Equine airway disease can be tricky to diagnose; analyzing the horse's breath may help identify horses affected by the disease. A study out of Italy collected equine breath condensate and studied its metabolic byproducts to see if there was a difference between healthy horses and those suffering from the disease.
Drs. Marilena Bazzano, Luca Laghi, Chenglin Zhu, Gian Enrico Magi, Beniamino Tesei and Fulvio Laus studied six healthy horses and six horses with equine asthma. Equine asthma affects about 14 percent of adult horses; affected equine can be used as animal models for human asthma research and treatment.
The team then studied the metabolic byproducts in bronchoalveolar lavage fluid and the exhaled condensate of each horse. The team found 12 metabolites in the lavage fluid and seven in the breath condensate. There were notable differences between the healthy and asthmatic horses, including higher levels of methanol and ethanol in the asthmatic group. The higher methanol level indicates the horse's lungs were actively inflamed. The scientists believe the higher ethanol concentrations may be related to pulmonary disease.
The researchers noted that there is a lack of standardized collection methods for equine breath condensate, as well devices to collect it, which limits the ability for horses to be used as animal models for human research. Though the study used a small number of horses, the scientists are confident that analyzing metabolites has potential to assist in diagnosing horses that suffer from equine asthma. Further research is needed.
Read more at HorseTalk.
Read the full study here.
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