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Study database

Case-control study.

Compares affected and unaffected individuals retrospectively. Useful for rare events, sensitive to recall error.

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HOHorse

Clinical implications of using adrenocorticotropic hormone diagnostic cutoffs or reference intervals to diagnose pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction in mature horses

2021 · Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine

In 106 horses tested monthly, a diagnostic threshold raised detection of affected animals from 0.61 to 0.87, whereas a reference interval raised the share of correctly classified healthy animals from 0.85 to 0.98: the choice of limit is a clinical decision about which error weighs more.

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HOHorse

Repeatability of a thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test for diagnosis of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction in mature horses

2021 · Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine

In twenty horses tested twice two weeks apart, the stimulation test was very well repeatable in winter, whereas in autumn the values were lower at the second appointment, the scatter within one horse was greater, and twice as many misclassifications occurred.

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HOHorse

Characteristics of complete tibial fractures in California racehorses

2021 · Equine Veterinary Journal

Among 115 post-mortem findings, complete tibial fractures were predominantly associated with a stress fracture arising early in the career; 68 per cent happened in training, 73 per cent in two- and three-year-old horses, and the affected animals had fewer starts and fewer training kilometres than the comparison horses.

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HOHorse

Hypoglycin A Content in Blood and Urine Discriminates Horses with Atypical Myopathy from Clinically Normal Horses Grazing on the Same Pasture

2015 · PLoS One

In 16 horses that fell ill during an outbreak, hypoglycin A and its breakdown product in blood and urine were far above the values of unexposed horses, while the clinically healthy grazing companions from the same pastures lay in between at around 109 micrograms per litre: the burden is a gradient, not a switch.

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HOHorse

Large-scale study of blood markers in equine atypical myopathy reveals subclinical poisoning and advances in diagnostic and prognostic criteria

2024 · Environmental Toxicology and Pharmacology

In the largest analysis so far, with 263 horses, the acylcarnitine pattern separated ill horses from comparison horses and from colic horses, while the apparently healthy grazing companions lay in between: a subclinical form is thereby documented, and a single acylcarnitine served at the same time as an indication of survival.

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HOHorse

Hypoglycin A concentrations in seeds of Acer pseudoplatanus trees growing on atypical myopathy-affected and control pastures

2014 · Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine

On six Swiss holdings with cases of disease and two comparison holdings, every sycamore seed sample contained hypoglycin A, with an enormous spread and a mean content that was higher on the holdings without cases; a statistical comparison of the means is not reported.

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HOHorse

Hypoglycin A Concentrations in Maple Tree Species in the Netherlands and the Occurrence of Atypical Myopathy in Horses

2016 · Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine

In 278 samples hypoglycin A was not detectable in Norway maple or field maple, but was present in almost all sycamore samples; seeds from pastures with a case carried a higher load on average, yet the spread rules out any prediction for an individual horse, according to the authors.

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HOHorse

European outbreaks of atypical myopathy in grazing horses (2006-2009): determination of indicators for risk and prognostic factors

2012 · Equine Veterinary Journal

Of 600 cases reported across Europe, 354 were classified as atypical myopathy, and 26 per cent survived; the pasture features and clinical signs named are associations from a reporting network, collected before hypoglycin A was recognised as the cause in Europe.

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HOHorse

New Pathophysiological Insights from Serum Proteome Profiling in Equine Atypical Myopathy

2024 · ACS Omega

The blood protein pattern of 26 affected horses differed from that of exposed but healthy grazing companions and pointed to inflammation, oxidative stress and a fat metabolism compensated by increased sugar burning; measurement took place only after the disease had broken out.

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HOHorse

Seasonal pasture myopathy/atypical myopathy in North America associated with ingestion of hypoglycin A within seeds of the box elder tree

2013 · Equine Veterinary Journal

The North American seasonal pasture myopathy is linked to hypoglycin A from box elder seeds, yet seeds also lay on 61 per cent of the comparison pastures without cases: what separated the groups was longer grazing times, closely grazed pastures and less supplementary feeding.

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HUHuman

Carbon-14 bomb pulse dating shows that tendinopathy is preceded by years of abnormally high collagen turnover

2018 · FASEB Journal

In 25 tendinopathic versus 10 healthy Achilles tendons, a substantial share of the collagen had been renewed in adulthood; the modelling points to years of raised turnover before symptom onset.

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HOHorse

Predictor variables for and complications associated with Streptococcus equi subsp equi infection in horses

2015 · Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

In 108 strangles cases set against 215 febrile comparison horses, 12 of the 25 horses classed as carriers, that is animals infected for longer than forty days, showed no clinical signs whatever; the definition of carriage rests here on the duration recorded in the case file, not on an endoscopically confirmed guttural pouch finding.

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HOHorse

Risk factors for equine laminitis: a case-control study conducted in veterinary-registered horses and ponies in Great Britain between 2009 and 2011.

2013 · The Veterinary Journal

With 191 cases and 819 comparison horses, the summer and winter months were linked to raised risk relative to spring, as were recent weight gain, new access to grazing, box rest, previous laminitis, sensitivity after shoeing or trimming and a known hormonal disease.

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HOHorse

Pathology of Natural Cases of Equine Endocrinopathic Laminitis Associated With Hyperinsulinemia.

2015 · Veterinary Pathology

In 14 laminitic horses with raised insulin and 25 comparison animals, the severity of the tissue changes bore no relation to the reported duration of illness and must at least in part have preceded it, which the authors read as a pointer to repeated unnoticed episodes.

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HOHorse

Lamellar pathology in horses with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction.

2016 · Equine Veterinary Journal

The authors' starting assumption was refuted by their own data: the lamellae of the ten animals with pituitary disease but no laminitis were normal, and all six laminitic animals had raised insulin, so that the insulin situation alone appears to go with the tissue change.

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HOHorse

Location of radiological lesions of the thoracolumbar column in French trotters with and without signs of back pain

2010 · The Veterinary Record

In 102 trotters with and 16 without signs of back pain, the lesions in the horses without complaints were less severe and more localised, but for simple contact between the spinous processes the number of affected horses did not differ significantly between the groups.

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HOHorse

Case control study to identify risk factors for simple colonic obstruction and distension colic in horses

2002 · Equine Veterinary Journal

Crib-biting, increasing hours stabled, a recent change to the exercise programme, no ivermectin or moxidectin treatment in the previous year and transport in the last 24 hours were associated with simple colonic obstruction, most strongly permanent stabling, crib-biting and transport.

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HOHorse

Risk factors for epiploic foramen entrapment colic: an international study

2008 · Equine Veterinary Journal

Among 109 cases and 310 comparison horses, crib-biting was by far the strongest factor for entrapment in the epiploic foramen, followed by a colic in the previous year and greater height, although the estimates carry wide ranges of uncertainty.

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HOHorse

Risk factors for epiploic foramen entrapment colic in a UK horse population: a prospective case-control study

2008 · Equine Veterinary Journal

The British parallel study with 77 cases and 216 comparison horses confirmed crib-biting as the strongest factor and additionally found a colic in the previous year, more time stabled in the preceding 28 days and greater height to raise the risk.

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HOHorse

Risk factors for equine strangulating lipoma colic: An international, case-control study

2025 · Equine Veterinary Journal

Among 55 cases and 167 comparison horses, age, certain breeds, a previous bout of laminitis and more time stabled in the four weeks beforehand raised the risk of strangulation by a pedunculated lipoma, while weight management went with it less often.

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HOHorse

The association between Anoplocephala perfoliata and colic in Swedish horses: a case control study

2013 · Veterinary Parasitology

With 67 horses in each group, detection of tapeworm eggs in the droppings went with an around sixteen-fold higher odds of colic, while no association could be shown using antibody testing in blood.

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HOHorse

Comparative Analysis of Intestinal Helminth Infections in Colic and Non-Colic Control Equine Patients

2020 · Animals

In 620 mostly adult hospital horses there was no relationship between tapeworm or large strongyle antibodies and colic status; horses wormed in the preceding week did, however, have an around 2.4-fold higher odds of colic signs than horses treated at least eight weeks earlier.

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HOHorse

Factors associated with development of ileal impaction in horses with surgical colic: 78 cases (1986-2000)

2002 · Equine Veterinary Journal

In 78 surgically confirmed ileal impactions against 100 other colic cases, feeding coastal Bermuda hay and the absence of pyrantel treatment within three months were each associated with an around three-fold raised risk.

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HOHorse

Elevated Sensitivity to Tactile Stimuli in Stereotypic Horses

2019 · Frontiers in Veterinary Science

19 crib-biting and 18 non-crib-biting horses did not differ in reactivity towards people, in social behaviour, in locomotor activity or in curiosity, only sensitivity to touch being raised in the crib-biters; the authors do not derive a consistently different personality profile from this.

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HOHorse

Association between cribbing and entrapment of the small intestine in the epiploic foramen in horses: 68 cases (1991-2002)

2004 · Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association

At two university clinics, 13 of 19 and 24 of 49 affected horses respectively had a history of crib-biting against 2 of 34 and 72 of 687 comparison horses, the estimated magnitudes differing between the two sites by more than fourfold; the authors state the link expressly as a possibility.

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HOHorse

Management and horse-level risk factors for recurrent colic in the UK general equine practice population

2015 · Equine Veterinary Journal

In an analysis nested within a cohort, with 59 recurrences and 177 comparison horses, crib-biting went with an around tenfold and weaving with a not quite fourfold raised chance of a further colic, while more time at grass was only very weakly protective.

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HOHorse

Dysbiosis is not present in horses with fecal water syndrome when compared to controls in spring and autumn

2020 · Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine

In 16 affected horses and 15 comparison horses kept in the same stable, sampled in spring and in autumn, differences in the bacterial microbiome remained limited regardless of season, and the role of the microbiome in how the sign arises remains open according to the authors.

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HOHorse

Faecal bacterial composition in horses with and without free faecal liquid: a case control study

2021 · Scientific Reports

Across 50 pairs and three sampling periods the bacterial composition of the droppings was similar between affected and unaffected horses, with a marked effect of timing, and the authors state that the clinical relevance of the 14 differentially abundant genera has yet to be demonstrated.

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HOHorse

Free Faecal Water: Analysis of Horse Faecal Microbiota and the Impact of Faecal Microbial Transplantation on Symptom Severity

2021 · Animals

Ten affected horses did not differ in faecal microbiome from ten comparison horses, and after a transfer of gut flora severity fell temporarily up to day 168 without the microbiome changing; the authors call for studies with control groups.

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HOHorse

Dysbiosis not observed in Canadian horse with free fecal liquid (FFL) using 16S rRNA sequencing

2024 · Scientific Reports

In 14 affected and 11 healthy horses from the same yards no meaningful difference in faecal flora was found, which in the authors' view argues against a link between dysbiosis and free faecal water; they also record that the three earlier European studies contradicted one another.

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HOHorse

Alterations in the Microbiome of Horses Affected with Fecal Water Syndrome

2025 · Veterinary Sciences

In 32 affected and 51 unaffected horses the structure of the bacterial community differed, with enrichment of Alloprevotella among others in the affected horses; the authors themselves call the effect sizes modest and ask for larger numbers.

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HOHorse

Feeding and Management of Horses with and without Free Faecal Liquid: A Case-Control Study

2021 · Animals

In 50 pairs matched by yard, affected horses received the same amount of haylage and the same management, but twice as much concentrate per 100 kilograms as well as more starch and less fibre; the authors call these differences small and present them as starting points for further study.

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HOHorse

Chemical composition and physical characteristics of faeces in horses with and without free faecal liquid - two case-control studies

2022 · BMC Veterinary Research

Short-chain fatty acids, pH and osmolality were similar between affected and unaffected horses, pointing to fermentation that runs much the same way; lower lactic acid and water-holding capacity appeared only in the Scandinavian sub-study, while in the German sub-study of 32 pairs no measure deviated.

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HOHorse

Dry matter concentration, particle size distribution and sand presence in faeces from horses with and without colic

2024 · Journal of Equine Veterinary Science

In 74 colic horses and 74 comparison horses the dry matter, particle size distribution and sand score of the droppings were similar, which calls the value of the sand test in this population into question; the work studies colic and not free faecal water.

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HOHorse

Evaluation of Owner-Reported Clinical Signs and Fecal Occult Blood Tests as Predictors of Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome in Competition Dressage Horses

2025 · Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine

In 80 competition dressage horses referred for investigation, 55 of which carried a lesion, the frequency of owner-reported signs did not differ between cases and comparison horses free of findings on gastroscopy, and in the 19 horses re-checked the disappearance of the signs did not predict healing of the mucosa.

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HOHorse

The skin microbiota in equine pastern dermatitis: a case-control study of horses in Switzerland

2021 · Veterinary Dermatology

In 80 horses each with one affected and one healthy pastern, bacterial diversity was lower on the affected side and the composition was shifted more strongly the more severe the lesions were, while the authors expressly describe the role of the bacteria in the development of the condition as unresolved.

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HOHorse

Prevalence and WGS-based characteristics of Staphylococcus aureus in the nasal mucosa and pastern of horses with equine pastern dermatitis

2022 · BMC Veterinary Research

In 105 affected and 95 healthy horses, Staphylococcus aureus was detectable on 59.0 per cent of the affected pasterns against 6.3 per cent of the healthy ones, eight isolates were methicillin-resistant, and the authors phrase a contribution to the development of the condition expressly only as a supposition.

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HOHorse

Risk factors for a first episode of primary uveitis in the UK and proportion of cases that experience recurrence following this first episode

2023 · Equine Veterinary Journal

In 23 cases and 46 comparison horses, proximity to a pig unit and a recent flooding of the pasture were linked to a first uveitis episode, long ownership to a lower risk; 59.1 per cent of the cases remained free of relapse, 18.2 per cent suffered a relapse, and no biological samples were taken.

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HOHorse

Analysis of 1840 Equine Intraocular Fluid Samples for the Presence of Anti-Leptospira Antibodies and Leptospiral DNA and the Correlation to Ophthalmologic Findings in Terms of Equine Recurrent Uveitis (ERU)-A Retrospective Study

2022 · Veterinary Sciences

In 1,387 eyes with recurrent uveitis, 83 per cent of the samples were positive in the agglutination test and in the ELISA and 72 per cent in the detection of genetic material, while in 216 healthy eyes and 237 eyes with a different uveitis no antibody detection succeeded; the authors stress that several tests must be combined.

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HOHorse

The role of Leptospira spp. in horses affected with recurrent uveitis in the UK

2017 · Equine Veterinary Journal

In the United Kingdom only 2 of 30 diseased eyes showed a clear indication of infection within the eye, and seropositivity did not differ dependably between diseased and healthy horses, which is why the authors rate the leptospire-associated form as rare there and call blood serology unsuitable for diagnosis.

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HOHorse

Heritability of insidious uveitis in Appaloosa horses

2022 · Animal Genetics

In 59 diseased and 83 healthy Appaloosas the heritability of insidious uveitis was estimated at 0.68 to 1.0, of which the leopard complex locus explains only 0.16 to 0.33; estimates above 1 show the instability of the model and counsel caution about the exact figure.

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HOHorse

A genome-wide association study identifies risk loci to equine recurrent uveitis in German warmblood horses

2013 · PLoS One

In 144 German warmblood horses without leopard complex spotting a risk signal lies beside the genes for interleukin 17A and 17F and explains a considerable share of the spread of the trait, while a second signal concerns a group of crystallin genes; the authors speak of an indication of a genetic component, not of proof, and give a frequency of 3 to 15 per cent for the horse population.

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HOHorse

Genetic risk factors for insidious equine recurrent uveitis in Appaloosa horses

2014 · Animal Genetics

In Appaloosas two separate regions are linked to insidious uveitis, that of the leopard complex gene TRPM1 and that of the equine major histocompatibility complex, which connects the disease to immune-mediated conditions; no causal difference in the genome was found.

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HOHorse

A genome-wide investigation of insidious uveitis in Appaloosa horses

2025 · BMC Genomics

A second risk region on the X chromosome is added to leopard complex spotting, without the model supporting a joint action of the two; none of the 102 genomic differences tested by whole genome sequencing proved decisive, and the authors call for independent repetition before anyone speaks of a causal risk locus.

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HOHorse

A genetic investigation of equine recurrent uveitis in the Icelandic horse breed

2022 · Animal Genetics

With only eleven diseased Icelandic horses a single signal in an intron of the gene TIMP2 reaches the genome-wide threshold, yet the one coding difference found does not fit the clinical picture; the paper describes itself expressly as exploratory and calls for more horses and more markers.

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HOHorse

Candidate gene expression and coding sequence variants in Warmblood horses with myofibrillar myopathy

2021 · Equine Veterinary Journal

None of the 426 variants found in 16 candidate genes, including the two coding variants offered commercially as a myofibrillar myopathy test, was linked to the picture seen in Warmbloods, and the force of individual muscle fibres did not differ either.

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HOHorse

Type 2 polysaccharide storage myopathy in Quarter Horses is a novel glycogen storage disease causing exertional rhabdomyolysis

2023 · Equine Veterinary Journal

PSSM2 in the Quarter Horse is a genuine glycogen storage disease distinguishable from PSSM1, yet none of the 29 striking variants in twelve known glycogen storage disease genes occurred exclusively in the affected horses, while 17 of 30 horses with a pedigree traced back within four generations to one of three stallions.

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HOHorse

Clinical and histopathological features of myofibrillar myopathy in Warmblood horses

2017 · Equine Veterinary Journal

In ten affected Warmbloods compared with eight comparison horses the muscle damage score was markedly higher, with ectopic desmin accumulations in up to 120 type 2a fibres and unremarkable glycogen content, and the same accumulations were found in one mare line across three generations.

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HOHorse

Suspected myofibrillar myopathy in Arabian horses with a history of exertional rhabdomyolysis

2016 · Equine Veterinary Journal

In Arabians with exercise related muscle breakdown, central cell nuclei and desmin accumulations were markedly more frequent than in comparison horses, and the authors concluded that glycogen gathering in disordered myofibrils had created the false impression of a storage disease; 15 of 25 archive samples had previously been classed as PSSM2.

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HOHorse

A missense mutation in MYH1 is associated with susceptibility to immune-mediated myositis in Quarter Horses

2018 · Skeletal Muscle

An example of a fully documented chain: genome wide search in 36 affected horses and 54 matched comparison horses, whole genome sequencing, confirmation in a further 35 affected and a further 22 comparison horses, and absence of the variant in 175 horses from 21 unrelated breeds; what is documented is increased susceptibility, not a prediction of disease.

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HOHorse

Host genetic influence on papillomavirus-induced tumors in the horse

2016 · International Journal of Cancer

In 82 affected and 270 unaffected horses, only two of six striking regions survived the follow-up analysis, one of them in a non-coding section of a gene of the major histocompatibility complex class II; the authors set the finding beside known links in humans and rabbits.

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