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Potential Biomarker Found For Ascending Placentitis

Ascending placentitis is an infection of a mare's placenta that commonly causes late-term abortions; it can have a devastating economic impact on the breeding industry.

A new study has helped to identify which mares might be at risk of developing this infection by focusing on one variant of an inflammation-related protein, reports The Horse. The study was led by Dr. Yatta Linhares-Boakari, who found that mares that developed ascending placentitis had more messenger RNA (mRNA) of serum amyloid A1 (SAA1) in their placental tissues than those mares who didn't. Yatta Linhares-Boakari says her research might allow scientists to determine the difference between placentitis and other causes of inflammation.

The study team bred 10 pony mares and introduced Streptococcus equi spp zooepidemicus into the cervixes of half of them to induce ascending placentitis. Three days later, the researchers took blood samples, sedated and euthanized all of the mares used in the study to investigate the tissues of the mares and the fetuses.

The scientists found that mares that had placentitis had significantly higher SAA values. They also discovered that haptoglobin (Hp, another protein associated with inflammation) values in the fetuses' blood was significantly higher in the placentitis group.

Additionally, the team found distinct patterns of proteins in the tissues of infected mares and a never-before-seen mRNA trend: Both SAA and Hp were found at increased levels in the mares with ascending placentitis. SAA1 and mRNA were found in greater numbers in the placental membranes of infected mares, as well.

The team concludes that their findings — specifically the elevation of SAA1 in blood – may eventually be able to assist in pinpointing ascending placentitis in its early stages when it might be treated more easily.

Study Answers Key Questions About Nocardioform Placentitis, But Etiology Remains Elusive

A new study published in the peer-reviewed journal Theriogenology reveals more about nocardioform placentitis, a placental infection that has plagued breeders and stud farm managers for decades. Placentitis is believed to account for 19 percent of equine infectious abortions nationwide, but much remains unknown about the disease.

A research team led by Dr. Carleigh Fedorka at the Gluck Equine Research Center in Lexington, Ky., studied 264 mares — 145 who were suspected to have the disease and 119 with apparently healthy pregnancies — and compared characteristics of their pregnancies and resulting foals.

The study found that nocardioform placentitis tends to be associated with older mares, and it isn't contagious between mares in the same turnout group. One episode of nocardioform placentitis does not necessarily presuppose another in the same horse the following year, and mares did not seem to experience abnormal cycles or reduced fertility after a case of nocardioform placentitis. Mares who were given antibiotics and hormones throughout their pregnancies to stave off the disease were no less likely to develop a case of nocardioform placentitis than those who were not.

While one of the most classic symptoms of nocardioform placentitis is abortion, some mares whose placenta indicated they had the illness did produce live foals. The study found those foals were smaller than average, but were otherwise healthy and had normal blood counts at birth.

Interestingly, the size of the placentitis lesion on an infected mare's placenta seemed to vary according to the date of breeding, with mares bred later in spring showing larger lesions.

Nocardioform placentitis is believed to be caused by bacteria, but researchers don't know how the bacteria causes the inflammation of the placenta that's characteristic of the disease. It's characterized by premature mammary gland development, thickened placental and uterine walls on ultrasound, or visible separation of the placenta from the uterine walls on ultrasound. There are several forms of placentitis, but the nocardioform version is accompanied by a thick, brown mucous covering the placenta at the site of the lesion, which prevents the placenta from continuing to support the fetus in some cases. Nocardioform placentitis case numbers seem to sometimes wax and wane across breeding seasons, suggesting that season or weather conditions may play a role in its development.

Read the full study here.

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Monkey See, Monkey Do: Will A Foal Mimic A Mare’s Neurologic Behavior?

Foals often mimic the behavior of their dams, copycatting everything from grazing to running to rolling and more. But what happens when a foal is born to a mare that has neurologic issues? Will it mimic the odd behaviors?

The staff at Mid-Atlantic Equine Medical Center has cared for many foals born to neurologically compromised mares, said Dr. Rodney Belgrave. Often the mares are afflicted with equine protozoal myeloencephalitis (EPM). Belgrave says he has not seen foals mimic the neurological signs their mothers exhibit.

However, foals can be born infected with organisms that cause neurologic disease. One of the organisms that causes EPM can be transmitted to the fetus from the placenta. However, infected foals may not demonstrate neurological signs until they are three months old.

Foals can also be born with equine herpesvirus type-1 (EHV-1) that is contracted from the dam, but many don't show neurologic signs of this disease, either.

The most common cause of neurologic disease in foals is neonatal encephalopathy, which occurs when the fetus is deprived of oxygen. This can be caused by a bacterial infection called placentitis or by a difficult birthing process. Affected foals often don't develop neurologic signs until 18 to 24 hours after birth.

In both cases, the lack of oxygen leads to fluid build up in brain tissue. Though alarming, the prognosis for neonatal encephalopathy is very good if the foals are treated early and appropriately.

PR Special Fasig-Tipton October: How Do They Set Those Stud Fees?

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The Fasig-Tipton Kentucky October Yearlings Sale rolls on, and the Paulick Report has the reading material you need to go along with it in the latest PR Special.

In this edition, bloodstock editor Joe Nevills speaks to the decision-makers at some of Kentucky's top stallion operations about their processes for setting stud fees – a number that can have ramifications on a stallion's entire career.

Darley's Australian shuttle stallion Astern is the focus of this issue's Stallion Spotlight, with Darren Fox discussing what makes the son of Medaglia d'Oro an attractive prospect for breeders. In the Breeders' Cup Buzz, Nevills asks participants in the upcoming Breeders' Cup to recall their most vivid memories of the 2015 renewal, the last time the event was at Keeneland.

Dr. Maria Schnobrich of Rood and Riddle Equine Hospital covers why some years are worse than others for placentitis in Ask Your Veterinarian, and finally, we dive through the Fasig-Tipton October catalog to spotlight some of its young stallions in Second-Crop Sire Watch.

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Thanks, as always, to the sponsors of the PR Special. Your continued support is crucial to the functioning of our publication.

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