CLINICAL AND ULTRASONOGRAPHIC EVALUATION OF TWO
PROTOCOLS OF CELLULAR THERAPY FOR SUSPENSORY LIGAMENT
REPAIR IN HORSES.
Anamaria Santos Soares, Geraldo Eleno S. Alves, Luis Alberto Lago, Odael Spadaeto
Jr, Deliene O. Moreira, Franz Camargos de F. Muller Ribeiro, Rafael R. Faleiros1
Introduction: Suspensory desmitis is a common and difficult condition to treat in athletic
horses. Recently, treatments based on intralesional injection of stem cells and growth
factors have been reported for tendonitis and desmitis cases. Objective: To compare early
clinical and ultrasonograhic effects of two protocols of autologous cell therapy in the
treatment of experimental lesions in the equine suspensory ligament (SL). Material and
Methods: Under general anesthesia, a circular full-thickness lesion (3 cm proximal to the
bifurcation) using a 0.6 cm biopsy punch was induced in each of four SL in six horses.
Those SL were allocated into four equal groups (each horse had all treatments) based on
the following treatments: no treatment or negative control (NCG), saline solution or
positive control (PCG), cellular fraction of bone marrow (BMG) and adipose tissuederived cultured cells (ATG). Treatments were applied 48 hours after induction by
intralesional ultrasound-guided injection. Clinical and ultrasonographic evaluations were
performed for 77 days following creation of the lesion. Results and Discussion: The
ligamentous lesions were homogeneous and easily identifiable by ultrasonography. Those
lesions did not interfere significantly with locomotion or feeding, indicating that this is a
suitable model. The clinical changes were mild and did not differ between groups (P>
0.05). Compared with basal values, there was an increase in the ligament diameter, which
occurred acutely in NCG and later in the BMG and ATG groups; however, there were no
significant changes in size and echogenicity of the lesions. Conclusions: The model was
considered effective for producing simultaneous ligament lesions in the four ligaments of
each horse without inducing detrimental effects on the horses` health. Neither beneficial
nor adverse effects were observed in the groups treated with cellular protocols compared
with the controls. Experiments using a longer experimental period and including the
analysis of the scar tissue are warranted.
Veterinary School – Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Grupo de Pesquisa em Clínica e Patologia Cirúrgicas de Equídeos e Ruminantes
Acknowledgments: FAPEMIG and CNPQ for financial support.
[email protected]
Av. Antônio Carlos 6627-Caixa Postal 567 - CEP:30123-970 -Belo Horizonte-MG-Brasil
Committee of Ethics: CETEA/UFMG – 19/07
Veterinary School – Universidade Federal de Minas Gerais
Grupo de Pesquisa em Clínica e Patologia Cirúrgicas de Equídeos e Ruminantes
Acknowledgments: FAPEMIG and CNPQ for financial support.
[email protected]
Av. Antônio Carlos 6627-Caixa Postal 567 - CEP:30123-970 -Belo Horizonte-MG-Brasil