Francesco Ferrucci

Echocardiographic measurements of cardiac dimensions in normal Standardbred racehorses

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to obtain echocardiographic measurements and establish reference ranges for 14 parameters in Standardbred racehorses in training. BACKGROUND Several studies have been published about cardiac measurements in Thoroughbreds, Standardbreds, National Hunt horses, Warmbloods and ponies; however, not all parameters have been published for the Standardbred trotter in training. ANIMALS, MATERIALS AND METHODS Thirty normal Standardbred racehorses in training were assessed by two-dimensional echocardiography (2-D) and M-mode echocardiography using standardized imaging planes. Mean values, standard deviations, 95% confidence interval for the means and 95% confidence interval for the cardiac parameters measured in the population were calculated. Furthermore, a general linear model was constructed using sex, age and body weight (bwt) of the horses as independent variables and the echocardiographic measurements as dependent variables. Multivariate linear regression analysis was performed with the level of significance at p<0.05 for all the null hypotheses. RESULTS Reference ranges were established for 14 echocardiographic parameters in Standardbred racehorses. Weak linear relationships between echocardiographic measurements and body weight were observed for LVIDd, LVIDs, LVFWs, and AOD. Linear regressions on these parameters were used to calculate the 95% confidence intervals for the predicted values. CONCLUSIONS The data collected in this study provide reference values for the evaluation of Standardbred racehorses in training. Body weight has a negligible affect on most echocardiographic parameters in this homogeneous population, but did mildly influence the results of left ventricular and aortic measurements.

Treatment of gastric ulceration in 10 standardbred racehorses with a pectin-lecithin complex

The severity of the erosive and ulcerative lesions of the squamous gastric mucosa in 10 standardbred racehorses in training was classified according to a standard scoring system. Each horse was then treated orally for 30 days with 50g/l OOkg bodyweight daily of a pectin-lecithin complex mixed into the feed. At the end of the period of treatment, the gastric lesions were re-evaluated gastroscopically and the scores were compared with those assigned at the previous evaluation. In three of the horses the gastric ulcerations had healed completely, and in six others the lesions had improved significantly.

Gastroscopic findings in 63 standardbred racehorses in training

In contrast with what was believed in the past, the increased use of equine gastroscopes of adequate length (3 metres) shows that gastric ulceration may not only be one of the main causes of poor performance in sport horses (Vatistas et al., 1999) but is also characterized by a high incidence (more than 90%), as reported by Murray and colleagues (1996) in a study conducted in Thoroughbred racehorses in training. Strenuous exercise and management of racehorses are currently considered as important predisposing factors for the occurrence of gastric lesions. In fact, gastric ulcers are less frequently observed in free-grazing horses or in pleasure horses than in high performance horses which are fed low fibre and high concentrates a few times a day (Orsini and Pipers, 1997). Most epidemiologic reports involve studies on Thoroughbred racehorses (Vatistas et al., 1994; Murray et al., 1996), while few data are available for Standardbred racehorses. The aim of the present study is to report the results of gastroscopic examination in 63 Standardbred horses in intensive training.

Arterial blood gas analysis in 53 racehorses with a diagnosis of Small Airway Inflammatory Disease (SAID)

Abstract In 53 racehorses with a mean age of 4.5 years old presented for poor performance, Small Airway Inflammatory Disease (SAID) was diagnosed by bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL). Thirty of these horses (58.5%) had arterial pCO2 above normal range (> 46 mmHg), while pO2 was within normal range (> 80 mmHg) in both hypercapnic (group A) and normocapnic (group B) horses although pO2 was significantly lower in group A horses. The horses were subsequently subdivided into two groups according to the duration of symptoms (group 1: less than 4 weeks; group 2: longer than 4 weeks). Horses from group 2 had significantly higher values of pCO2 (p

Specificity and sensitivity of ultrasonography and endoscopy for the diagnosis of exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) in 157 race horses

Specificity and sensitivity of ultrasonography and endoscopy for the diagnosis of exercise-induced pulmonary haemorrhage (EIPH) in 157 race horses F. Ferrucci & G. Stancari & E. Zucca & S. Ayalon & C. Falcone & E. Ferro Published online: 4 July 2009 # Springer Science + Business Media B.V. 2009

The Use of Electrocardiographic Recording with Holter Monitoring During Treadmill Exercise to Evaluate Cardiac Arrhythmias in Racehorses

In equine medicine, particular attention is devoted to sports medicine and to the study of diseases affecting performance. In this regard the use of diagnostic tools, aimed at identifying any slightly abnormal condition, even those which may only appear during strenuous exercise, is desirable. Cardiac arrhythmias play an important role among cardio-vascular causes of poor performance, although this is still not completely understood. In athletic horses, bradyarrhythmias, such as sinoatrial block, second-degree atrioventricular block, wandering pacemaker and sinus bradycardia are frequently observed, although their clinical significance is usually negligible. On the other hand, other atrial rhythm disturbances (atrial fibrillation, atrial escape complexes, atrial tachycardia) and ventricular rhythm disturbances (ventricular escape complexes, ventricular tachycardia) may significantly affect athletic performance (Reef and Marr, 1993; Mitten, 1996). Moreover, the absence of rhythm disturbances at rest does not rule out their occurrence during maximal exercise and, conversely, the presence of cardiac arrhythmias at rest may not be related to poor performance. Therefore, it is essential to detect the occurrence and frequency of any rhythm disturbance during strenuous exercise. Holter monitoring, which is widely used in human medicine, has been recently proposed for equine patients (Baha, 1991; Raekallio, 1992; Reef and Marr, 1993; Scheffer et al., 1995; Bussadori et al., 1997). Holter monitoring of myocardial electrical activity allows recording of an ECG trace for a long period of time (up to 24 hours), both at rest and during the normal daily activity of the patient, thus improving the chances of detecting episodic and/or intermittent arrhythmias. ECGmonitoring during exercise is usually performed using radiotelemetry; nevertheless, due to the peculiar characteristics of the instrument, such as its small size, ease of use and relatively low cost, Holter monitoring may be

Bacterial pneumonia and pleuropneumonia in sport horses: 17 cases (2001–2003)

Summary Seventeen racehorses were referred with a history of poor performance, recurrent fever, coughing and/or nasal discharge. All patients underwent a thorough diagnostic procedure, including physical examination, complete blood count, plasma fibrinogen estimation, arterial blood gas analysis, thoracic radiology and ultrasonography, endoscopy, tracheal aspiration with cytological and cultural evaluation, including sensitivity test. According to these procedures, bacterial pneumonia was diagnosed in 14 horses and bacterial pleuropneumonia in 3 horses. Streptococcus spp. were isolated in 11 cases (61.2%), Rhodococcus equi in 3 cases (16.6%), Klebsiella pneumoniae in 3 cases (16.6%) and Pseudomonas aeruginosa in one case (5.6%).

Laryngeal movements during the respiratory cycle measured with an endoscopic imaging technique in the conscious horse at rest.

A video‐laryngoscopic method, implemented with an algorithm for the correction of the deformation inherent in the endoscope optical system, has been used to measure the dorsoventral diameter (Drg) and the cross‐sectional area (CSArg) of the rima glottidis in five healthy workhorses during conscious breathing at rest. Simultaneous recording of the respiratory airflow was also obtained in two horses. Drg measured 82·7 ± 4·5 mm (mean ±s.d.) independently of the respiratory phase, and did not differ from the measurement in post‐mortem anatomical specimens of the same horses. CSArg ranged from 1130 ± 117 mm2 (mean ±s.d.) during the inspiratory phase to 640 ± 242 mm2 during the expiratory phase, being always narrower than tracheal cross‐sectional area, which was 1616 ± 224 mm2, as determined from anatomical specimens. Both inspiratory and expiratory airflow waves displayed a biphasic pattern. Maximal laryngeal opening occurred in phase with the second inspiratory peak, while during expiration CSArg attained a minimum value during the first expiratory peak which was significantly smaller (P < 0·01) than the area subsequently maintained during the rest of the expiratiory phase. These quantitative measurements of equine laryngeal movements substantiate the important role played by the larynx in regulating upper airway respiratory resistance and the expiratory airflow pattern at rest.

The ghrelin paradox in the control of equine chondrocyte function: The good and the bad

HighlightsGhrelin exerts a dual action on chondrocyte viability.Low ghrelin concentration reduced chondrocyte viability.10 −7 mol/L ghrelin protects against LPS‐induced cytotoxicity.The protective effect of ghrelin involves GHS‐R1a. &NA; Increasing evidence suggests a role for ghrelin in the control of articular inflammatory diseases like osteoarthritis (OA). In the present study we examined the ability of ghrelin to counteract LPS‐induced necrosis and apoptosis of chondrocytes and the involvement of GH secretagogue receptor (GHS‐R)1a in the protective action of ghrelin. The effects of ghrelin (10−7–10−11 mol/L) on equine primary cultured chondrocytes viability and necrosis in basal conditions and under LPS treatment (100 ng/ml) were detected by using both acridine orange/propidium iodide staining and annexin‐5/propidium iodide staining. The presence of GHS‐R1a on chondrocytes was detected by Western Blot. The involvement of the GHS‐R1a in the ghrelin effect against LPS‐induced cytotoxicity was examined by pretreating chondrocytes with D‐Lys3‐GHRP‐6, a specific GHS‐R1a antagonist, and by using des‐acyl ghrelin (DAG, 10−7 and 10−9 mol/L) which did not recognize the GHS‐R 1a. Low ghrelin concentrations reduced chondrocyte viability whereas 10−7 mol/L ghrelin protects against LPS‐induced cellular damage. The protective effect of ghrelin depends on the interaction with the GHS‐R1a since it is significantly reduced by D‐Lys3‐GHRP‐6. The negative action of ghrelin involves caspase activation and could be due to an interaction with a GHS‐R type different from the GHS‐R1a recognized by both low ghrelin concentrations and DAG. DAG, in fact, induces a dose‐dependent decrease in chondrocyte viability and exacerbates LPS‐induced damage. These data indicate that ghrelin protects chondrocytes against LPS‐induced damage via interaction with GHS‐R1a and suggest the potential utility of local GHS‐R1a agonist administration to treat articular inflammatory diseases such as OA.

Performance profiling of Standardbred racehorses by means of Treadmill Exercise Testing

Treadmill exercise testing can be performed on a horse to evaluate the level of fitness with the aim of predicting performance (Franklin and Allen, 2014). The speed at 2 mmol/L of blood lactate (VLA2), the speed at 4 mmol/L (VLA4) and the speed at 200 bpm of heart rate (V200) are indices that have been related to performance (Corouce et al., 2002). Aim of the present work is to analyze these parameters in a population of high performance Standarbred racehorses. Six healthy and at the same level of training Standardbred racehorses (average age 3,3±2,0 y.o.) underwent an incremental exercise test (Zucca et al., 2003) on a high speed treadmill (Sӓto I, SATO, Sweden). During the test heart rate (HR) was monitored with a heart rate meter (Polar horsetrainer, Polar, Finland). Venous blood was collected with the aid of a 14G teflon venous catheter placed in the jugular vein. Plasma lactate was measured with enzymatic colorimetric method lactate dry-fast kit for automatic system (Cobas Mira Classic, Roche, Switzerland). Data were analyzed with a dedicated software (Lactate Express, Mesics, Germany) and VLA2, VLA4 and V200 were calculated and statistically compared by T-student test for paired sample (Prism, GraphPad, USA). Statistical significance was set at p<0,05. Average VLA2 was 8.3±0.5 m/s, average VLA4 was 9.2±0.4 m/s, average V200 was 8.1±0.9. There was a significant difference between VLA4 and V200 (Fig. 1). No difference was observed between VLA2 and V200 V200 is often reported to be close to VLA4, and considered as correspondent to the onset of blood lactate accumulation (Corouce et al, 2002). According to our results, it may be argued that V200 is a measure that does not fit with the lactate threshold. These data could be used as control for further studies on racehorses with poor performance syndrome.