fecal particle size, and apparent digestibility in horses.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To describe histologic changes in the temporomandibular joints (TMJs) of horses of various ages.
SAMPLE
22 TMJs from cadavers of 11 horses.
PROCEDURES
Horses were categorized into 3 age groups (group 1, 2 to 10 years old [n = 3]; group 2, 11 to 20 years old [3]; and group 3, > 20 years old [5]). Each TMJ was sectioned into 5-mm slices, preserved in formalin, decalcified in formic acid, and routinely processed for histologic analysis. Joints were systematically assessed by use of previously described methods. Multilevel mixed-effects models were used to examine the data.
RESULTS
The number of changes was significantly fewer and degree of changes was significantly less within the TMJs of group 1 horses, compared with those of group 3 horses. Comparison among groups revealed that the combination of temporal and mandibular scores for group 1 was significantly lower than for groups 2 or 3. Disk score did not differ significantly between groups 1 and 2, but disk scores of groups 1 and 2 were significantly lower than the disk score of group 3.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
The assessed lesions were associated with osteoarthritis, and they accumulated in the TMJs as horses aged. In the absence of signs of pain manifested as changes in mastication, behavior, or performance, it would be difficult to determine the point at which accrued pathological changes represented the onset of clinically important osteoarthritis of the TMJs.
Abstract
Objective—To evaluate the effect of dental floating on the position of the mandible relative to the maxilla (a measure of rostrocaudal mobility [RCM] of the mandible) during extension and flexion of the head of horses.
Design—Randomized controlled blinded trial.
Animals—59 horses housed in 1 barn.
Procedure—Horses were formally randomized into a treatment (n = 33) or control (26) group. All horses were sedated, and the distance between rostral portions of the upper and lower incisor arcades were determined with the head fully extended and flexed at the poll (the difference in measurements represented the RCM of the mandible). The oral cavity was examined. For the treatment group, dental floating was performed, and the incisor arcade measurements were repeated.
Results—Dental correction resulted in a significant increase in RCM of the mandible in 31 of 33 horses. The mobility was greater in heavy horses than that detected in other breed classifications. Age and number of dental lesions did not significantly affect mobility before or after dental floating.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Dental floating increased RCM of the mandible, but measurement of this variable was not an indicator of the number or extent of dental lesions, and no specific dental abnormality appeared to significantly affect RCM of the mandible in horses. In horses, measurement of RCM of the mandible can be used as a guide to determine whether dental correction is necessary; after dental floating, it can be used to ensure that irregularities of the occlusal surface have been corrected. (J Am Vet Med Assoc 2003;223:666–669)
Abstract
Objective—To evaluate the efficacy and safety of intra-articular administration of ethyl alcohol for arthrodesis of tarsometatarsal joints in horses.
Animals—8 healthy female horses without lameness or radiographic evidence of tarsal joint osteoarthritis.
Procedure—In each horse, 1 tarsometatarsal joint was treated with 4 mL of 70% ethyl alcohol and the opposite joint was treated with 4 mL of 95% ethyl alcohol. Lameness examinations were performed daily for 2 weeks, followed by monthly evaluations for the duration of the 12-month study. Radiographic evaluations of both tarsi were performed 1 month after injection and every 3 months thereafter. Gross and histologic examinations of the tarsi were undertaken at completion of the study.
Results—Horses had minimal to no lameness associated with the treatments. Radiography revealed that 8 of 16 joints were fused by 4 months after treatment, with significantly more joints fused in the 70% ethyl alcohol group. Fifteen of 16 joints were considered fused at postmortem examination at 12 months. Gross and histologic examinations revealed foci of dense mature osteonal bone spanning the joint spaces. Bony fusion appeared to be concentrated on the dorsolateral, centrolateral, and plantarolateral aspects of the joints. Significant differences were not detected between treatment groups for lameness or pathologic findings.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Administration of ethyl alcohol into the tarsometatarsal joint of healthy horses appeared to facilitate arthrodesis of the joint in a pain-free manner. Results warrant further investigation into the potential use of ethyl alcohol in horses clinically affected with osteoarthritis of the tarsometatarsal and distal intertarsal joints.
Abstract
OBJECTIVE
To determine the holding capacity of a 5.5-mm-diameter cortical bone screw when placed in the third phalanx (P3) of horses and assess whether screw placement through the dorsal hoof wall into P3 would be tolerated by clinically normal horses and would alleviate signs of pain and prevent P3 rotation in horses with oligofructose-induced laminitis.
ANIMALS
40 limbs from 10 equine cadavers and 19 clinically normal adult horses.
PROCEDURES
In part 1 of a 3-part study, a 5.5-mm-diameter cortical bone screw was inserted by use of a lag-screw technique through the dorsal hoof wall midline into P3 of 40 cadaveric limbs and tested to failure to determine screw pullout force. In part 2, 6 horses had 5.5-mm-diameter cortical bone screws placed in both forefeet as described for part 1. Screws were removed 4 days after placement. Horses were monitored for lameness before and for 2 weeks after screw removal. In part 3, 13 horses were randomly assigned to serve as controls (n = 3) or undergo screw placement without (group 2; 6) or with (group 3; 4) a washer. Following the acquisition of baseline data, horses were sedated and administered oligofructose (10 g/kg) via a stomach tube. Twenty-four hours later, screws were placed as previously described in both forefeet of horses in groups 2 and 3. Horses were assessed every 4 hours, and radiographic images of the feet were obtained at 96 and 120 hours after oligofructose administration. Horses were euthanized, and the feet were harvested for histologic examination.
RESULTS
The mean ± SD screw pullout force was 3,908.7 ± 1,473.4 N, and it was positively affected by the depth of screw insertion into P3. Horses of part 2 tolerated screw placement and removal well and did not become lame. All horses of part 3 developed signs of acute lameness, and the distance between P3 and the dorsal hoof wall increased slightly over time. The change in the ratio of the dorsal hoof wall width at the extensor process of P3 to that at the tip of P3 over time was the only variable significantly associated with treatment.
CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE
Placement of a 5.5-mm-diameter cortical bone screw through the dorsal hoof wall into P3 had sufficient holding power to counteract the pull of the deep digital flexor tendon in approximately 500-kg horses, and placement of such a screw was well tolerated by clinically normal horses but did not alleviate signs of pain in horses with oligofructose-induced laminitis. Further research is necessary before this technique can be recommended for horses with naturally occurring acute laminitis.
Abstract
Objective—To develop a method to reliably induce congenital hypothyroidism in guinea pigs (Cavia porcellus) and assess similarities between the resultant developmental abnormalities and those described in horses with congenital hypothyroidism.
Animals—35 female guinea pigs and their offspring.
Procedure—Guinea pigs were allocated to control groups or groups treated with a low-iodine diet before and throughout gestation; an SC injection of 100 or 200 µCi of radioactive iodine 131 (131I) on day 40 of gestation; or 0.1% propylthiouracil (PTU) continuously in the drinking water, beginning day 3 or 40 of gestation. In all groups, assessments included gestation duration, litter size, proportion of stillborn pups, and laboratory analyses in live pups and dams; postmortem examinations were performed on all pups and dams and selected tissues were examined histologically.
Results—Compared with control animals, pups from dams receiving a low-iodine diet or 131I SC had mild changes in their thyroid glands but no grossly or radiographically detectable lesions of hypothyroidism. Pups from dams receiving PTU were often stillborn (24/27 pups) and had enlarged thyroid glands (characterized by large, variably sized follicles of tall columnar epithelium and little or no colloid), an incomplete coat, and radiographically detectable skeletal dysgenesis.
Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—Many of the lesions detected in guinea pig pups from the experimentally treated dams were similar to those described in foals with congenital hypothyroidism. Experimental induction of congenital hypothyroidism in guinea pigs may be useful for the study of naturally occurring congenital hypothyroidism in horses. (Am J Vet Res 2004;65:1251–1258)
