Diagnosing osteoarthritis (OA) in horses with a simple test using a single blood or synovial fluid sample is a great idea, but it has been difficult to accomplish as proven yet again in a recent study by veterinarians from the University of Minnesota Equine Centre.

The application of biomarkers is a growing field in veterinary medicine; commercial test kits are available for measuring metabolism (i.e., the synthesis and breakdown) of type II collagen biomarkers, which are the major type of collagen found in articular cartilage.

"To date, the combined impact of various factors such as age, joint type (such as carpus versus fetlock), and joint injury (other than OA) on biomarker results have been unclear," relayed Troy Trumble, DVM, PhD. To determine if age, joint type, and other joint injuries impact the type II collagen test results, Trumble and colleagues collected and measured type II collagen biomarkers in blood and synovial fluid samples from 100 Thoroughbred racehorses.

"We found that age, the presence of osteochondral chip factures in a joint, and joint type all significantly affected type II collagen biomarker concentrations in both blood and synovial fluid samples," relayed Trumble