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Acute Rhabdomyolysis (“Tying-Up”) in Standardbred Horses

A Morphological and Biochemical Study

Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica volume 15, pages 325–339 (1974)Cite this article

Abstract

LINDHOLM, A., H.-E. JOHANSSON & P. KJÆRSGAARD: Acute rhabdomyolysis (“tying-up”) in standardbred horses. A morphological and biochemical study. Acta vet. scand. 1974, 15, 325–339. — Morphological, biochemical and histochemical changes were studied in muscle needle biopsy specimens (gluteus medius) from 59 standardbred trotters with acute clinical symptoms of the “tying-up” disease. All horses had increased levels of serum enzymes SGOT and SCPK. The biopsy specimens were taken at various intervals after onset of clinical symptoms (1–4 hrs., 18–24 hrs. and 2–20 days). Ry light microscopy it was shown that the muscular alterations had a focal distribution and were of the hyalin degeneration type with insignificant inflammatory reaction and slight calcification. The ultrastructural changes apparently commenced with myofibrillar waving, mitochondrial and sarcotubular alterations and terminated with myofibrillar degeneration and necrosis with invasion of inflammatory cells. The inflammatory cells were ultrastructurally similar to monocytes and macrophages. The degenerative changes mainly comprised fast twitch (FT and FTH) fibres as histochemically evidenced by myofibrillar ATPase and alkaline phosphatase staining.

Riopsies from diseased muscle 1–4 hrs. after the onset of “tyingup” contained a low muscle concentration of glycogen, ATP and CP and a high concentration of lactate and glucose. Hence it is suggested that the described muscular alterations may be caused by a deranged carbohydrate metabolism caused by a local hypoxia.

It was found that the “tying-up” disease resembled idiopathic rhabdomyolysis in man and was thus designated “equine rhabdomyolysis”.

histochemistry; horse; rhabdomyolysis; skeletal muscle; “tying-up”; ultrastructure.

Sammanfattning

Akut rhabdomyolys (korsförlamning) hos travhästar. En morfologisk och biokemisk undersökning.

Morfologiska, biokemiska och histokemiska metoder användes för att studera förändringarna i muskelbiopsier, uttagna från m. gluteus médius från 59 varmblodiga travhästar med akuta kliniska symtom på sk “tying-up”. Samtliga bästar hade förhöjda serumvärden av enzymerna SGOT och SCPK. Biopsierna togs vid olika tidpunkter efter de kliniska symtomens insättande (1–4 tim., 18–24 tim. respektive 2–20 dagar). Ljusmikroskopiskt (LM) visades att muskelförändringarna hade en härdformig utbredning och att de var av typen hyalin degeneration med viss inflammatorisk reaktion och liten tendens till förkalkning. De ultrastrukturella förändringarna manifesterades först sàsom en vågighet av myofibrillerna och med förändringar i mitokondrier samt det sarkotubulära systemet. Senare utvecklades myofibrillär degeneration och nekros med invandring av inflammatoriska celler. De inflammatoriska cellerna liknade ultrastrukturellt monocyter och makrofager. De degenerativa förändringarna uppträdde huvudsakligen i de snabba fibrerna (FT och FTH), vilket kunde visas histokemiskt med myofibrillär ATPas- och alkalisk fosfatas-färgning.

Muskelbiopsier uttagna 1–4 tim. efter de akuta symtomens insättande hade låg koncentration av glykogen, ATP och GP medan en hög koncentration av laktat och glykos förelåg. Mot denna bakgrund anses att de iakttagna muskelförändringarna orsakats av en störd kolhydratmetabolism, som i sin tur kan ha orsakats av en lokal hypoxi.

Då muskelförändringarna vid “tying-up” liknar dem vid idiopatisk rhabdomyolysis hos människa, föreslår författarna att namnet “equine rhabdomyolysis” fortsättningsvis används för denna sjukdom.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Clinical Biochemistry, Royal Veterinary College, the Department of Physiology, Gymnastik- och idrottshögskolan, Stockholm, the Equine Hospital, Stockholm 50, Solvalla, Stockholm, S-104 05, Sweden

    Arne Lindholm, Hans-Erik Johansson & Per Kjærsgaard

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  1. Arne Lindholm
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  2. Hans-Erik Johansson
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  3. Per Kjærsgaard
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This study was supported by a grant from the Wallenberg Foundation.

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Lindholm, A., Johansson, HE. & Kjærsgaard, P. Acute Rhabdomyolysis (“Tying-Up”) in Standardbred Horses. Acta Vet Scand 15, 325–339 (1974). https://doi.org/10.1186/BF03547462

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Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica

ISSN: 1751-0147