In the United Kingdom, one out of every 25 mares has a mid- to late-gestation abortion, a statistic that hasn't improved significantly in the last 30 years. Umbilical cord torsion (UCT) causes nearly half of the abortions that are sent for lab analysis.
UCT is when the umbilical cord twists excessively, restricting the blood supply to the fetus, which eventually kills it.
No other country but Australia has the amount of pregnancy loss because of UCT that the UK does. In the United States, UCT occurs at one-tenth the rate it does in the UK. In the US, abortion caused by UCT is between 2.4 and 6 percent; UTC causes 35.7 percent of abortions in the United Kingdom.
Umbilical cords that twist are often more than 33.5 inches long. It is unclear why some umbilical cords grow so long or are prone to twisting. Why it occurs so often in the United Kingdom is also unclear.
A research team that includes scientists from the Royal Veterinary College (RVC), Cornell University, Rossdales Laboratories, and Hagyard Equine Medical Institute are working together to explore why some umbilical cords twist mid-pregnancy. The team hopes to determine ways to detect twisting prior to abortion.
The scientists will work to determine key proteins and subcomponents in both healthy and unhealthy umbilical cords. Their hope is to be able to identify cord regions that could be clinically monitored. The areas would be examined by ultrasound mid-pregnancy to determine which mares were at greater risk of UCT abortion.
For more information on the study, click here.
Read more at Equine Science Update.
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