Dr. Marco Alvarenga, of São Paulo State University in Brazil, has found evidence that platelet-rich plasma (PRP) can be used to successfully treat endometriosis in mares.
Alvarenga spoke at the 2022 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention in San Antonio, Texas. He noted that in Brazil, nearly 50 percent of breeding mares are embryo donors, meaning they are artificially inseminated (AI) multiple times each year. Because of this, the mares often develop inflammation of the uterine lining, which can put the pregnancy at risk.
The inflammation occurs when the mare's body releases inflammatory cytokines; in theory, if these cytokines can be controlled, the pregnancy will not be at risk.
Alvarenga became aware of a 2012 study that showed that PRP administration 24 hours before a mare was artificially inseminated decreased the expression of most inflammatory cytokines.
Alvarenga created an experiment that used PRP four hours after the mare was artificially inseminated. Results showed that inflammatory cells decreased and pregnancy rates increased. A followup experiment compared PRP administration before and after AI; he found that using PRP before the mare was artificially inseminated decreased inflammation a bit better.
Using even a small amount of platelets showed a large reduction in fluid accumulation and an increase in pregnancy rates; mares that received PRP had no bacteria eight days after AI.
Read more at The Horse.
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