Ethical Animal Research Research Articles

Abstract 392: Impacto of Nifedipine on Polymorphonuclear Cells in Wounds

Introduction: Skin wounds are a problem and many occur due to vascular diseases. There is a need for drugs (low cost) that can heal wounds. We aimed to evaluate if the use of nifedipine in wounds is associated with recruitment of polymorphonuclear cells higher than placebo. Hypothesis: Nifedipine stimulates the recruitment of polymorphonuclear in wounds. Methods: We performed 32 wounds in pigs and locally applied placebo or nifedipine (1%, 10% or 20%). Wounds were evaluated macro and microscopically at 6 different moments. A logistic longitudinal model of mixed effects was applied. For this purpose, the response to moderate or marked polymorphonuclear cells was considered as a dependend variable, with the comparison groups (placebo, nifedipine 1%, 10% and 20%) as the explanatory variable. Based on the placebo group, the OR was estimated with its respective confidence interval for the nifedipine groups at the different doses. Value of p <0.05 was considered significant. This study was approved by the animal research ethics committee. Results: The table below shows the proportion of polymorphonuclear cells among the comparison groups over the 6 analyzed moments. Conclusions: Wounds treated with nifedipine had higher recruitment of polymorphonuclear, regardless of the concentration used. This drug has potential for recruitment of this type of cell and may have a beneficial effect on healing.

TRPV1 Mediates The Orofacial Antinociceptive Effect of Frutalin: In Vivo and In Silico Studies

Our previous studies have shown the orofacial antinociceptive effect of frutalin (FTL) and it was suggested that FTL effect on acute orofacial pain could be mediated by TRPA1 and TRPV1. Docking study indicated that FTL strongly interacts with TRPV1. This study was conducted to investigate the relationship between TRPV1/TRPA1 channels and the orofacial antinociceptive effect of FTL. Mice (n=6/group) were pretreated with vehicle (0.9 % NaCl; 10 mL/kg; i.p.), FTL (0.5 mg/kg; i.p.), ruthenium red (TRPV1 antagonist, 3 mg/kg, s.c.) or camphor (TRPA1 antagonist, 7.6 mg/kg, s.c.) 30 min before injection (20 μL) of capsaicin (TRPV1 agonist, 1.6 μg/lip) or cinnamaldehyde (TRPA1 agonist, 13.2 μg/lip). In order to verify the involvement of TRPV1 and TRPA1 channels, others groups of mice were pretreated with the respective antagonist 15 min before administration of FTL. Nociception was quantified as time (s) spent rubbing the site of injection 0–5 min after induction. The interaction between FTL and TRPA1 was analyzed using molecular docking. The HEX software was used for molecular docking calculations and the direct action of FTL on TRPA1 was viewed using PyMOL v1.4.7. Experimental protocols were approved by the UNIFOR Animal Research Ethics Committee (#0122014). Pretreatment with FTL was associated with a reduction in the intensity of face rubbing induced by capsaicin (***p<0.001) or cinnamaldehyde (****p<0.0001). Ruthenium red, but not camphor, abolished the antinociceptive effect of FTL. It was possible to observe a direct action of FTL amino acids (Asp149, Tyr146, Trp 147 and Gly25) on TRPA1 glycosylated amino acids (1.8–3.6 Å). However, out of 10 more energetic clusters, only 4 overlapped, suggesting that there are repulsions and chemical impediments that hinder the FTL fitting more than once in the same site of the channel. The energies observed in the 10 investigated clusters are high, but do not exceed those previously observed for TRPV1 channel. FTL antinociceptive effect was abolished by the TRPV1 antagonist, but not by the TRPA1 antagonist and FTL. Besides this, FTL strongly interacts with TRPV1 and it has a weak interaction with TRPA1. Since and TRPV1 and TRPA1 channels are co‐expressed and they interact in neurons, we suggest that FTL effect is mediated by TRPV1.Support or Funding InformationEdson Queiroz Foundation (FEQ), Cnpq and Capes.

Analgesia de animais de laboratório: responsabilidade dos comitês de ética e obrigação dos pesquisadores

Resumo Objetivando avaliar projetos submetidos ao Comitê de Ética no Uso de Animais em relação ao uso de analgesia em cirurgia experimental, este trabalho avaliou 106 projetos, coletando as seguintes informações: metodologia do procedimento cirúrgico, utilização de analgesia, justificativa do não uso de analgésico e aplicação do grau de invasividade. Dos projetos avaliados, 64,2% empregaram técnica cirúrgica. Destes, 65,6% não utilizaram analgesia no pós-operatório, sendo a principal justificativa a de que o analgésico poderia alterar os resultados; em 17%, empregou-se a classificação de grau de invasividade de forma irregular. Assim, o estímulo e a divulgação dos conhecimentos relacionados a analgesia devem partir tanto dos comitês responsáveis quanto do corpo de pesquisadores.

Nonhuman Primates, Human Need, and Ethical Constraints

"The Ethics of Infection Challenges in Primates," by Anne Barnhill, Steven Joffe, and Franklin Miller, is an exceptionally timely contribution to the literature on animal research ethics. Animal research has long been both a source of high hopes and a cause for moral concern. When it comes to infection challenge studies with nonhuman primates, neither the hope-to save thousands of human lives from such diseases as Ebola and Marburg-nor the concern-the conviction that primates deserve especially strong protections-could be much higher. Coming just a few years after the National Institutes of Health adopted the Institute of Medicine's recommendations regarding chimpanzees, Barnhill and colleagues attempt to nudge the clarification and specification-one might say the evolution-of NHP research ethics and regulation. They assert that NHP challenge studies "are not justified by marginal gains in human safety or by efficacy gains that are unlikely to translate directly into saving human lives or preventing morbidity." How, in turn, is their standard-which, although stringent, does permit causing NHPs to suffer and die for human benefit-to be justified?

Use of Caval Subtraction 2D Phase-Contrast MR Imaging to Measure Total Liver and Hepatic Arterial Blood Flow: Preclinical Validation and Initial Clinical Translation.

Purpose To validate caval subtraction two-dimensional (2D) phase-contrast magnetic resonance (MR) imaging measurements of total liver blood flow (TLBF) and hepatic arterial fraction in an animal model and evaluate consistency and reproducibility in humans. Materials and Methods Approval from the institutional ethical committee for animal care and research ethics was obtained. Fifteen Sprague-Dawley rats underwent 2D phase-contrast MR imaging of the portal vein (PV) and infrahepatic and suprahepatic inferior vena cava (IVC). TLBF and hepatic arterial flow were estimated by subtracting infrahepatic from suprahepatic IVC flow and PV flow from estimated TLBF, respectively. Direct PV transit-time ultrasonography (US) and fluorescent microsphere measurements of hepatic arterial fraction were the standards of reference. Thereafter, consistency of caval subtraction phase-contrast MR imaging-derived TLBF and hepatic arterial flow was assessed in 13 volunteers (mean age, 28.3 years ± 1.4) against directly measured phase-contrast MR imaging PV and proper hepatic arterial inflow; reproducibility was measured after 7 days. Bland-Altman analysis of agreement and coefficient of variation comparisons were undertaken. Results There was good agreement between PV flow measured with phase-contrast MR imaging and that measured with transit-time US (mean difference, -3.5 mL/min/100 g; 95% limits of agreement [LOA], ±61.3 mL/min/100 g). Hepatic arterial fraction obtained with caval subtraction agreed well with those with fluorescent microspheres (mean difference, 4.2%; 95% LOA, ±20.5%). Good consistency was demonstrated between TLBF in humans measured with caval subtraction and direct inflow phase-contrast MR imaging (mean difference, -1.3 mL/min/100 g; 95% LOA, ±23.1 mL/min/100 g). TLBF reproducibility at 7 days was similar between the two methods (95% LOA, ±31.6 mL/min/100 g vs ±29.6 mL/min/100 g). Conclusion Caval subtraction phase-contrast MR imaging is a simple and clinically viable method for measuring TLBF and hepatic arterial flow. Online supplemental material is available for this article.

Establishing the first institutional animal care and use committee in Egypt.

BackgroundAlthough animal research ethics committees (AREC) are well established in Western countries, this field is weakly developed and its concept is poorly understood in the Middle East and North Africa region.ObjectiveOur main objective was to introduce the concept and requirements of ethical approaches in dealing with experimental animal in research and teaching in Egypt.MethodsDue to its very recent inception, Cairo University, Faculty of Science IACUC decided to operate in accordance with Guide for the Care and Use of Laboratory Animals 8th Edition 2011 (the Guide) since Egypt has not yet compiled its own guide.ResultsFifty protocols were reviewed in 2013–2014. Only ten protocols were reviewed in 2013, but in 2014, forty protocols were reviewed. In 2013 all protocols were approved and in 2014, number of approvals were 35, the number of deferrals were 4, and one refused protocol. Master’s theses (MSc) research protocols constituted the majority of the total reviewed protocols. This is attributed to the decision of the Board of the Faculty of Science, Cairo University in September, 2013 that the approval of the IACUC is mandatory before conducting any research involving animals or theses registration.ConclusionThe first IACUC was established in the Cairo University, Faculty of Science, since 2012. The challenges encountered by the committee were diverse, such as the absence of laws that control the use of animal models in scientific research, lack of guidelines (protocols for experimental animals in research) and, mandatory ethical approval for any experimental animal research.

The ethics of animal research: a survey of the public and scientists in North America.

BackgroundTo determine whether the public and scientists consider common arguments (and counterarguments) in support (or not) of animal research (AR) convincing.MethodsAfter validation, the survey was sent to samples of public (Sampling Survey International (SSI; Canadian), Amazon Mechanical Turk (AMT; US), a Canadian city festival and children’s hospital), medical students (two second-year classes), and scientists (corresponding authors, and academic pediatricians). We presented questions about common arguments (with their counterarguments) to justify the moral permissibility (or not) of AR. Responses were compared using Chi-square with Bonferonni correction.ResultsThere were 1220 public [SSI, n = 586; AMT, n = 439; Festival, n = 195; Hospital n = 107], 194/331 (59 %) medical student, and 19/319 (6 %) scientist [too few to report] responses. Most public respondents were <45 years (65 %), had some College/University education (83 %), and had never done AR (92 %). Most public and medical student respondents considered ‘benefits arguments’ sufficient to justify AR; however, most acknowledged that counterarguments suggesting alternative research methods may be available, or that it is unclear why the same ‘benefits arguments’ do not apply to using humans in research, significantly weakened ‘benefits arguments’. Almost all were not convinced of the moral permissibility of AR by ‘characteristics of non-human-animals arguments’, including that non-human-animals are not sentient, or are property. Most were not convinced of the moral permissibility of AR by ‘human exceptionalism’ arguments, including that humans have more advanced mental abilities, are of a special ‘kind’, can enter social contracts, or face a ‘lifeboat situation’. Counterarguments explained much of this, including that not all humans have these more advanced abilities [‘argument from species overlap’], and that the notion of ‘kind’ is arbitrary [e.g., why are we not of the ‘kind’ ‘sentient-animal’ or ‘subject-of-a-life’?]. Medical students were more supportive (80 %) of AR at the end of the survey (p < 0.05).ConclusionsResponses suggest that support for AR may not be based on cogent philosophical rationales, and more open debate is warranted.Electronic supplementary materialThe online version of this article (doi:10.1186/s12910-016-0100-x) contains supplementary material, which is available to authorized users.

Clinical Research Abstracts of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2015.

Atrial fibrillation is a common equine arrhythmia. Quinidine alone, or with digoxin are common treatments. Studies on outcome in Warmblood populations in which duration of the AF is often unknown are limited. To identify the factors that are associated with the success of full treatment cardioversion with oral medication, and establish whether there are differences in these factors between institutions. Retrospective case series using patient records of Equine University Clinic of Utrecht University and Rossdales Equine Hospital, Newmarket. Forty-nine horses treated with quinidine were identified (29 Warmbloods, 20 Thorougbreds, 1 Anglo-Arabian). Details of signalment, history, duration physical examination and echocardiography including left atrial size and presence of mitral regurgitation were retrieved. Clinical details including mean weight, age and left atrial size were compared between clinics using independent samples t test. Association between variables and cardioconversion were evaluated in a backwards logistic regression using Akaike's information criterium (AIC) and odds ratios were calculated. Factors were sex, clinic, breed, mitral regurgitation, duration and poor performance. Covariates were age, weight and the size of the left atrium. Significance was set at 0.05. Fifty-one horses (mean age 8.8 s.d. 4.5 years) were treated with quinidine sulfate, 18 also received digoxin. Eighty per cent converted to sinus rhythm. In 8 horses the known duration was less than 3 months. The only factor associated with successful treatment was the use of digoxin in combination with quinidine sulfate (odds ratio 12.4; 95% CI 2.61 and 91.85 according to AIC analysis). In this retrospective case series, there is much potential for bias in the data; however, the use of digoxin in addition to quinidine was associated with improved conversion rates regardless of breed even though AF duration was unknown in most horses. Ethical animal research: Research ethics committee oversight not currently required by this conference: retrospective study of clinical records. Explicit owner informed consent for inclusion of animals in this study was not stated. None. Competing interests: None declared.

Clinical Research Abstracts of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2015.

Decreased efficacy of veterinary antimicrobials and increased prevalence of multi-drug resistance (MDR) is of concern, but little is known of antimicrobial resistance encompassing the New Zealand (NZ) equine population. Recent concerns have arisen over the emergence of multi-resistant bacteria [1], especially on NZ stud farms where antibiotics are frequently used for respiratory disease without veterinary input [2]. To describe bacterial culture and antimicrobial sensitivity results from respiratory samples submitted of young horses (4 weeks to 3 years old). Retrospective study of clinical pathology records. A database search for isolates and sensitivity of respiratory samples from young horses (April 2004-July 2014) was conducted. The results of in vitro sensitivity testing by Kirby-Bauer disk diffusion were tabulated for major bacterial species isolated. Multiple correspondence analysis was used to describe clustering of multi-drug resistance (MDR) and selected demographic variables. 237/289 eligible respiratory samples had at least one aerobic bacterial isolate. Most of the 774 bacterial isolates were Gram-positive (68%). Streptococcus species were the most common genus isolated (40% of isolates). Sensitivity of Streptococcus spp. to penicillin, gentamicin and ceftiofur was >85%, but only 53% to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxone. Gram-negative sensitivity to ceftiofur, tetracycline, and trimethoprim-sulfamethoxone was <75%. MDR was found for 16% of isolates and in 39% of horses. Penicillin is an appropriate first-line antimicrobial for use in most NZ young horses with suspected bacterial respiratory infection. However, based on findings of MDR, submission of samples for culture and monitoring of sensitivity should be used to inform antimicrobial selection. Ethical animal research: Not applicable. Sources of funding: Massey University McGeorge Fund; New Zealand Equine Research Foundation. Competing interests: None declared.

Clinical Research Abstracts of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2015.

Bronchopneumonia caused by Rhodococcus equi is an important disease of young horses throughout the world. Although early diagnosis and treatment improves the prognosis, this also increases the amount of antimicrobial usage and therefore increases the likelihood of resistance developing. The aim of this study was to determine the level of resistance to commonly prescribed antimicrobial agents of 97 virulent Rhodococcus equi isolates. Analysis of archived samples. Virulent Rhodococcus equi isolates were collected between 1991 and 2014 from clinically affected horses and from air samples collected in the breathing zone of foals. Antimicrobial susceptibility of these isolates was assessed using a disc diffusion assay with a panel of agents. The minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) was determined for rifampicin, erythromycin, tetracycline, and neomycin using a novel resazurin-based microtitre assay. Resistance to rifampicin was detected in 3 of the isolates (2 collected in 2013 and one in 2014) by both methods. The MIC for these isolates was 64 μg/ml (n = 2) and 16 μg/ml (n = 1). All isolates collected prior to 2013 had MICs<0.125 μg/ml, which was the limit of detection in this assay. Although no isolates were resistant to tetracycline, there was a general increase in MIC in isolates collected in recent years. No isolates were resistant to either neomycin or erythromycin, with MIC values ranging between 0.25 and 2 μg/ml for neomycin and 0.125-1 μg/ml for erythromycin. The success of the macrolide-rifampicin combination relies on the synergistic action of these 2 agents. Resistance to rifampicin will reduce the therapeutic efficacy of this treatment. It is of serious concern that the resistant isolates were all recently collected. Hopefully, recent research will lead to fewer asymptomatic foals receiving antimicrobials which will in turn reduce the likelihood of ongoing development of resistance. Ethical animal research: All organisms in this study were received by the laboratory from diagnostic accessions. Sources of funding: Funding for the study was provided by Rural Industries Research and Development Corporation and the University of Melbourne. G. Herbert was the recipient of a RN McCarthy scholarship from the Faculty of Veterinary Science. Competing interests: None declared.

Clinical Research Abstracts of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2015.

Training and rehabilitation techniques which improve core muscle strength are beneficial for improvement of dynamic stability of the equine vertebral column. The Equiband™ system, consisting of resistance bands attached to a customised saddle pad, is suggested to provide constant proprioceptive feedback during motion to encourage recruitment of abdominal and hindquarter musculature. To quantify the effect of the Equiband™ system on back kinematics and movement symmetry. Longitudinal intervention study. Quantitative analysis of back movement and gait symmetry before/after a 4-week exercise programme. Inertial sensor data was collected from 7 horses at Weeks 0 and 4 of a fixed exercise protocol. Analysis with and without the Equiband™ system was completed at trot in hand on a hard surface, and for both reins on the lunge on a soft surface. Six back kinematic and 3 movement symmetry parameters were calculated according to published methods. Movement symmetry values were side-corrected to allow comparison between reins on the lunge. A mixed model (P<0.05) evaluated the effects of the Equiband™ system over time, and trotting direction on back kinematic and movement symmetry parameters. The Equiband™ system significantly reduced (all P<0.02) roll, pitch and mediolateral displacement in the cranial-mid thoracic region. Across all horses, back displacement and range of motion values were significantly greater (P<0.01) on the lunge than in a straight line, movement symmetry was consistent with having corrected all horses to be left-sided. Preliminary results suggest the Equiband™ system may aid dynamic stabilisation of the vertebral column. Ethical animal research: This study was authorised by the Ethics and Welfare Committee of the Royal Veterinary College, London (URN Approval Number 1238). Written consent was obtained from the owner/keeper of each animal. Royal Veterinary College. Competing interests: N.C. Stubbs and N. Rombach developed the Equiband™ system. The remaining authors have no competing interests.

An Epidemiological Investigation of the Aid of Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Determining Long‐Term Prognosis for Soundness Following Palmar/Plantar Digital Neurectomy for Chronic Foot Pain

Reasons for performing studyAccurate diagnosis of chronic foot pain by magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) allows appropriate case selection for palmar/plantar digital neurectomy (PDN).ObjectivesTo report follow‐up for chronic foot pain treated by PDN, with and without MRI diagnosis.Study designRetrospective cohort study.MethodsThe electronic patient records of all animals that underwent PDN were reviewed. Follow‐up was obtained from owners using a structured postal/telephone questionnaire. Chi squared/Fisher's exact tests or 2‐sample t tests were used, with statistical significance set as P&lt;0.05.ResultsOne hundred and nine PDN cases were undertaken. Follow‐up response rate was 72.5%. From these 79 cases, 52 had MRI (MRI+) and 27 did not (MRI−). There was no significant difference in case distribution between the 2 groups: predominantly horses, Warmbloods, geldings, used for full competitions, except MRI+ were younger than MRI− (median 9.99 and 11.71 years respectively, P = 0.004). Median follow‐up time for MRI+ was 31.4 months, and for MRI− was 36.8 months. There was no significant difference in outcome. In total, 78.9% MRI+ achieved their intended use, compared with 73.1% MRI−. For those intended for exercise, 83.7% MRI+ reached a level of exercise, compared with 87.5% MRI−. Median length of exercise maintenance was 25.2 months for MRI+ and 24.0 months for MRI−. For MRI+ there was one suspected and one confirmed neuroma and 4 neuritis cases. Two MRI− animals developed neuritis. Complications requiring euthanasia occurred in 2 MRI− cases: complete rupture of the deep digital flexor tendon in a bilateral forelimb lameness and one previous chronic laminitic with solar prolapse.ConclusionsThese results are comparable with previous reports of 80% of MRI+ returning to previous athletic use for 20 months. Achievement of intended use, length of exercise maintenance and complication rate was similar with and without MRI diagnosis, although both catastrophic complications occurred in animals which did not undergo MRI.Ethical animal research: Ethical approval obtained: AHT47‐2013. Explicit owner informed consent for inclusion of animals in this study was not stated. Source of funding: C.E. Wylie is funded by The Margaret Giffen Charitable Trust. Competing interests: None declared.

Clinical Research Abstracts of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2015.

Triamcinolone is commonly used in equine practice for the treatment of orthopaedic conditions. A serious potential adverse effect of triamcinolone is laminitis. However, evidence for the risk of laminitis associated with triamcinolone use is limited. To determine the risk of laminitis within 90 days of triamcinolone administration and compare with the risk of laminitis in a veterinary-attended horse population. Retrospective study of clinical records. Text mining and data extraction was performed using content analysis software (SimStat-WordStat v.6) on a database of anonymous digital clinical records from a convenience sample of North American equine practices (n = 9). Medical records were retrieved using a dictionary of keywords for 3 groups of horses: 1) treated with triamcinolone, 2) age and practice matched control population (no triamcinolone) and 3) all laminitic horses. Records of horses within Groups 1 and 2 were mined for evidence of laminitis within a 90-day period of treatment or a random date respectively. Data manipulation and analysis was performed using R v3.0.0 (R Development Core Team). The prevalence of laminitis within all groups was determined and relative risk of developing laminitis determined by single logistic regression. The clinical records of 225,777 horses were examined. Overall prevalence of laminitis within the database was 1.1% (n = 2533). Triamcinolone was administered to 12.4% (n = 27,898) horses and 0.07% of treated horses (n = 20) developed laminitis. In the control population (n = 56,695), 0.2% of horses (n = 134) developed laminitis. The risk of developing laminitis was significantly lower in the triamcinolone treatment group than the control population (OR 0.3 95%CI, 0.18-0.48 P<0.001). Triamcinolone treatment does not increase the overall risk of a horse developing laminitis. However, further investigation of risk factors for laminitis in the 20 horses identified by this preliminary study is warranted to aid development of evidence-based treatment guidelines. Ethical animal research: This study was approved by the Ethics and Welfare Committee of the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Glasgow. Owners gave informed consent for their horses' inclusion in the study. Sources of funding: John Crawford Endowment Fund, University of Glasgow. Competing interests: None declared.

Clinical Research Abstracts of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2015.

Infiltrative disease of the intestine is an important cause of weight loss in the horse. Infiltration of inflammatory or neoplastic cells into the intestinal wall and intestinal fibrosis cause changes in the integrity of the intestinal wall. This may lead to altered intestinal permeability which can be measured using the contrast medium iohexol. To determine if iohexol intestinal permeability, as evaluated by serum iohexol concentration, could be used to differentiate between healthy horses and horses with infiltrative disease of the large colon. Prospective non-randomised controlled clinical trial. Six healthy adult horses and 4 horses with chronic infiltrative disease of the large colon were used in the study. Infiltrative disease was confirmed on post mortem in all cases, and included alimentary lymphoma and mycobacterial granulomatous enterocolitis. Following a 16-h fast, each horse was dosed with 1.0 ml/kg bwt of iohexol as a 10% solution via nasogastric intubation. Blood samples were collected at 0, 30, 60, 120, 180, 240, 300, 360, 420 and 480 min after dosing. Iohexol concentration was determined using HPLC-UV and the differences between the groups were analysed with a repeated measures ANOVA. There was a statistically significant difference in iohexol serum concentration between the diseased and nondiseased horses (P = 0.001). The overall difference in the mean iohexol concentration between the 2 groups was 6.07 (95% CI 3.19-8.96) μg/ml, however there appeared to be a trend towards increasing difference at later time points (240, 300, 360 min). The iohexol permeability test has potential as a diagnostic tool for estimation of intestinal permeability in horses with infiltrative intestinal disease. Further studies are warranted to determine whether the test can be used to determine the site of intestinal pathology, predict the prognosis and potentially evaluate the response to treatment. The authors thank Professor Riitta-Mari Tulamo and Professor Thomas Spillmann and the staff of Equine College Ypäjä and the University of Helsinki Equine Teaching Hospital. The cooperation of horse owners is gratefully acknowledged. Ethical animal research: The study protocol was approved by the National Animal Experiment Board of Finland (Eläinkoelautakunta ELLA, Request for Animal Experiments, ref. no. ESAVI-2010-06567/Ym-23). For client-owned animals, owner informed consent was obtained. This study was funded by the Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, University of Helsinki, Finland. Competing interests: None declared.

Clinical Research Abstracts of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2015.

Colic is a common reason for owners to seek veterinary treatment for their working equids in Morocco. There is no information available regarding cultural, religious or educational barriers to obtaining treatment or about the typical workload of these animals which may predispose them to colic. To characterise the typical workload and feeding regimens of working equids in Morocco; to characterise the ability of owners to recognise the clinical signs and causes of colic; and to identify specific barriers to the veterinary treatment of colic. Questionnaire-based survey. A standardised, structured questionnaire was administered, with the assistance of an Arabic speaking interpreter, to the owners of working equids presenting their animals to 2 centres run by SPANA (The Society for the Protection of Animals Abroad). Participation was voluntary and informed consent was obtained prior to the interview. All of the 102 participants that completed questionnaire were male. Ninety-eight owners used their animals for pulling carts, with 12% of animals working 7 days per week. 14% of animals were offered water by their owner once per day and 2% every other day. 25% of animals were loose and allowed free to feed unsupervised when not working. 29% of owners were not able to name any cause of colic and 25% did not recognise any clinical signs; only 12% associated colic with gastrointestinal pain. 83% of owners would not seek veterinary treatment due to financial constraints if free treatment at SPANA centres were not available. Colic remains a common problem amongst working equids in Morocco. Improved knowledge of management factors associated with colic and how to recognise abdominal pain may reduce the incidence of colic and improve prognosis. The findings presented can be used to inform and develop owner education programmes. Ethical animal research: The study was reviewed and approved by the Ethics Committee, School of Veterinary Medicine and Science, University of Nottingham. Informed consent for participation in the study was obtained from all owners and was delivered in the native language. No details identifying the owner were recorded. None. Competing interests: None declared.

Thoracolumbar Movement in Sound Horses Trotting in Hand and on the Lunge

Reasons for performing studyLameness negatively affects the welfare of horses; it often coexists with thoracolumbar pain. The mechanisms linking the two are not well understood.ObjectivesTo document thoracolumbar movement in subjectively sound horses comparing straight lines with circles on left and right reins; to relate these observations to the objectively determined symmetry/asymmetry of hindlimb gait.Study designCross‐sectional study.MethodsFourteen non‐lame horses were trotted in straight lines and lunged on a 10 m diameter circle on left and right reins and inertial sensor data collected at landmarks: withers, 13th (T13) and 18th thoracic vertebrae, 3rd lumbar vertebra, tubera sacrale, left and right tubera coxae. Data were processed using published methods [1]; pitch and roll, dorsoventral and lateral motion and symmetry within each stride were assessed.ResultsDorsoventral motion during one stride had a sinusoidal pattern with 2 oscillations. The greatest amplitude and symmetry (119 ± 4 mm, 96 ± 1% in straight lines vs. 127 ± 5 mm, 94 ± 1% in circles) occurred at T13. Circles induced greater rotation around the transverse axis (&gt;1.3°, P = 0.002) and movement in a lateral direction (&gt;16 mm P = 0.002), greater dorsoventral amplitude and asymmetry; however, the latter differences were nonsignificant. There were no significant differences between reins. The difference in the left and right hindlimb stance phases and the 2 oscillations of the thoracolumbar were significantly associated. Greater circle‐induced upward movement of a tuber coxae during the contralateral hindlimb stance was associated with greater circle‐induced asymmetry of the 2 oscillations of the thoracolumbar (P = 0.04).ConclusionsMoving on a circle induces measurable changes in thoracolumbar movement compared with moving in straight lines, associated with alterations in the hindlimb gait.Ethical animal research: The study was approved by the Ethical Review Committee of the Animal Health Trust. Owners gave informed consent for their horses' inclusion in the study. Source of funding: RVC PhD funding of Line Greve. Competing interests: None declared.

Clinical Research Abstracts of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2015.

Infrared imaging is becoming popular as an aid to traditional diagnostic tools, its repeatability under practically relevant conditions is still discussed. We hypothesise that time of day, ambient temperature and relative humidity affect thermography readings, and that there is no difference between values from left and right side. Repeated thermography in a convenience sample. Fifteen sound horses were thermographically imaged at 3 time points in the same day (08.00, 12.00 and 16.00 h). Images were taken of the following regions: neck, carpus, distolateral thoracic limbs (cranial and tendon areas), thoracolumbar, pelvis, hock and pelvic limb tendons. Relative humidity and ambient temperature were recorded for each session. There was a significant difference between the temperature readings during the 3 imaging sessions in all areas (Friedman and Kruskal-Wallis; all P<0.014). Ambient temperature and relative humidity correlated with thermography readings in the caudal imaging areas (P<0.008 [temperature], P<0.032 [humidity]) of the horses, with an exception of one hock reading, but not in all cranial areas (P<0.365 [temperature], P<0.992 [humidity]) (Spearman's Rho). All but 2 regions (minimum values in the carpus and thoracic tendon areas in the morning session, (P = 0.033, 0.034) did not show significant difference between left and right sides at the same time of day (all P>0.057). Time of day, ambient temperature and relative humidity must be considered when using infrared imaging. Variations between the left and right sides of the horse can occur and should be considered during the analysis of pathological asymmetry. Ethical animal research: Ethical approval was granted from the Royal Veterinary College Ethics and Welfare committee as part of the first and second author's final year research project. Funding was provided by the Royal Veterinary College as part of the first and second authors' final year research project. Competing interests: None declared.

Evaluation of Dexamethasone for the Prevention of Post Operative Ileus

Reasons for performing studyInflammation is key in the development of post operative ileus in rodents, with a similar pathogenesis likely occurring in other species. Dexamethasone reduces inflammation and therefore could help reduce post operative ileus in the horse.ObjectivesTo determine if dexamethasone reduces post operative ileus in horses with small intestinal disease, and assess the effect on incisional health and short‐term survival.Study designRetrospective case series.MethodsFifteen horses that underwent small intestinal resection and anastomosis were given 0.1 mg/kg bwt dexamethasone intravenously during surgery (DEX). Data from a comparable number of horses that did not receive dexamethasone (NoDEX) was collected retrospectively and sequentially. Horses were matched for the type of resection performed. Fisher's Exact and Student's t tests were used for data analysis.ResultsThere was no significant difference in the amount of nasogastric reflux (litres) (DEX 8.06 ± 17.12, NoDEX 10.02 ± 24.03, P = 0.39) produced or in the number of horses that produced nasogastric reflux post operatively. There was no difference in survival to discharge. The severity of incisional discharge/infection was significantly different between groups when scored 0–3 (0 being no discharge and 3 being severe discharge/infection), (P = 0.01), in favour of DEX (2/15 horses affected) vs. NoDEX (7/15).ConclusionsDexamethasone did not appear to have a beneficial effect on the incidence of post‐operative ileus. Administration of a single dose of dexamethasone does not appear to have a detrimental effect on short‐term survival or on incisional complications.Ethical animal research: Research ethics committee oversight not currently required by this conference: procedures were performed as part of clinical investigations. Explicit owner informed consent for participation in this study was not stated. Source of funding: None. Competing interests: None declared.

Clinical Research Abstracts of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2015.

New therapeutic strategies to modulate immune responses in human and equine allergic airway diseases are under extensive investigation. Stimulation of Treg cells with immune modulating agents is a novel therapeutic option. The aim of this field study was to compare the effects of a nebulised nanoparticulate CpG immunotherapy (CpG-GNP) with and without specific allergens. Longitudinal clinical study comparing 2 therapeutic options. Twenty RAO-affected horses were divided into 2 treatment groups (CpG alone and CpG with allergens). Two specific allergens were selected for each horse according to anamnesis and a functional in vitro test. Treatments were given by nebulisation 7 times and the horses were examined 3 times: baseline (I), after the treatment course (II), and after 6 weeks later (III). Clinical parameters, indirect intrapleural measurement, arterial blood gas, amount of tracheal mucus and neutrophil percentage were evaluated. CpG alone resulted in a significant improvement in clinical parameters and a significant reduction of tracheal mucus after treatment and at 6 weeks post treatment. After CpG plus specific allergens, there was significant improvement of 70% of examined parameters. However, there were no significant differences in the results compared with CpG-GNP treatment alone. There were no significant differences between treatment groups. CpG-GNP immunotherapy alone produced a potent and persistent effect on allergic and inflammatory parameters and may have potential as for treatment of equine and human allergic inflammatory airway diseases. Ethical animal research: The study was approved by the regional legal agency for animal experiments of the Government of Bavaria, Germany (No. 55.2-1-54-2531-31-10). Owners gave informed consent for their horses' inclusion in the study. Sources of funding: Partly supported by the Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft (DFG) (Germany) (GE'2044/4-1). The AeroNeb Go™ vibrating mesh nebuliser (Aerogen, Galway, Ireland) was sponsored by Inspiration Medical (Bochum, Germany). Competing interests: None declared.

Clinical Research Abstracts of the British Equine Veterinary Association Congress 2015.

Hypoglycin A (HG) appears to cause atypical myopathy (AM), but to our knowledge, detection of HG in affected and unaffected horses and concurrently in plants that they were exposed to has not previously been reported. To investigate HG in samples from horses exposed to Acer pseudoplatanus (European sycamore maple) and in such plant material, at the time of clinical cases of AM in the herd. Cross-sectional study. Blood was collected from 2 horses with AM and 22 clinically healthy co-grazing horses in 2 Swedish farms within one week of onset of signs (May 2014) and one month later, after horses were moved to other pastures. Ten healthy control horses from unaffected farms were sampled once. Samaras, seedlings, flowers and leaves from Acer pseudoplatanus and from Acer platanoides L (Norway maple) were collected from affected pastures. Hypoglycin A was analysed using chemical derivatisation with dansyl chloride (DNS) and ultra high performance liquid chromatography-tandem mass spectrometry. Hypoglycin A was detected as derivatised compound HG-DNS [M+H]+ with selected reaction monitoring. Hypoglycin A was detected in the horses affected with AM, and also in 20 out of 22 co-grazing horses. One month later, a surviving case horse and 9/20 co-grazing horses were still positive for HG. Controls from other farms were negative for HG. Hypoglycin A was detected in plant material from Acer pseudoplatanus, but not from Acer platanoides L. Horses grazing in pastures with HG-containing Acer pseudoplatanus were positive for HG in blood, and some showed severe signs of myopathy. Ethical animal research: Ethical consent for blood sampling was granted (C113/11) and horse owners gave their informed consent to inclusion of horses in the study. National Veterinary Institute, Sweden. Competing interests: None declared.