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Rearing of "antibiotic-free" fish is becoming one of the most important goals to be achieved in the near future. Strategies are going to be adopted to increase nonspecific immune system and biosecurity in fish farming. To show the quality traits of gilthead sea breams reared under a prescription of "antibiotic-free" (ABF), two different market sizes (R: about 350 g and M: about 490 g) were analysed at the end of the farming cycle performed in a floating cage plant in the Adriatic sea, in the Gulf of Valona (Albania). Proximate composition and fatty acid profile were determined in April and June 2018. The omega-3 content demonstrated that the ABF samples collected according to the fish size and the harvest month can be defined as "rich in omega-3," in compliance with the Annex to the Regulation (EC) n. 1924/2006, with a trend to increase in relation to fish growth. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Background Equine grass sickness (EGS) has been reported in several European and extra-European countries. Despite this, no scientific paper about clinical cases of EGS in Italy has been published. EGS is a disease affecting almost exclusively horses kept on pasture, characterized by clinical signs related to lesions in autonomic nervous system (ANS), particularly in the enteric nervous system (ENS). According to clinical presentation, acute, subacute and chornic syndromes can be observed, with various sympthoms including dullness, anorexia, dysphagia, drooling of saliva, tachycardia, ptosis, patchy sweating and muscle fasciculations. In horses affected by acute forms, mild to moderate abdominal pain and large volumes of nasogastric reflux can be observed. The etiology is still speculative and many hypothesis have been proposed to explain the pathogenesis. Case presentation The present study describes four cases of EGS (one subacute and three chronic forms) occurred in Central Italy during early spring. In all the cases included in the study, the prognosis was poor and the horses were euthanized. The diagnosis was confirmed by histological examination of ANS or ENS. In two cases, in vivo diagnosis was obtained by histological examination of enteric bioptic samples collected during laparoscopy. Conclusions EGS in Italy could be underdiagnosed and incidence understimated. Greater awareness should be applied in Italy for the inclusion of EGS in differential diagnosis for horses presenting clinical signs of abdominal pain associated or not with gastric reflux and muscular fasciculation. All the cases in this study concerned horses kept in the same pasture, confirming a possible premise-linked and management-linked factors on the ethiopathogenesis of EGS. The age of horses ranged from 2 to 6 years, that is consistent with the risk factor age for EGS (from 2 to 7 years of age). Previous suspected EGS diagnosis in the same livestock and recent cool dry weather were considered additional potential risk factors.

Summary: The study was performed on 39 live donkeys that underwent gastroscopic examination. The lesions were recorded in accordance with the European College of Equine Internal Medicine Consensus Statement guidelines. The presence of Gasterophilus sp. larvae was also recorded. Larvae were collected and identified to species level. Fisher's exact test was used to compare different prevalence values for sex, age, and anatomical distribution of lesions. Gastric lesions were present in 20/39 (51.3% [35.6–67%]) donkeys; 19/39 (48.7% [95% confidence interval = 33–64.4%]) were affected only by equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD), while 1/39 (2.6% [0–7.5%]) showed both ESGD and equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD), thus 95% of positive donkeys showed lesions located in the nonglandular mucosa. The ESGD grade was 0/4 (48.7% [33–64.4%]) in 19/39, 1/4 (12.8% [2.3–23.3%]) in 5/39, 2/4 (25.6% [11.9–39.5%]) in 10/39, 3/4 in 4/39 (10.3% [0.7–19.8%]) and 4/4 in 1/39 (2.6% [0–7.5%]) donkeys, respectively. The EGGD lesion was a mild depression in the ventral glandular fundus. ESGD was primary in all the donkeys included and lesions were located around the cardia and along the lesser curvature. Gasterophilus sp. larvae were present in all animals and were identified as third‐stage larvae of Gasterophilus intestinalis. No animals showed clinical signs of equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS). No significant differences relating to sex, age or breed were found in the prevalence of EGUS in this study, while the proportion of donkeys affected by ESGD was statistically higher than those affected by EGGD. To the best of our knowledge, this is the first report on the gastroscopic evaluation of EGUS in live donkeys. Our results show a higher prevalence of EGUS in live donkeys than values previously reported by other authors in donkeys that were dead or had been subjected to euthanasia. The detection of third‐stage G. intestinalis larvae was not unexpected since these can be found in the stomach of equids throughout the year, and G. intestinalis has been reported as the most common Gasterophilus sp. in Italy. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Thiamine pyrophosphate (TPP) is the phosphorylated and active form of thiamine (Vitamin B1). We hypothesized that the administration of thiamine in its immediately available active form could provide the metabolic pathways for a supplement able to promote the metabolism of ketoacids and to reduce lactate accumulation in exercising horses. Ten horses were conditioned for 20 days to daily standardized exercise. All horses underwent a first "stress test" (ST) consisting in 1,200 meters at maximum speed on track, and were checked before and after for clinical and clinical pathology parameters. After the ST, the same animals were administered TPP (Bicarbossilasi®, Teknofarma S.p.A., Torino, Italy), 1 mg/Kg b.w., I.V., twice daily for seven days. At the end of treatment, a second stress test (STTPP) was performed. Post-exercise serum lactate concentration resulted in significantly lower levels (p< 0.05) after treatment with TPP (ST vs STTPP). These data suggest that supplementation with thiamine in its active form improves glucose metabolism and prevents lactate accumulation in muscle, enhancing aerobic capacity and metabolic pathways of glucose utilization during exercise. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The aim of the present study was to evaluate the intra-articular pressure in horses with chronic distal forelimb lameness. Fifty-six distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints of the forelimbs of 36 horses were clinically and radiographically investigated in addition to measuring intra-articular pressure. Forty coffin joints of sound horses were used as controls. The peak pressure was registered for each articulation. The mean and Standard deviation pressure measured in sound horses bearing weight on both limbs was 36.8±16.0 mm Hg and 69.6±23.7 mm Hg when the contra-lateral was raised. In diseased horses the mean and standard deviation pressure measured in the two positions was 66.5±7.6 mm Hg and 132.8±43.3 mm Hg respectively. These results indicate that pressure values of the coffin joint are higher in horses with a painful condition of the distal portion of the forefoot in comparison to normal horses. No correlation was found between articular pressure and the pattern of radiographical changes of the DIP joint or distal sesamoid bone. No weight, breed or attitude differences were detected among sound horses and no complications have been reported after pressure measurements. Pressure measurement may be considered as a useful aid to localize pathologic conditions involving the DIP joint or the navicular bone. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes a clinically controlled study on the effectiveness of cimetidine an H2 receptor antagonist for the treatment of melanoma in grey horses. Fifteen grey horses (age range 18 to 27 years) with dermal melanomatosis were divided in three groups. Group A served as the control group; groups B and C received cimetidine at two different protocols for 60 days (3.5 mg/kg PO, BID and 7.5 mg/kg PO, SID). The number and size of the masses was monitored' before, during and after therapy. No differences were found between groups regarding number and size of melanomas before and after treatments (p >0.05). Only in one horse it was possible to notice a slight size reduction of some of the masses however this may have been due to the anti-inflammatory effect of cimetidine as already demonstrated previously. It was concluded that cimetidine is not effective in treating dermal melanomatosis of grey horses. Differences of effectiveness in other studies could possibly be due to the variants of melanomas treated or to different treatment protocols. Further controlled studies are necessary to evaluate cimetidine effectiveness on different type of melanomas and other neoplasias arising from tissues other than skin. Also the mechanism of action of cimetidine on horse melanoma requires further investigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Many horses exhibit stereotypies, especially when living in human controlled environments that may prevent horses from satisfying natural needs in terms of feeding, drinking, moving, and socializing. In human medicine, obsessive compulsive disorder and other severe psychiatric disturbances are associated with stereotypic behaviors; salivary biomarkers evaluation is considered a reliable tool for diagnosis of common mental health disorders because saliva collection easy to obtain and noninvasive. In this study, we hypothesized that salivary cortisol concentrations, in addition to alpha-amylase (sAA) and butyrylcholinesterase (BChE) activities, are considered stress biomarkers that may be influenced in horses trained for racing competition with stereotypic behaviors. Saliva at rest condition was obtained from ten non-stereotypic Thoroughbreds horses involved in high-level competition; eleven Thoroughbreds high-level competition horses showing stereotypic behaviors, and five Thoroughbreds leisure non-competition horses. Cortisol was found to be higher in high-level competition non-stereotypic horses and sAA was significantly higher in non-stereotypic leisure horses when compared to horses involved in competition, while BChE did not change between groups. These results may represent the basis for further behavioural evaluation to elucidate how stereotypic horses and horses involved in competition overcome stressful situations., Competing Interests: The authors have declared that no competing interests exist., (Copyright: © 2024 Bazzano et al. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original author and source are credited.)

Metabolomics can allow for the comprehensive identification of metabolites within biological systems, at given time points, in physiological and pathological conditions. In the last few years, metabolomic analysis has gained popularity both in human and in veterinary medicine, showing great potential for novel applications in clinical activity. The aim of applying metabolomics in clinical practice is understanding the mechanisms underlying pathological conditions and the influence of certain stimuli (i.e., drugs, nutrition, exercise) on body systems, in the attempt of identifying biomarkers that can help in the diagnosis of diseases. Proton Nuclear Magnetic Resonance spectroscopy ( 1 H-NMR) is well tailored to be used as an analytical platform for metabolites' detection at the base of metabolomics studies, due to minimal sample preparation and high reproducibility. In this mini-review article, the scientific production of NMR metabolomic applications to equine medicine is examined. The research works are very different in methodology and difficult to compare. Studies are mainly focused on exercise, reproduction, and nutrition, other than respiratory and musculoskeletal diseases. The available information on this topic is still scant, but a greater collection of data could allow researchers to define new reliable markers to be used in clinical practice for diagnostic and therapeutical purposes.

Osteoarthritis (OA) is a common cause of lameness in sport horses with a significant economic impact. The prevention of OA is crucial since no effective treatment is available. This study aimed to apply untargeted metabolomic analysis to investigate the differences in synovial fluid (SF) composition between healthy and OA-affected joints in horses. SF collected from healthy (n.8) and OA (n.11) horses was analyzed using H-NMR analysis. Metabolomic analysis allowed 55 different metabolites to be identified and quantified in SF samples. Nineteen metabolites were found to be differently concentrated in OA compared to control horses. Synovial fluids from the OC group were found to be higher in 1,3-dihydroxyacetone but lower in tryptophan, phenylalanine, tyrosine, uridine, creatinine, creatine, glycine, choline, asparagine, glutamine, arginine, 3-hydroxybutyrate, valine, 2-hydroxyisovalerate, α-ketoisovaleric acid, 3-methyl-2-oxovalerate, 3-hydroxyisobutyrate, isoleucine, and methionine compared to the controls. A variety of SF metabolites significantly changed following joint disease, demonstrating the complex mechanism underlying osteoarthritis in horses and highlighting the value of applying the metabolomic approach in clinical research.

Positive results on animal health, feed efficiency, and milk's nutritional content have been obtained after oral administration of probiotics. The aim of the present study was therefore to evaluate the effect of dietary supplementation with high numbers of multispecies probiotic formulations on the milk metabolomic profiles of alkaline sphingomyelinase (alk-SMase) and alkaline phosphatase (ALP) in donkeys. Twenty animals were randomly allocated to receive either a normal diet (group B) or a supplemented diet (group A). Colostrum and milk samples were obtained within 48 h, at 15 days (supplementation start), and at 45 days after parturition. Different metabolomic profiles were observed between colostrum and milk, as were the concentrations of 12 metabolites that changed following 30 days of probiotic supplementation. Alk-SMase activity was found to be higher in donkey colostrum (vs. milk at 15 days); this enzyme, together with ALP, increased in milk after 30 days of probiotic supplementation. The results of the present study provide new insight into the complex changes in donkey colostrum and milk composition in the first 45 days of lactation and how the milk metabolome can be modulated by probiotic supplementation.

Intramuscular administration of p62/SQSTM1 (sequestosome1)-encoding plasmid demonstrated an anticancer effect in rodent models and dogs as well as a high safety profile and the first evidence of clinical benefits in humans. Also, an anti-inflammatory effect of the plasmid was reported in several rodent disease models. Yet, the mechanisms of action for the p62 plasmid remain unknown. Here, we tested a hypothesis that the p62-plasmid can act through the modulation of bone marrow multipotent mesenchymal cells (MSCs). We demonstrated that a p62 plasmid can affect MSCs indirectly by stimulating p62-transfected cells to secrete an active ingredient(s) sensed by untransfected MSCs. When we transfected MSCs with the p62-plasmid, collected their supernatant, and added it to an untransfected MSCs culture, it switched the differentiation state and prompt osteogenic responses of the untransfected MSCs. According to an accepted viewpoint, ovariectomy leads to bone pathology via dysregulation of MSCs, and restoring the MSC homeostasis would restore ovariectomy-induced bone damage. To validate our in vitro observations in a clinically relevant in vivo model, we administered the p62 plasmid to ovariectomized rats. It partially reversed bone loss and notably reduced adipogenesis with concurrent reestablishing of the MSC subpopulation pool within the bone marrow. Overall, our study suggests that remote modulation of progenitor MSCs via administering a p62-encoding plasmid may constitute a mechanism for its previously reported effects and presents a feasible disease-preventing and/or therapeutic strategy., (© 2022 Wiley Periodicals LLC.)