Biomarkers help crack the code on saving more equine lives
Researchers at Penn Vet leverage biomarkers to better detect human-caused inflammation in horses and help prevent further complications.
2 min. read
In both animals and humans, biomarkers can signal that something has gone awry. For clinicians, they are valuable tools—once they are identified.
At Penn’s School of Veterinary Medicine, David Levine, associate professor of clinical large animal surgery, uses biomarkers as effective detectors of inflammation—early indicators of infection that can then be stopped, avoiding complications and even saving equine lives.
Penn Vet’s David Levine, associate professor of clinical large animal surgery, does a reading for the biomarker serum amyloid A (SSA) on his handheld Stablelab device.
(Image: Ashley Hinton)
Mary Robinson, associate professor of veterinary pharmacology, is director of Penn Vet’s Equine Pharmacology Laboratory, and acting director of the Pennsylvania Equine Toxicology and Research Laboratory. She uses biomarkers to determine whether horses that race at Pennsylvania’s Standardbred tracks have been illegally doped by horse trainers attempting to gain an unethical advantage and potentially harming the horses.
At both of her labs, Robinson and her staff have studied biomarkers and continue to work to break new ground. Their work helps enforce the rules and regulations for horse racing, but for Robinson, there is an even greater issue at stake.
Levine has found that SAA detects infection-related inflammation earlier and more accurately than fibrinogen, a long-used acute phase protein biomarker. In addition, there are handheld devices that can easily and quickly measure SAA from a simple blood sample.
For a surgeon and his patients, early detection is crucial. “When a horse gets an infection post-operatively, your success rate goes down substantially,” Levine says.
This story is by Rita Giordano. Read more at Penn Vet.
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