A Horse & Hound Podcast advertising special with Boehringer Ingelheim
Welcome to this new podcast episode – on treating joint disease, with Boehringer Ingelheim – a Horse & Hound Podcast advertising special. H&H’s Polly Bryan chats to Jessica Kidd, an RCVS and European recognised specialist in equine surgery, and consultant surgeon, about why joint disease is so prevalent among sport horses and how new therapies can help turn back the clock when it comes to joint disease.
You can listen online here or via your favourite podcast app.
NB: The educational content of this podcast episode is sponsored by Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health UK Ltd (“BI”). Further information available from BI, RG12 8YS, UK. Date of preparation: May 2023 UI-EQU-0062-2023. Use Medicines Responsibly.
Understanding treatment of joint disease in horses
Joint disease accounts for up to 60% of lameness cases in sport horses, but traditionally, vets have only been able to effectively treat the signs of joint disease in horses, rather than the root cause of the issue. However, thanks to scientific developments, options to address the actual disease itself are more widely available, in the form of stem cell therapy.
“Certainly lameness and orthopaedic issues are the largest cause of attrition in horses and it’s something that every horse is reasonably going to run into at some point in their lifetime, so it’s definitely a significant issue,” says Jessica, whose areas of expertise are orthopaedic and soft tissue surgery, as well as lameness investigations and imaging.
“Far and away the most common treatment used for joints are corticosteroids. Steroid injections are used frequently as a treatment because they work in the vast majority of horses and they are among the most effective treatments,” continues Jessica. “But they do come with some caveats.
“Corticosteroids are the most potent anti-inflammatory we have. But they are not going to fix anything that’s structurally wrong in the joint. What they will do is temporarily alleviate the signs of inflammation within the joint and the pain that’s causing the lameness, but they won’t fix anything that’s structurally damaged.”
Why stem cell therapy is a game-changing treatment
The science around stem cell therapy has advanced considerably over the past few years, and it’s been rigorously tested for both safety and efficacy in treating joint disease. But what is stem cell therapy?
“Stem cells in their basic form are a type of cell that has the ability to develop into a number of different cell types,” explains Jessica. “For example, a stem cell could become a muscle cell, or a ligament cell. The idea behind stem cell technology is to harness the abilities of stem cells to effect a repair, or a regeneration of tissue.
“What sets stem cell therapy apart from everything else we can put in a horse’s joint, they are the most elegant solution. Instead of just trying to patch things up, or dampen down the inflammation, what we’re trying to do with stem cells is we’re trying to effect a structural repair.
“We don’t have anything else that can do what stem cells can do.”
