CPD article: Radiographic interpretation of the navicular bone: a review

Navicular syndrome (navicular disease) plays a major role in the equine industry as a chronic, degenerative, and often career-limiting disease process, affecting a variety of breeds of horses. In addition to clinical signs and diagnostic analgesia, diagnostic imaging plays a key role in the identification of this disease process; radiography is the most widely used imaging modality. In addition to their clinical utility, foot radiographs are a standard element of most pre-purchase examinations. Good radiographic quality and positioning are necessary for accurate interpretation. Radiographic lesions of the navicular bone, such as sclerosis, enlarged synovial invaginations, distal border fragments and flexor cortical erosions, are important to identify and understand because of their potential role in the disease process. This article reviews an approach to radiological evaluation and interpretation of lesions affecting the navicular bone.

Oral Supplementation with Ultramicronized Palmitoylethanolamide for Joint Disease and Lameness Management in Four Jumping Horses: A Case Report

Background: Four show jumping horses were evaluated for non-responsive lameness, which caused their withdrawal from show jumping competitions. The clinical evaluation was performed by radiographic examination, flexion tests, diagnostic anesthesia and lameness evaluation using the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) scale. The diagnoses were a case of navicular syndrome, a complicated case of chronic navicular syndrome and arthrosis of the distal interphalangeal joint of the right anterior limb and two cases of distal intertarsal joint arthritis. Nutraceuticals are often an important management strategy or coadjutant of pharmacological therapies in joint disease. Ultramicronized Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA-um) is an endogenous fatty acid amide that is well-known for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic proprieties widely used in human medicine and small animal veterinary medicine. Although it includes a small number of cases, our study describes for the first time the efficacy of the use of PEA-um in horses. The four horses with non-responsive lameness and significant impairment in athletic performance were daily treated with PEA-um into their normal diet. After four months of PEA-um supplementation, all horses showed remissions of lameness that led to their reintroduction into showjumping competitions without disease recurrence. Therefore, despite the small number of cases included in this study, these observations suggest a good prospective for developing a controlled experiment to test PEA in a larger cohort of horses.