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2006 Kester News Hour Research Highlights
Check out the latest highlights in veterinary research from the December 2006 Kester News Hour at the American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention.
By the Editors of EQUUS magazine
For the past 10 years, the Kester News Hour has been a crowd-pleasing presentation at the annual American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP). At the 2006 convention, held in San Antonio, Texas, from December 2 to 6, Kester presenters Larry Bramlage, DVM, and John Madigan, DVM, summarized some of the most interesting scientific and veterinary research of the year during a special two-hour session.
The research papers discussed were pulled from a variety of sources not included in the official convention proceedings. Here are some of the highlights from the 2006 Kester News Hour:
Research from the University of Missouri suggests the risks associated with stacking flunixin meglumine and phenylbutazone probably outweigh any benefits for routine treatment. Researchers studied 13 horses given both bute and banamine, and then bute alone. Blood samples collected at the beginning and conclusion of the study revealed a significant drop in protein levels among horses given bute and banamine together. One horse from the study group died from what the researchers suspect was NSAID toxicity.
Reference: "Effects of phenylbutazone alone or in combination with flunixin meglumine on blood protein concentrations in horses," American Journal of Veterinary Research, vol 67, no 3.
An Oklahoma State University force-plate study showed no significant increase in analgesic effect when bute and banamine were administered together to treat horses with navicular pain. The researchers concluded that there is little advantage to administering the two drugs together and doing so may lead to an increased risk of toxicosis.
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Reference: "Evaluation of Phenylbutazone and Flunixin Meglumine in Combination in Horses with Navicular Syndrome Using Force Plate Analysis," American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2006.
University of Saskatchewan researchers reported that ethyl alcohol may help hock joints fuse with minimal pain. The researchers injected ethyl alcohol into the hock joints of eight healthy horses, then monitored the joints through lameness exams and postmortem exams. The horses showed no signs of pain during the fusion process and radiography revealed that eight of 16 joints were fused within four months of treatment. All but one joint had fused after 12 months. This treatment would only apply to low motion joints, such as the hock.
Reference: "Use of intra-articular administration of ethyl alcohol for arthrodesis of the tarsometatarsal joint in healthy horses," American Journal of Veterinary Research, May 2006, vol 67, no 5.
A Texas A&M study showed that abnormal radiographic findings in yearlings are not correlated with poor performance later in life. Researchers reviewed the radiographs from 348 sale yearlings and recorded any abnormal radiographic findings attributed to developmental orthopedic disorders. When performance records from the end of each horse's second and third year were reviewed, no association was found between abnormal radiograph findings and performance deficits. However the researchers did find a connection between radiographic findings and reduced sales prices. They, caution however, that the low number of individual lesions of any one type may account for the lack of statistical associations..
Reference: "Association of Racing Performance with Specific Abnormal Radiographic Findings in Thoroughbred Yearlings Sold in Texas", Journal of Equine Veterinary Science, vol 26, no 10.
University of Utrecht researchers found that the use of microcurrent electrical tissue (MET) stimulation on cells cultured from the equine superficial digital flexor tendon initially resulted in cell proliferation, but multiple applications led to accelerated cell death. The researchers conclude that scientific findings are far from conclusive with respect to the use of METS to promote tendon healing in horses.
Reference: "Effect of microcurrent electrical tissue stimulation on equine tenocytes in culture", American Journal of Veterinary Research, vol 67, no 2.
In a University of Guelph study, methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureas (MRSA) was found in 120 of 2,283 horses admitted to the Ontario Veterinary College Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Sixty-one of the horses were colonized with the bacteria at admission; 53 horses during the hospital stay; and in six horses the origins of colonization were unknown. The researchers found clinical infections attributable to MRSA were present or developed in 14 of 120 horses, and the horses colonized at admission were more likely to develop clinical infection.
Reference: "Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus Aureus in Horses at a Veterinary Teaching Hospital: Frequency, Characterization and Association with Clinical Disease," Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine, 2006, vol 20, no 1.
In 2005, University of Guelph researchers screened 417 attendees at an international veterinary conference held in Baltimore, Md., for MRSA. Researchers isolated the bacteria from the nostrils of 27 people (6.5 percent of those tested). Of those screened, large animal practitioners were more likely to carry MRSA (15 people of 96 swabbed) compared to small animal personnel (12 people out of 271 swabbed). The researchers conclude that MRSA colonization may be an occupational hazard for veterinary professionals.
Reference: "Methicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus colonization in veterinary personnel," Emerging Infectious Diseases, December 2006, vol 12, no 12.
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