research | Horse Racing Free Tips

Morris Animal Foundation Awards Nearly $1 Million In Grants For New Studies Benefiting Equine Health

Morris Animal Foundation, a leader in advancing animal health, has awarded nearly $1 million in large animal health research grants, supporting 14 projects. The studies will help veterinary scientists improve the well-being of horses through improved prevention and treatment of numerous health challenges, including eye cancer, heart arrhythmias and risks for injury from air transport.

“We were very impressed with the quality of proposals received this year and we believe they have the potential to drive significant improvements in the well-being of our equine companions,” said Dr. Janet Patterson-Kane, Morris Animal Foundation Chief Scientific Officer. “We are very proud to support these enterprising researchers in their endeavors.”

Through this year's grants, the Foundation is supporting teams at 13 universities and institutions, including the University of Minnesota, Colorado State University and the University of Calgary. The Foundation's Large Animal Scientific Advisory Board reviewed all submitted grant applications and selected, based on scientific merit and impact, the studies with the greatest potential to save lives, preserve health and advance veterinary care. Large animal studies funded for 2020 include:

Working Toward a Genetic Test for Heart Arrhythmias
Researchers will investigate if genetic variants can help identify horses at high risk of developing potentially fatal cardiac arrhythmias. If successful, the team will use this information to develop genetic tests, as well as other screening protocols, for early identification of at-risk horses for the condition.

Developing Health and Well-Being Guidelines for Air-Transported Horses
Researchers will determine how horses can be managed when transported by air to optimize their welfare, identifying factors that increase or decrease the risk of health and behavioral problems. Findings will be used to inform guidelines to improve the health and welfare for horses traveling by plane.

Understanding Changes in Gut Microbiome and Health
Researchers will study gut microbiome variation as it relates to the health and wellness of a well-studied group of feral horses living on Sable Island, Canada. Data generated will provide a large baseline platform to spur further research and discoveries about associations between gut bacteria and health in horses.

Evaluating a Novel Treatment for Eye Cancer
Researchers will investigate the efficacy of a novel treatment for ocular surface squamous neoplasia, a type of eye cancer in horses. Findings will help advance our understanding and treatment of this cancer.

Morris Animal Foundation is one of the largest nonprofit organizations worldwide that funds health studies benefiting cats, dogs, horses, llamas alpacas and wildlife. The Foundation currently is funding 150 studies encompassing a broad spectrum of species and diseases.

Learn more here.

The post Morris Animal Foundation Awards Nearly $1 Million In Grants For New Studies Benefiting Equine Health appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.

Source of original post

Research Into Training Programs Needed To Protect Equine Tendons

The superficial digital flexor tendons in a horse's front legs are responsible for much of the animal's athleticism: They store energy and play a critical role in the efficiency of the horse's trot and gallop. However, these tendons are especially susceptible to injury: They are one of the most common causes of lameness in performance horses. Tendon injuries are slow and difficult to heal, so it's imperative that they be detected early and that training methods be adapted to allow time for the tissues to heal.

Drs. Claire O'Brien, Neil Marr and Chavaunne Thorpe investigated the biomechanical and biothermal effects of strain on this tendon and how both forces contributed to microdamage. Though the tendon is essential for efficient performance and locomotion, it has a very narrow window for error, which makes it susceptible to injury.

The trio reviewed 140 scientific papers and discovered that most superficial digital flexor tendon injuries occur during fitness work. Risks to tendons include variations in training intensity and frequency, surfaces and equipment. Individual risk factors include breed, age and sex; variations in tendon blood supply, strength and flexibility may contribute to chronic tendon injuries and longer recover rates.

The team suggest that research be done in several areas so that recommendations based on scientific principles can be made for training programs; these would minimize the risk of tendon injury. They also suggest that those involved in a horse' training understand the following:

The physiologic demands high-intensity training places on equine tendons
Heavy training sessions that mimic competition should be closely monitored and only repeated every 72 hours to allow tendons enough time to repair and adapt. Factors such as the horse's age, history of injury and previous competition experience should help guide decision making on the frequency of training sessions
The effects of other factors like surface type, fence height, bandaging and ambient temperature place on tendon temperature and strain
Training should be increased incrementally over time, using objective measures to gauge each horse's physiologic response

Read the full article here.

Cryopreservation Of Equine Stem Cells For Cartilage Repair

Cryopreservation is the next exciting stage of research in stem cell therapy. Dr. Thomas Koch and his team are working to preserve cartilage chips for long-term storage, which would enable off-the-shelf use to treat localized cartilage defects. Defects that very often shorten or end horses' athletic careers.

Cryopreservation (or vitrification) is the formation of a solid from an aqueous solution without the formation of ice crystals. Using cartilage chips created from equine umbilical cord blood, this next stage in research has the potential to change the way cartilage defects are treated.

If cryopreserved, stored cells can be used; treatment would be very efficient, with no need to harvest stem cells from the patient. This means fewer visits, less waiting and faster treatment.

Listen to the following video where Dr. Koch discusses the future of this ground-breaking research, targeting a common issue (cartilage defects) across disciplines and even species (horse/human).

An injection of funding from Ontario Equestrian allowed for a preliminary study to find out if they were able to vitrify equine cartilage stem cells well from cadavers. “We are very excited to have received this support,” says Koch. “The preliminary study will allow for future funding sources from both equine specific and human medicine.”

The Ontario Veterinary College is currently working in collaboration with a world-renown cartilage vitrification specialist, Dr. Jomha Nadr, and his team at the University of Alberta, Edmonton to establish a robust vitrification protocol for eCB-MSC-derived neocartilage. The work will generate pivotal data to support the clinical evaluation of cryopreserved allogenic eCBMSC cartilage chips to repair focal cartilage defects in research horses. Fully implemented, this therapy would provide a safe, efficacious, and technically simple treatment for horses as well as provide an opportunity for a Canadian biotechnology business to bank and distribute vitrified cartilage tissue in unlimited quantities to the world market.

The future of regenerative therapies are exciting, and the potential applications are wide ranging, from treating cartilage defects to potentially delaying the onset of osteo-arthritic changes to treating bacterial infections and inflammation. “We believe this work has the long-term potential to benefit both horses and humans through the development of novel off-the-shelf cell-based therapies for damaged joint cartilage,” says Koch.

Virus Believed To Cause Equine Liver Disease Found To Be Innocuous

Theiler's disease, which has been recognized in horses for the last 100 years, has long been believed to cause transmissible hepatitis, though the pathogen that causes it has never been identified. New research shows that the virus originally blamed for causing liver disease doesn't appear to be the cause at all–and that the suspected virus is virtually harmless.

Researchers discovered two novel equine pegiviruses (EPgV); EPgV-1 was not associated with disease and the other was identified as the cause of an outbreak of serum hepatitis in horses. That specific EPgV was dubbed Theiler's disease-associated virus (TDAV).

Drs. Joy Tomlinson ,Raphael Wolfisberg, Ulrik Fahnøe, Himanshu Sharma, Randall Renshaw, Louise Nielsen, Eiko Nishiuchi, Christina Holm, Edward Dubovi, Brad Rosenberg, Bud Tennant, Jens Bukh,Amit Kapoor,Thomas Divers, Charles Rice, Gerlinde Van de Walle, Troels Scheel used more than 20 types of tissue from horses being screened for the viruses to learn more about EPgV-1.

They found high viral loads in bone marrow, serum and the spleen; some lymph nodes and blood cells were positive, but liver tissue was not. The researchers concluded that the equine pegiviruses cause infections in horses, but not hepatitis. Bone marrow was identified as the primary site of replication for both viruses.

The researchers also noted that a newly discovered parvovirus seems to be responsible for multiple equine Theiler's disease cases.