Responding to stakeholder needs to engage rehabilitation professionals in the delivery of evidence-based health programming for adults with osteoarthritis.

Although there are many evidence-based programs that promote healthy lifestyles and symptom modification for people with osteoarthritis, their delivery in rehabilitation clinical settings in the United States is limited. These programs can be a primary component of treatment or a discharge option to facilitate long-term mobility and pain management. The purpose of this perspective article is to describe a delivery model that brings one arthritis-appropriate, evidence-based intervention, the Arthritis Foundation's Walk With Ease program, to older adults seeking physical therapy related to their osteoarthritis.

Exercise induced pulmonary hemorrhage in horses: American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine consensus statement.

Background: Published studies of exercise-induced pulmonary hemorrhage (EIPH), when assessed individually, often provide equivocal or conflicting results. Systematic reviews aggregate evidence from individual studies to provide a global assessment of the quality of evidence and to inform recommendations.

Objectives: Evaluate evidence to determine: if EIPH adversely affects the health, welfare or both of horses; if EIPH affects the athletic capacity of horses; the efficacy of prophylactic interventions for EIPH; and if furosemide affects the athletic capacity of horses.

Healthy workplaces? A survey of Massachusetts employers.

Purpose: This study examines worksite health promotion (WHP) and occupational health and safety (OHS) activities by Massachusetts employers, and the extent to which workplaces with programming in one domain were more likely to have the other as well.

Design: In 2008, the Massachusetts Department of Public Health surveyed a stratified sample of Massachusetts worksites.

Setting: A mailed questionnaire to be completed by workplace representatives.

Assessing fitness in endurance horses.

A field test and a standardized treadmill test were used to assess fitness in endurance horses. These tests discriminated horses of different race levels: horses participating in races of 120 km and more showed higher values of VLA4 (velocity at which blood lactate reached 4 mmol/L) and V200 (velocity at which heart rates reached 200 beats per min) than horses of lower race levels.

Dynamic respiratory videoendoscopy in ridden sport horses: effect of head flexion, riding and airway inflammation in 129 cases.

Reasons For Performing Study: Dynamic upper airway obstruction (UAO) is a cause of respiratory noise and sometimes poor performance in sport horses. Riding, head flexion and airway inflammation may impact upper respiratory tract stability during exercise.

Objectives: To evaluate upper airway mechanical behaviour in ridden sport horses using overground endoscopy and the effect of head flexion, rider intervention and underlying airway inflammation on the pharynx and larynx.

Subclinical diseases underlying poor performance in endurance horses: diagnostic methods and predictive tests.

Thirty-eight endurance horses underwent clinical and ancillary examinations, including haematological and biochemical evaluation, standardised exercise tests both on a treadmill and in the field, Doppler echocardiography, impulse oscillometry, video endoscopy and collection of respiratory fluids. All of the examined poorly performing horses were affected by subclinical diseases, and most of them had multiple concomitant disorders. On the contrary, the well-performing horses were free of any subclinical disease.

Alterations in mitochondrial respiratory function in response to endurance training and endurance racing.

Reasons For Performing Study: Limited information exists about the muscle mitochondrial respiratory function changes that occur in horses during an endurance season.

Objectives: To determine effects of training and racing on muscle oxidative phosphorylation (OXPHOS) and electron transport system (ETS) capacities in horses with high resolution respirometry (HRR).

Methods: Mitochondrial respiration was measured in microbiopsies taken from the triceps brachii (tb) and gluteus medius (gm) muscles in 8 endurance horses (7 purebred Arabians and 1 crossbred Arabian) before training (T0), after two 10 week training periods (T1, T2) and after 2 CEI** endurance races (R1, R2).

Altered systolic left ventricular function in horses completing a long distance endurance race.

Reasons For Performing Study: It is unknown whether or not exercise-induced cardiac fatigue (EICF), as demonstrated in human athletes performing long duration exercise, occurs in endurance horses.

Objective: To examine the effects of a long distance endurance race on left ventricular systolic function in horses.

Methods: Echocardiography was performed before, and after, a 2 or 3 star international endurance race (106-132 km) in 11 horses.

Specific immuno-extraction followed by enzymatic detection (SIEFED) of myeloperoxidase and mitochondrial complex I in muscular microbiopsies: preliminary results in endurance horses.

Reasons For Performing Study: Intense exercise in horses induces an increase of creatine kinase (CK) and stimulation of neutrophils which release the strong oxidant enzyme, myeloperoxidase (MPO) into the blood. It is not known whether active MPO is found in equine muscles and whether oxidant activity of neutrophils could affect muscular tissues and mitochondrial activity.

Objectives: Specific immuno-extraction followed by enzymatic detection (SIEFED) methods will be employed for the first time to assess both the normal range of MPO and mitochondrial complex I (MCI) activities in equine muscular microbiopsies and to study the variation of these activities induced by endurance races.

Effect of a 120 km endurance race on plasma and muscular neutrophil elastase and myeloperoxidase concentrations in horses.

Reasons For Performing Study: Intense physical exercise can induce the degranulation of neutrophils leading to an increase in plasma concentration of the neutrophil marker enzymes myeloperoxidase (MPO) and elastase (ELT). These enzymes have pro-oxidative and pro-inflammatory properties and may play a role in the exercised-induced muscular damage.

Objectives: To measure MPO and ELT concentrations in plasma and muscles of endurance horses and to correlate them to the extent of exercise-induced muscular damage.

Hydration and electrolyte balance in horses during an endurance season.

Reasons For Performing Study: Limited information exists about the physiological training-induced changes in electrolyte balance of horses competing in long distance endurance races.

Objectives: To determine the effects of endurance training and racing on hydration and electrolyte balance in horses.

Methods: Blood and urine were sampled at rest in 8 endurance horses before training and after two 11 week training periods (T1 and T2).

Equine gammaherpesviruses: pathogenesis, epidemiology and diagnosis.

Equine gammaherpesviruses (γEHV) have been widely studied over the past 45 years and many isolates have been characterised. Despite this, the diagnosis of γEHV infection remains difficult to establish as its clinical manifestations lack specificity, ranging from mild respiratory signs in a small number of animals to outbreaks in large groups of young horses. This review focuses on the epidemiology, pathogenesis, clinical manifestations and diagnosis of equine herpesvirus (EHV)-2 and -5 infections, as well as on the genetic variation of these viruses.

Influence of subclinical inflammatory airway disease on equine respiratory function evaluated by impulse oscillometry.

Reasons For Performing Study: Inflammatory airway disease (IAD) is a nonseptic condition of the lower respiratory tract. Its negative impact on respiratory function has previously been described using either forced expiration or forced oscillations techniques. However, sedation or drug-induced bronchoconstriction were usually required.

Laboratory findings in respiratory fluids of the poorly-performing horse.

Any disorder impairing a performance horse's ability to ventilate its lungs and exchange oxygen compromises exercise performance in any discipline. Since bronchoalveolar lavage was described in horses in the early 1980s, laboratory evaluation of respiratory fluids, along with clinical and functional assessment of the respiratory system, has become a relevant step in the diagnosis of respiratory disease affecting performance. The aim of this review is to provide objective information to assist clinicians in interpreting laboratory findings by (1) summarising published cytological references values in both clinically healthy horses and those with various airway diseases, (2) assessing the influence of physiological circumstances, such as exercise, on the cytological evaluation, (3) discussing the relationship between cytological and microbiological analyses, clinical signs and respiratory function, and (4) suggesting how this latter relationship may affect performance.

Sub-clinical diseases affecting performance in Standardbred trotters: diagnostic methods and predictive parameters.

The objectives of this study were to determine the prevalence of sub-clinical diseases in poorly-performing Standardbred horses, compare their physiological response to exercise with control horses, and identify predictive parameters of poor-performance. Fifty horses underwent thorough clinical and ancillary examinations, including haematological and biochemical evaluation, Doppler echocardiography, standardised exercise tests (SETs) on both treadmill and racetrack, treadmill video-endoscopy and collection of respiratory fluids. Most of the poorly-performing horses exhibited many concomitant diseases.

Herpesviruses in respiratory liquids of horses: putative implication in airway inflammation and association with cytological features.

The objectives of this study were to estimate the prevalence and the potential role of equine herpesviruses (EHVs) detection in both bronchoalveolar lavage (BAL) and tracheal wash (TW). The population included a control group (CTL; 37 TW and 25 BAL) and a pathological group (PAT; 259 TW and 387 BAL), including horses either suffering from respiratory diseases including syndrome of tracheal inflammation, inflammatory airway disease, recurrent airway obstruction, or submitted to respiratory investigation because of exercise intolerance or poor performance. Each respiratory liquid was submitted to a standardised cytological analysis, mentioning the morphological abnormalities of exfoliated epithelial cells (ECAb) and ciliocytophthoria (CCPh) as markers of potential viral infection, as well as PCR assays including a consensus PCR and virus-specific PCR for both equine alphaherpesviruses (EHV-1; EHV-4) and gammaherpesviruses (EHV-2; EHV-5).

Identification of equid herpesvirus-5 in respiratory liquids: a retrospective study of 785 samples taken in 2006-2007.

During a case control study undertaken in 2006-2007, a screening and consensus polymerase chain reaction (PCR) was performed to evaluate the potential role of equid herpesviruses (EHV) in several occurrences of respiratory disorders in 661 horses. Of 785 bronchoalveolar or tracheal lavage fluid samples submitted for analysis, 20 were positive for EHV-5 DNA by sequential analysis of the consensus PCR product. Nineteen of those samples were confirmed using a specific EHV-5 PCR.

Validation of a portable equine metabolic measurement system.

Reasons For Performing Study: In equine sports medicine, VO2 has been measured exclusively with stationary systems, in laboratories equipped with a treadmill. Measurement during exercise in field conditions has not previously been reported because of the lack of portable equipment designed for horses.

Objectives: A commercially available portable metabolic measurement system, based on breath-to-breath gas analysis and flow spirometry, was adapted to the horse's physiology and morphology (Cosmed K4b2 and Equimask) and its validity tested by (1) repeatability of the measures and (2) comparing metabolic data to those obtained by a reference method (RM).

The effects of dietary N-3 and antioxidant supplementation on erythrocyte membrane fatty acid composition and fluidity in exercising horses.

Reasons For Performing Study: Fatty acid supplementation could modulate erythrocyte membrane fluidity in horses at rest and during exercise, but information is lacking on the effect of exercise.

Objectives: To assess the effect of exercise with, and without, an oral antioxidant supplementation enriched with n-3 fatty acids on erythrocyte membrane fluidity (EMF) and fatty acid composition in eventing horses.

Methods: Twelve healthy and regularly trained horses were divided randomly into 2 groups: group S received an oral antioxidant cocktail enriched in n-3 fatty acid (alphatocopherol, eicosapentaenoic acid [EPA] and docosahexaenoic acid [DHA]) whereas group P was placebo-treated.

Effects of exercise and oral antioxidant supplementation enriched in (n-3) fatty acids on blood oxidant markers and erythrocyte membrane fluidity in horses.

The aim of this study was to investigate in a placebo-controlled field study the effect of a (n-3)-vitamin supplementation on erythrocyte membrane fluidity (EMF), oxidant/antioxidant markers and plasmatic omega3/omega6 fatty acid ratio (FAR) in 12 eventing horses. Venous blood was sampled at rest before (PRE) and after (POST) a three week treatment period with either the supplement (group S, n=6) or a placebo (group P, n=6) as well as after 15min (POST E15') and 24h (POST E24h) after a standardised exercise test. The following markers were analysed: EMF, plasma antioxidant capacity of water and lipid soluble components, ascorbic acid, uric acid (UA), glutathione (reduced: GSH, oxidised: GSSG), vitamin E (Vit E), beta-carotene, glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and superoxide dismutase (SOD) activity, selenium, copper (Cu), zinc (Zn), oxidised proteins (Protox), lipid peroxides (Pool) and FAR.

Qualitative and quantitative evaluation of equine respiratory mechanics by impulse oscillometry.

Reasons For Performing Study: The long-established conventional reference technique (CRT) for measuring respiratory mechanics in horses lacks sensitivity and there is a need for further refinement in new technology, such as the impulse oscillometry system (IOS).

Objectives: To evaluate the potential use of the IOS as a clinical respiratory function test and compare it to the current CRT in horses suffering from common upper and lower airway dysfunctions.

Methods: Six healthy horses were tested before and after induction of a unilateral nasal obstruction (UNO) or transient left laryngeal hemiplegia (LLH).

Influence of breathing pattern and lung inflation on impulse oscillometry measurements in horses.

The objective of this paper was to determine if changes in ventilation patterns could influence the outcome of respiratory function measurements performed with our impulse oscillometry system (IOS) in horses. In a first study, IOS tests were performed in vitro on six isolated equine lungs. Lung inflation levels were controlled by modifying depressurisation inside an artificial thorax and different ventilation patterns were imposed.

Measurement of respiratory function by impulse oscillometry in horses.

Reasons For Performing Study: Due to technical implementations and lack of sensitivity, pulmonary function tests are seldom used in clinical practice. Impulse oscillometry (IOS) could represent an alternative method.

Objectives: To define feasibility, methodology and repeatability of IOS, a forced oscillation technique that measures respiratory resistance (Rrs) and reactance (Xrs) from 5 to 35 Hz during spontaneous breathing, in horses.

Use of the impulse oscillometry system for testing pulmonary function during methacholine bronchoprovocation in horses.

Objective: To compare sensitivity of the impulse oscillometry system (IOS) with that of the conventional reference technique (CRT; ie, esophageal balloon method) for pulmonary function testing in horses.

Animals: 10 horses (4 healthy; 6 with recurrent airway obstruction [heaves] in remission).

Procedure: Healthy horses (group-A horses) and heaves-affected horses (group-B horses) were housed in a controlled environment.