High-power laser therapy improves healing of the equine suspensory branch in a standardized lesion model

High-power laser therapy is often used as a treatment for human sport injuries but controlled standardized studies on its efficacy are lacking. The technique has also been introduced in the equine field and recently promising results were reported in a retrospective study focusing on 150 sporthorses suffering from tendinopathy and desmopathy of the SDFT, DDFT, suspensory ligament, and suspensory branches. The goal of the present study was to evaluate the effect of high-power laser in a standardized lesion model in horses. Lesions were created in all lateral suspensory branches of 12 warmblood horses. In each horse, 2 of the 4 lesioned branches were treated daily with a multi-frequency high-power laser for 4 weeks. Color Doppler ultrasonography was performed during and after the treatment period. Six horses were euthanized 4 weeks post-surgery (short-term) and 6 were further rehabilitated until 6 months and then euthanized (long-term). High-field MRI evaluation was performed on all cadaver limbs. On ultrasound, transverse size of the lesion was significantly smaller after 2- and 3 months (p= 0.026 andp= 0.015) in the treated branches. The expected post-surgery enlargement of the lesion circumference and cross-sectional area (CSA) over time, was significantly lower in the short-term laser treated group (p= 0.016 andp= 0.010). Treated lesions showed a significantly increased Doppler signal during treatment (p< 0.001) compared with control. On MRI, in the short and long-term group, the CSA of the lesions was significantly smaller (p= 0.002), and the mean signal significantly lower in the treatment groups (p= 0.006). This standardized controlled study shows that multi-frequency high-power laser therapy significantly improves healing of a suspensory branch ligament lesion

Hepatotoxicity or Hepatoprotection? Pattern Recognition for the Paradoxical Effect of the Chinese Herb Rheum palmatum L. in Treating Rat Liver Injury

The hepatotoxicity of some Chinese herbs has been a cause for concern in recent years. However, some herbs, such as rhubarb, have been documented as having both therapeutic and toxic effects on the liver, leading to the complex problem of distinguishing the benefits from the risks of using this herb. To comparatively analyze the dose-response relationship between rhubarb and hepatic health, we administrated total rhubarb extract(RE) to normal and carbon tetrachloride(CCl4)-treated rats for 12 weeks at 4 dosage levels(2.00, 5.40, 14.69 and 40.00 g·kg−1, measured as the quantity of crude material), followed by biochemical and histopathological tests of the rats' livers. A composite pattern was extracted by factor analysis, using all the biochemical indices as variables, into a visual representation of two mathematically obtained factors, which could be interpreted as the fibrosis factor and the cellular injury factor, according to the values of the variable loadings. The curative effect of administering the two lowest dosages of RE to CCl4-treated rats was mainly expressed as a decrease in the extent of cellular injury. The hepatoprotective mechanism of RE might be related to its antioxidant effect, the antagonism of the free radical damage to hepatocytes caused by CCl4. By contrast, the RE-induced liver damage was mainly expressed as a significant increase in the amount of fibrosis in both normal rats at all dosage levels and CCl4-treated rats at the two highest dosage levels. Therefore, the hepatotoxic potential of RE could be attributable to the liver cell fibrosis induced by high doses of the herb. This study illustrates the bidirectional potential of rhubarb and demonstrates the feasibility of using factor analysis to study the dose-response relationships between herbal medicines and hepatotoxicity or the healing effects of these herbs by extracting the underlying interrelationships among a number of functional bio-indices in a holistic manner

Arthroscopic visualisation of the third metacarpal and metatarsal condyles in the horse

Reasons for performing study:Arthroscopy of the fetlock joints is a routine surgical procedure in the horse. It is unclear how much of the articular surface of the condyles of the metacarpal (MCIII)/metatarsal (MTIII) bone can be visualised using either the dorsal or palmar/plantar arthroscopic approach. Objectives: To investigate which part of the articular surface of the MCIII/MTIII condyles of the fetlock joints can be evaluated arthroscopically using: 1) dorsal approach in combination with flexion; 2) standard palmar/plantar approach; or 3) additional portal at the base of the sesamoid bone with joint extension. Methods: All 3 arthroscopic approaches were performed on 20 fore- and 20 hindlimbs of 14 cadavers. For each approach, a curette was inserted ipsilaterally to create a lesion at the most distal part of the condyle that could be seen. After disarticulation and placement of a nail in each lesion, the maximally reachable angle was calculated on a perfect lateromedial radiograph. The 0 degrees angle was determined as the distal crossing of the best fitting circle around the condyle with a line parallel to the dorsal MCIII/MTIII bone running through the circle centre (positive angle dorsal to 0 degrees, negative palmar/plantar to 0 degrees). Results: Using the dorsal approach with flexion, a significantly larger area of visualisation was present in the hind- (-23.4 degrees) compared to the forelimb (+2.7 degrees). Using the palmar/plantar approach (fore: -60.4 degrees; hind: -70.7 degrees) and the approach at the base of the sesamoid bone (fore: -36.3 degrees; hind: -47.6 degrees) more cartilage could be seen in the fore- compared to the hindlimb. When combining the 3 approaches, the remaining nonvisible part measured 38.9 degrees in the fore- and 24.2 degrees in the hindlimb, both located palmaro/plantarodistally. Conclusions: The use of dorsal and palmar/plantar arthroscopic approaches in combination with flexion and extension of the fetlock joint allows visualisation of the majority of the cartilage of the MCIII/MTIII condyles. The nonvisible section is smaller in the hindlimb compared to the forelimb. Potential relevance: Knowledge of the specific areas of visualisation of the condyles on arthroscopy is important for both diagnostic and therapeutic planning of fetlock disorders