Donor's gift makes equine laminitis research center a reality at US vet school

A strategic collaboration between donor Nancy Link and Mississippi State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine (CVM) will facilitate the establishment of the Nancy Fair Link Laminitis Research Center at the university. The partnership will also include recruitment of top faculty charged with advancing pioneering research in the prevention and treatment of laminitis.

How can horse owners restrict weight gain, prevent laminitis during time of inactivity and extended turnout?

New research from Great Britain shows that a pasture management system known as strip grazing can help prevent weight gain in horses this spring. Horse owners are advised to heed warnings about weight gain and laminitis risk if quarantine conditions are reducing exercise and increasing turnout time for inactive horses.

Vampire Bats: Why horses should be afraid of vampires--and not just on Halloween

Vampire bats in South and Central America love horse hooves. They frequently feed at the coronet, where the blood is close to the surface. Besides being creepy, vampire bats are the leading reservoir of rabies virus in Central and South America and have recently been identified as a host that easily spreads bartonella bacteria. Newly deforested landscapes are now home to domestic livestock; vampire bat populations have flourished with the captive animals so easily available to bite. Officials in Texas are now warning that common vampire bats have crossed the Rio Grande into the United States.

Until recently, most of us only thought about vampires once a year, on October 31. But that is about to change. While Count Dracula may be a figment of literary imagination, the real-life inspiration for his story is alive and well and spreading rapidly through recently deforested regions of South and Central America.

Horses, horseowners and horse professionals: Consider yourselves warned. Like the killer bees who paved the path, vampire bats may be headed your way. And they're bringing dangerous diseases with them.

Research: Direct-Injection Gene Therapy Proven Successful for Soft Tissue Lameness Injuries in Horses

Two dressage horses recovered from suspensory ligament and superficial flexor tendon injuries following direct injection of enhanced equine DNA into the injury site. The research was published this week. (Photo: Catrin Rutland, Assistant Professor of Anatomy and Developmental Genetics, University of Nottingham School of Veterinary Medicine)

Can we use gene therapy to repair injuries? Specifically: Can genetic material (DNA) be injected directly into a soft tissue injury site and repair damaged tissue that is causing a performance or race horse to be lame?

An international group of British and Russian researchers believes that not only can it be done--they’ve done it. Twice. In a ground-breaking pair of case studies, Professor Albert Rizvanov (Kazan Federal University, Russia) and his group confirm that by injecting pure DNA into an injured horses' suspensory ligaments and superficial digital flexor tendons, they were able to completely restore the function in these vital areas.

The authors also stated that the horses presented at the clinic with naturally occurring injuries; the genetic treatment conformed with US Food and Drug Administration and EU standards. Similar treatments had been used experimentally in dogs and humans in tests by some of the team members.

The first case study was conducted on a successful 13-year-old dressage horse. The horse's clinical diagnosis was Grade 2 desmitis of the lateral branch of the suspensory ligament. A second treatment benefited a 9-year-old half-bred Trakehner, also used for dressage; he had been diagnosed with Grade 3 tendinitis of the superficial digital flexor tendon.

"We showed that gene therapy used within a period of 2–3 months after the injury resulted in the complete recovery of functions and full restoration of the severely damaged suspensory ligament and superficial digital flexor tendon," the authors state in the article.

The research also showed that the tissue within the limbs had fully recovered and that 12 months after the revolutionary treatment, the horses were completely fit, active and pain free.

No side effects or adverse reactions were seen in the horses.

The main advantage of gene therapy used in this study was the application of a combination of the pro-angiogenic growth factor gene VEGF164, enhancing growth of blood vessels, and bone morphogenetic protein 2 (BMP2), which plays an important role in the development of bone and cartilage.

To avoid undesirable immune reactions, both genes were derived from horses, thus resulting in biosynthesis of natural horse proteins in treated animals. Both recombinant genes were cloned into single plasmid DNA which is commonly regarded as non-immunogenic and a biologically safe gene therapy vector.

Since these injuries may affect not only horses but many other animals and humans, the study carries potential implications for the future direction of human and veterinary medicine, potentially with fewer relapses and shorter recovery times. Much more work will be needed to investigate safety and efficacy. A larger clinical trial has been started.

Professor Rizvanov formed a collaboration with scientists and clinicians within his laboratories at Kazan Federal University, Kazan, Russia and also with Moscow State Academy of Veterinary Medicine and Biotechnology, Russia and the School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham, United Kingdom. Working together to heal ligament and tendon injuries has been the primary goal of the work.

Their work has now been published in the international journal Frontiers in Veterinary Science and is titled “Gene Therapy Using Plasmid DNA Encoding Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor 164 and Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 Genes for the Treatment of Horse Tendinitis and Desmitis: Case Reports.”

To read the full article please go to: https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fvets.2017.00168/full

Full citation:
Kovac Milomir, Litvin Yaroslav A., Aliev Ruslan O., Zakirova Elena Yu, Rutland Catrin S., Kiyasov Andrey P., Rizvanov Albert A. (2017) Gene Therapy Using Plasmid DNA Encoding Vascular Endothelial Growth Factor 164 and Fibroblast Growth Factor 2 Genes for the Treatment of Horse Tendinitis and Desmitis: Case Reports. Frontiers in Veterinary Science. 4. DOI=10.3389/fvets.2017.00168.

For more information, contact Professor Albert Rizvanov: albert.rizvanov@kpfu.ru.

Dr. Rutland's imaging work was displayed on the cover of the September 2017 edition of HoofSearch. She assisted with the preparation of this article.

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The High Tech Vet Tech: Designing a Carbon Fiber CT Table for Horses at UC Davis Vet School

There's a table under those mattresses. Did you ever wonder what structure supports an anesthetized, recumbent 1,200-pound horse when its limbs are inside a CT scanner? (UC Davis photo)

Did you ever wonder what structure supports an anesthetized, recumbent 1,200-pound horse when its limbs are inside a CT scanner? At the University of California at Davis School of Veterinary Medicine, a staff veterinary technician used high tech materials to engineer a lightweight table capable of holding heavyweight animals while their lower limbs are in the CT scanner.

Discipline Committee strips British farrier of right to practice; apprentice complained of bullying

A sculpture honoring the relationship between a master and apprentice above the Craiglockhart Primary School in Edinburgh, Scotland. Photo by Kim Traynor.

The Disciplinary Committee of the Farriers Registration Council (FRC) in Great Britain has announced the removal of a long-established farrier from the nation’s Farrier Register. The decision to “strike off” the farrier--thus ending his ability to practice farriery in that country--came after a much-publicized hearing in London in March, when the FRC publicly investigated complaints of bullying behavior lodged by an apprentice the farrier had agreed to train.

Palm Beach Equine Clinic Welcomes Dr. Stephen O’Grady for Consultation Services this Winter

Palm Beach Equine Clinic (PBEC) in Wellington, Florida shared the news last week that equine podiatry consultant Stephen E. O’Grady, DVM, MRCVS, will join its forces this winter.

Case Notes: Inside Bal a Bali’s Laminitis Recovery

An earlier report on the successful return to racing for Brazilian champion colt Bal a Bali regretted the lack of details about the horse’s fight against laminitis and what types of therapy had been utilized to aid his recovery after he arrived in the United States in July 2014.

Thanks to an interview today with Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital’s Vernon Dryden, DVM, some of the details of Bal a Bali’s nine-month ordeal can now be shared. Dr. Dryden acknowledges the willingness of the colt’s owners, Sienna Farm and Foxhill Farm, to share information that might benefit another horse suffering from a similar problem.

First-Person Research: The Paleopathology of Laminitis in Horses with Lane A. Wallett, DVM

Lane A. Wallett, DVM is a Doctoral Candidate at the University of Florida in Gainesville. She presented an abstract on her paleontology research related to laminitis in the fossil evidence related to horses at the 2013 International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot. Everyone wanted to know how she came to research such a subject, and The Hoof Blog is very happy to share her story, in her own words.

Laminitis Research: Milk Thistle Tested in Laboratory for Possible Endotoxin Neutralization

Researchers in Vienna, Austria have conducted in vitro studies of the 

milk thistle plant to determine its effect on laminar tissue during 

separation caused by endotoxin introduction.

Veterinary Equine Podiatry Group Announced at 2014 AAEP Convention, Will Pursue Board Specialization Status

At the 60th Annual Convention of the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP), held December 5 to 9, 2014 in Salt Lake City, Utah, the Veterinary Equine Podiatry Group, Inc. publicly announced its existence and intended mission.

BEVA Congress Farriery Day Asks Key Questions about Evidence-Based Hoofcare

“What would you do?”

That was the question at the British Equine Veterinary Association (BEVA) Congress Farriery Day earlier this fall in Birmingham, England.  One thing that came out of this day long poking and prodding of contemporary farriery was that you might think a bit before answering that question the next time someone poses it.

Implanted Prosthetic Limbs for Amputee Horses: Be Part of Research!

Six years ago, Molly the Pony turned the world upside down on by wearing a strap-on prosthetic on her amputated limb. If she read the newspaper this week, the peg-leg pony who survived Hurricane Katrina in New Orleans might think she needs to come out of retirement on behalf of her new prosthesis designer, Niki Marie Hansen. Hansen believes it's time for a new generation of artificial limbs for horses.

New Statistics: Lameness Most Critical Health Problem for British Horses; Laminitis Increased in 2014

A new study published today in Great Britain sorts out what is likely to send horses to vets and farriers for treatment there, and you have to look pretty far down to find hoof-related problems (other than laminitis) on the list. 

Great Britain's National Equine Health Survey (NEHS), held annually every May, has confirmed for the second year that lameness is the most common syndrome affecting the UK’s horses and ponies. This year’s top results, compiled in this report, have also revealed an apparent increase in laminitis compared with previous years.

Triple Crown Hindsight: California Chrome's Hoof Bulb Injury in Pictures

The dream is over, and that's horse racing. The champion is just a horse, after all. But a special one.

Who Left Those Hoofprints in the Sand?

The impermanence of art: the incoming tide will wash away the hoofprints on the beach near Mont St Michel, but the FEI has made a grand impression on the world that only 100 days remain before the opening of the 2014 Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games in France. (FEI photo)

It's 100 days until the Alltech FEI World Equestrian Games begin in Normandy, France. Something was bound to happen, but who would expect this?

Farrier Photography: Matthew Wright Exhibit Shows Andy Eadie Shoeing on England's Lambourn Downs

Photographer Matthew P. Wright followed farrier Andy Edie around the Lambourn Downs area of England. The result is a photography exhibit that has been made into a book, which can be previewed here.

Royal Recognition: British Farrier Thomas Burch Honored with MBE by Queen

Glimpses into the life of a farrier who might be found on the streets of London or in the rainforests of Central America or helping a horse in Capetown in South Africa: Royal honors have been announced for British farrier Tom Burch for his service to the welfare of horses in the United Kingdom and overseas.

Christmas with Laminitis Video: St Nicholas Abbey Five-Month Update from Coolmore in Ireland

St Nicholas Abbey - Five months on from Coolmore Stud on Vimeo.

This video is shown on The Hoof Blog with permission of Coolmore Stud. Click the "play" icon to begin the video.

It's Christmas Eve and you can count your blessings. Count your blessings especially if you are a horse that doesn't have laminitis.

Rats in the Stable? Check the Horses' Hooves and Your Grandfather's Stable Manual

This is the time of year when some nonpaying and unwanted boarders start moving into stables. The evidence isn't always as obvious as on this mule's foot. (Kurt Fisk photo)