back to EPM. He thinks EPM has reached “nearly epidemic” proportions and for young racehorses following a circuit, without time off to rest and rebuild their immune system, recovery is difficult.
BLOOD SIMPLE “Without three to four weeks off, a racehorse can’t bounce back,” Dr. Sachs says. He prefers avoiding corticosteroids (“It bothers the immune response”), and has seen his best results over the last three years treating EPM with kinesiology and injecting “hot” points with the patient’s own blood.
Te theory behind blood injections is that, through spinning the blood in a centrifuge, red blood cells are removed, and the remaining platelets (containing helpful hormones and proteins) de- granulate, so they can be injected more “cleanly” back into receptors in the horse’s body.
Lindsay McLean, an acupuncturist who also identifies EPM by what she calls “Environmental Illness” points, says horses get “very beneficial effects when blood is injected. It is especially helpful for depressed states, chronic fatigue, and autoimmune disorders.”
Dr. Sachs emphasizes that the degree of success depends on where in the EPM cycle the treatment begins. He has had “good results” when injecting sites two to three times per week. “Check the points to see if they are hot, and if necessary, inject again.”
Gary and Michaela Young opened Camden Equine Rehabilitation and
points are reactive, acupuncturists
forehand; in its early stages, the disease tends to initially
express itself in the right hindquarters.
Dr. Marvin Cain, Acupuncture Diagnosis and Treatment of the Equine, Fourth Edition. 859-384-8004
Conditioning Center in Camden, South Carolina, earlier in 2010 to offer alternative sports medicine and veterinary technology for equine injury recovery, post-surgical care, and accelerated conditioning.
“We started with Dr. Cain a long time ago,” Gary Young says. “Along with our vet, Dr. Sam Tetterton, we have probably brought more horses back from EPM than just about any stable in the country. We have been treating it for over 25 years.”
Like Dr. Cain, Young has discovered markers for EPM on the hindquarters, with signs arising in the right stifle first, and in immune points in the shoulder. One test he uses to determine if a horse is EPM-positive is to blindfold the animal and see if it can walk a straight line. “Since EPM can affect the brain stem and coordination, they can’t walk straight.”
Michaela and Gary Young, of Camden Equine Rehabilitation and Conditioning Center, supervise a horse’s low-impact exercise session in an Aquapacer.
Holistic Horse™ • October/November 2010 • Vol.16, Issue 69
IMMUNE TO HARM Young calls EPM the single most misdiagnosed equine disease in America today: “In the 1960s my parents believed horses who showed ‘Wobbles’ were showing the first signs of EPM. Te parasite has since changed and evolved.” He cites how blood tests identify two protozoa (S. neurona, and less commonly,Neospora
hughesi), but who’s to say we are not missing others?
A strong immune system is the first line of healthy defense.
continued on p. 24
The Many Faces of EPM
On August 18,
TheHorse.com hosted a 90-minute webinar roundtable with Dr. Stephen Reed of Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital; Dr. Frank Andrews, director of Louisiana State University Equine Health Studies; Dr. Amy Johnson, lecturer in clinical studies at University of Pennsylvania; and Dr. W. David Wilson, professor of epidemiology at UC-Davis, who discussed the challenges of diagnosing EPM and properly treating it:
“We are finding different strains of S. neorona that express different proteins. We are looking at improving drug absorption using DMSO. ” – Dr. Johnson
“We are concerned that up to 30% of horses relapse. That’s an area of research we need to pursue.” – Dr. Andrews
“We need to know the role of the immune system in this disease.” – Dr. Reed
“Discovering mare-to-foal transmission in utero is the most recent breakthrough in EPM research. There are gaps in our knowledge of the immune system. EPM is an important problem that won’t go away.” – Dr. Wilson
www.holistichorse.com | 23
detect soreness, hock tenderness, and a shifting weight to the
diagnostic points are called Au Shi. When EPM
acupuncture,
In Chinese
Courtesy Camden Equine Rehab Center/Sydney Masters
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