In equine grass sickness, serum amyloid A and fibrinogen are elevated, and can aid differential diagnosis from non-inflammatory causes of colic.

Equine grass sickness (EGS) is a debilitating and often fatal neurodegenerative disease. A presumptive diagnosis of EGS may be made on the basis of clinical signs and subjective ancillary tests, but a definitive antemortem diagnosis can only be made following histopathological examination of intestinal biopsies. It has previously been reported that horses with EGS may show clinical and clinicopathological signs of systemic inflammation.

Disseminated lipid-rich peritoneal mesothelioma in a horse.

A 9-year-old Haflinger mare presented to the Liphook Equine Hospital with a history of weight loss, azotemia, and repeated episodes of ascites over a period of 10 days. The horse was euthanized after exploratory laparotomy revealed large numbers of variably sized masses distributed throughout the peritoneal cavity. Macroscopically, some masses were papillary, while others were nodular.

Circannual variation in plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone concentrations in the UK in normal horses and ponies, and those with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction.

Reasons For Performing Study: Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) is a common endocrinopathy, frequently diagnosed via plasma adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) concentrations. Seasonal variation in plasma ACTH concentrations has been described in normal horses prompting caution in diagnosing PPID at certain times of the year. The aims of this study were to determine appropriate reference intervals for equine plasma ACTH throughout the year; and to examine the circannual variation of plasma ACTH concentrations in PPID cases.