Acylcarnitines profile best predicts survival in horses with atypical myopathy

• Published in: PloS one Vol. 12; no. 8; p. e0182761
• Main Authors: Boemer, François, Detilleux, Johann, Cello, Christophe, Amory, Hélène, Marcillaud-Pitel, Christel, Richard, Eric, van Galen, Gaby, van Loon, Gunther, Lefère, Laurence, Votion, Dominique-Marie
• Format: Journal Article Web Resource
• Language: English
• Published: United States Public Library of Science 28-08-2017; Public Library of Science (PLoS)
• Subjects: Acer; Acer pseudoplatanus; Acylcarnitines; Animal biology; Animal diseases; Animals; Atypical myopathy; Biology and Life Sciences; Carnitine - analogs & derivatives; Carnitine - blood; Cheval; Dehydrogenases; Erables; Fatty acids; Health risks; Horse; Horse Diseases - blood; Horse Diseases - mortality; Horses; Internal medicine; Intoxication; Laboratories; Life Sciences; Maple tree; Mathematical models; Medical prognosis; Medicine and Health Sciences; Multivariate analysis; Muscular Diseases - blood; Muscular Diseases - mortality; Muscular Diseases - veterinary; Myopathie; Myopathie atypique; Myopathy; Médecine vétérinaire & santé animale; Oxidation; Prognosis; Rhabdomyolysis; Sciences du vivant; Statistical models; Studies; Survival; Survival Rate; Urine; Veterinary medicine; Veterinary medicine & animal health; Veterinary medicine and animal Health; Belgium; France
• ISSN: 1932-6203; 1932-6203
• DOI: 10.1371/journal.pone.0182761

Equine atypical myopathy (AM) is caused by hypoglycin A intoxication and is characterized by a high fatality rate. Predictive estimation of survival in AM horses is necessary to prevent unnecessary suffering of animals that are unlikely to survive and to focus supportive therapy on horses with a possible favourable prognosis of survival. We hypothesized that outcome may be predicted early in the course of disease based on the assumption that the acylcarnitine profile reflects the derangement of muscle energetics. We developed a statistical model to prognosticate the risk of death of diseased animals and found that estimation of outcome may be drawn from three acylcarnitines (C2, C10:2 and C18 -carnitines) with a high sensitivity and specificity. The calculation of the prognosis of survival makes it possible to distinguish the horses that will survive from those that will die despite severe signs of acute rhabdomyolysis in both groups.