title: Endothelin 1 in healthy foals and in foals affected by neonatal diseases.
abstract: In newborn babies, endothelin 1 (ET-1), a potent vasoconstrictor, increases during septicemia and severe respiratory syndromes. Because equine neonatal sepsis (ENS) and perinatal asphyxia syndrome (PAS) are major causes of morbidity and mortality in newborn foals and because no information on the concentration of ET-1 in healthy and sick foals has been reported yet, the aims of this study were (1) to define the serum concentration of Big ET-1 in healthy neonatal foals during the first week of age; (2) to preliminarily explore the diagnostic and prognostic role of Big ET-1 during ENS and PAS. Six healthy and 23 sick foals affected by ENS and/or PAS were enrolled in the study. In healthy foals, Big ET-1 concentration increased in the first hours of life until 24 hours after birth, and it remained constant during the first 3 days, then gradually decreased becoming significantly lower from Day 4 onward (P < 0.05). In sick foals, only 26.1% of animals showed higher values of Big ET-1 than controls at admission, and no difference between surviving and nonsurviving foals was found. Because in nonsurviving foals, Big ET-1 remained over the maximum value recorded in clinically healthy horses or, when normal at admission, increased over time; this study suggested that repeated measurement of Big ET-1 during hospitalization may be helpful in monitoring the course of the disease. In conclusion, possible prognostic information may be obtained by repeated analysis of Big ET-1 during hospitalization, but further studies are needed.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Science and Public Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Polo Veterinario di Lodi, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Giordano
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Ozzano dell'Emilia, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: C
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Castagnetti
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, University of Milan, Milan, Italy. Electronic address: sara.panzani@unimi.it.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Panzani
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Science and Public Health, University of Milan, Milan, Italy; Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Polo Veterinario di Lodi, University of Milan, Lodi, Italy.
authors.forename: S
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Paltrinieri
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, University of Bologna, Ozzano dell'Emilia, Bologna, Italy.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Freccero
authors.affiliation: Department of Health, Animal Science and Food Safety, University of Milan, Milan, Italy.
authors.forename: M C
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Veronesi
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn / Q000097:blood*; D015415:Biomarkers / Q000097:blood; D019332:Endothelin-1 / Q000097:blood*; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000097:blood*; D006736:Horses / Q000097:blood*; D008297:Male; D011237:Predictive Value of Tests; D011379:Prognosis; D012016:Reference Values
chemical_list: D015415:Biomarkers; D019332:Endothelin-1
keywords: Endothelin 1; Equine neonatal sepsis; Newborn foal; Perinatal asphyxia syndrome