Comparing dermoscopy and histological examination of normal equine skin

Clinical techniques in veterinary dermatology: Dermoscopy

Dermoscopy is a noninvasive, painless, easy-to-perform technique used in human and veterinary medicine for rapid and magnified in vivo observation of dermatological lesions and disease. Dermoscopy can lead to a swifter diagnosis and may eliminate the need to perform more invasive diagnostic testing such as skin biopsies. To perform dermoscopy, the clinician needs a dermoscope and a software program equipped with image capture for pattern identification. Two techniques exist for dermoscopy: standard contact, where the dermoscope is applied directly to the patient's skin with the use of a liquid interface, or noncontact, where there is no direct contact between the skin and the dermoscope. The most important criteria to be considered when using dermoscopy are the morphology/arrangement of vascular structures, scaling patterns, colours, follicular abnormalities and specific disease features. Application of dermoscopic findings should always be correlated with the patient's history, clinical signs and the morphology of the skin lesions. Dermoscopy does require an initial financial and time investment by the clinician, yet this technique can quickly and easily help to identify patterns of disease that correlate with clinical diagnosis of dermatological disease.

Videodermoscopic examination of the skin and its products in purebred Arabian horses in the summer season

Videodermoscopy is a method that enables the examination of many parameters of the skin and its structures. The aim of this study was to assess specific dermoscopic parameters in purebred Arabian horses during the summer. The study involved 21 clinically healthy purebred Arabian horses (18 mares and three stallions) that had not been used for breeding and were 1 to 25 years old. The videoderoscopic evaluation was performed on seven selected areas of the body: forehead, mane, neck, chest, flank, rump, and tail. The tests were carried out with Vidix and Olympus cellSens specialised software. Videodermoscopy revealed that the skin was pigmented in all of the bay horses, in one of the seal brown horses, and in the 10 grey horses. Only one grey horse and one chestnut horse had unpigmented skin. Hair thickness ranged from 44.82 µm (neck) to 75 µm (mane). Regarding the amount of hair in the field of view, the highest and lowest numbers of hairs were found on the neck (3,004) and mane (990), respectively. A valuable insight obtained from our research is that it is possible to use digital image analysis for precise quantitative and qualitative evaluations of the skin and its structures.

Pilot Videodermoscopic Examination of Hair and Skin in Arabian Mare Horses During the Winter Season

Videodermoscopy is a novel, noninvasive technique used to examine the appearance of skin and its adnexa. The aim of this study was to assess specific dermoscopic parameters in Arabian purebred mares in particular areas of the body during the winter season. The study was performed in the winter season. Videodermoscopic evaluations of the hair and skin were performed over seven areas of the body: the forehead, mane, neck, chest, flank, croup, and tail. Twenty-one healthy, non-breeding Arabian mares aged 3 to 21 years were selected for the study. The Video-Dermatoscope Vidix 7 (Medici Medical SRL) equipped with a 5-Mpx camera, and the VX1 cover (contact type cap 3.5 cm) was used. The CellSens Dimension was used to perform the above-mentioned measurements. Videodermoscopy revealed marked pigmentary differences in the hair of gray Arabian mares with blood vessels visible on unpigmented skin. The density of the hair in one dermoscopy field of view ranged from 1,458 (croup) to 3,680 (head) hairs and the thickness of hair ranged from 52.70 (chest) to 87.45 µm (tail). Uniform group of horses consisting of one sex, one breed, and one season. When compared to previous studies, our findings demonstrated that the density and thickness of hair are contingent upon a horse's breed and body region.

Hair follicle regional specificity in different parts of bay Mongolian horse by histology and transcriptional profiling

Background

Different morphological structures of hairs having properties like defense and camouflage help animals survive in the wild environment. Horse is one of the rare kinds of animals with complex hair phenotypes in one individual; however, knowledge of horse hair follicle is limited in literature and their molecular basis remains unclear. Therefore, the investigation of horse hair follicle morphogenesis and pigmentogenesis attracts considerable interest.

Result

Histological studies revealed the morphology and pigment synthesis of hair follicles are different in between four different parts (mane, dorsal part, tail, and fetlock) of the bay Mongolian horse. Hair follicle size, density, and cycle are strongly associated with the activity of alkaline phosphatase (ALP). We observed a great difference in gene expression between the mane, tail, and fetlock, which had a greater different gene expression pattern compared with the dorsal part through transcriptomics. The development of the hair follicle in all four parts was related to angiogenesis, stem cells, Wnt, and IGF signaling pathways. Pigmentogenesis-related pathways were involved in their hair follicle pigment synthesis.

Conclusions

Hair follicle morphology and the activity of ALP differ among four body parts in bay Mongolian horse. Hair follicles of the different body parts of the are not synchronized in their cycle stages. GO terms show a regional specificity pattern between different skin parts of the bay Mongolian horse. These results provide an insight into the understanding of the biological mechanism of the hair follicle in other mammals.

Evaluation of hair follicle parameters using TrichoScale Pro© in healthy dogs: a pilot study

BACKGROUND

Trichoscopy, in combination with image analysis software, is a readily available, efficient diagnostic tool for assessing hair follicle parameters of people in vivo. Systems designed for use in human dermatology must be evaluated and validated with animal skin/hair before they can be used for veterinary applications.

OBJECTIVES

To evaluate the use of a commercial software package for image analysis of canine hair follicles and to define hair follicle parameters.

ANIMALS

Thirteen client-owned healthy dogs.

METHODS

Trichoscopic images at x20 magnification were obtained from three shaved body sites (left dorsal head, left thorax, left flank) over a five day period, then analyzed by the software.

RESULTS

The image analysis software was able to identify microscopic changes in hair length on a daily basis, calculating a mean hair growth rate of 0.065 mm/day. Each of the three body sites had consistent hair growth rates across all days. Anagen and telogen percentages were consistent at each body site by Day 2 (48 h post-clipping). Data for mean hair thickness, and primary and secondary hair percentages also are reported.

CONCLUSIONS

Although it provides less useful data for canine hair coats than for human scalp hair, the system evaluated provides an easy, noninvasive, rapid means for assessing several important canine hair follicle parameters: daily hair growth rates, anagen and telogen percentages, primary and secondary hair percentages, and mean hair thickness. This diagnostic tool could serve to establish breed-specific hair coat standards, evaluating hair follicle changes in various canine alopecic conditions and monitoring coat-promoting treatments in dogs.

Effects of exercise on cations/anions in blood serum of English Thoroughbred horses

ABSTRACT English Thoroughbred horses, are widespread in Mexico and due to the lack of data on their exercise physiology, it is important to conduct exercise tests in order to obtain information the effects of exercise on more essential cations/anions in blood serum, as these horses are submitted to constant efforts. The study was carried out with 150 blood samples of English Thoroughbred horses clinically healthy. The blood sample collection was performed during three periods: 1) rest, 2) 30min after exercise (speed race of 12km/h for 30min with no rest) and 3) 60min after exercise. Mean values were calculated for cations (sodium and potassium) and anions (chloride and bicarbonate). The resulting data set was analyzed using Gaussian distribution and descriptive statistics. Confidence intervals of 95% were established. The linear relationships between ions were quantified, and an analysis of variance was performed to compare the mean values between groups. The concentrations of the described analytes are consistent with values reported by international literature. The comparison between groups, revealed that during exercise, sodium ion did not show changes 30min after exercise and increase 60min after. Potassium ion showed increase 30min after exercise and decrease 60min after. Chloride ion showed a decrease 30min after exercise, to recover gradually 60min after. Meanwhile, bicarbonate ion showed increase 30min after exercise, decreasing slightly in the final stage. Negative correlation between bicarbonate ion and chloride ion were determined. It was concluded that exercise tests are useful for the determination of acid-base balance and osmotic balance, and their main role is to evaluate the athletic ability of horses.Considering that chloride ion excretion and metabolic adjustments of potassium ion and bicarbonate ion are superior to water loss, compared to the normal osmolarity of blood serum. The results found can be used to structure an adequate replacement program of electrolytes lost in sweat.