It has been announced that a years-long investigation into shockwave-therapy biomarkers in racehorses has led to the publishing of a manuscript. It is hoped that the manuscript could be a launching point for further research into the subject.
The news comes courtesy of a report by the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association, which explains that the manuscript was discussed during a meeting of the Pennsylvania Horse Racing Commission on Tuesday, October 29.
During the meeting, Dr. Mary Robinson, who is the director of the Penn Vet Equine Pharmacological Laboratory at the New Bolton Center, explained that the centre has been “working on trying to identify biomarkers in shockwave therapy for many years.”
Dr. Robinson went on to add that the identification process “took a long time because there was no methodology for equine proteins. (The research) shows that inflammatory markers significantly changed in plasma after one single shockwave dose applied to a horse’s leg. The challenge is to understand how the indicators are present in the horse.”
According to Dr. Robinson, the study is part of an ongoing effort to produce an “equine biobank,” which at this point has compiled a total of 5,626 samples from racehorses, both injured and healthy.
“The information is for horses in both racing and training,” the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association has quoted Robinson as saying. “We took the markers and looked for them in samples to see the normal range. It’s the only way to understand how to use these markers in the future.”
To read the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association article in its entirety, click here.
(With files from the Thoroughbred Horsemen’s Association)