Internal medicine equine
Research domains
Our education is continuously adjusted based on recent publications. The treatment methods are always supported by the results of expert research. This team is currently conducting research in the following areas.
Cardiology
We have a dedicated Equine Cardiology Ghent team which is specialized in the following methods.
Colic and ileus
Equine colic is a common disorder of the digestive system. Colic is age and race independent and symptoms may vary from mild to severe. There are various causes of equine colic such as dietary problems, sand ingestion, gut parasites, stomach ulcerations,....
Post-operative ileus, which means a decreased gastrointestinal motility after surgery, is a frequently encountered problem. It is predominantly seen after surgical intervention of the small intestines and result in fluid (reflux) accumulation in the stomach with a risk for stomach rupture. Despite intensive fluid therapy, regular emptying of the stomach and medical treatment, horses with ileus have an increased risk (>30%) for death.
Research in our team on ileus has identified specific risk factors and new drugs to reduce the risk (4x) for ileus.
Neurology
Differentiating subtle signs of lameness from subtle spinal cord disease may be challenging. Research in our team developed a technique to perform Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) or Magnetic Motoric Evoked Potentials (MMEP) as a non-invasive tool for studying spinal cord function.
- The magnetic motor evoked potential test (MMEP-test) is a painless test performed on the standing sedated horse. A brief magnetic field trough the skull produces a motoric signal in the brains that travels through the spinal cord to the muscles in the legs.
The impulse that arrives in the muscles is captured with a registration needle. The time lag between magnetic stimulation and capture of the stimulus in each of the legs and the amplitude of the captured signal indicate whether intact conduction through the spinal cord occurs.
The conduction time will increase if the integrity of the motor nervous system is damaged. - Electromyography (EMG) is a technique for recording the electrical activity in muscle. Muscle disorders show specific abnormalities.