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Immune Hemolytic Anemia
This is the Story
of Blue Savannah, A.K.A. Savvy.
Thoroughbred Mare,
foaled April 1988
No previous history of ANY medical problems. 
Savvy presented to the University of Georgia Veterinary Teaching Hospital on December 7, 2000 for evaluation of icterus, decreased appetite and water intake for about one week, and red/black discolored urine.
Before presentation
she had become more depressed and was showing possible colic signs and a fever,
both of which responded to Banamine.
Savvy was placed in the care of Dr. Susan White, Department Head of Medicine
at UGA.
Upon examination her vital signs were within normal limits, but mucous membranes and sclera were quite icteric. Her PCV (packed cell volume/Hematocrit) was markedly decreased (21%). A CBC revealed a normal white cell count with an increase in bands and a fibrinogen of 400. A serum profile revealed severe hemolysis in the serum. The hemolysis appeared to be intravascular.
Then the rule out process began. Rule outs included Red Maple Toxicity, piroplasmosis, leptospirosis, equine infectious anemia, and immune mediated hemolytic anemia. She was placed on IV fluids and Vitamin C, and given little hope of stabilizing. The situation was grave and the outlook dim.
Savvy was a little stable the next day, but her PCV continued to fall (15-16%) and the search for a donor for transfusion began. The universal donor horse at UGA was not a match and just about every horse in the program and facility was cross matched. A match was found in a research horse in Dr. Michelle Barton's care, and she postponed the research project so Bear, a quarter horse mare, could be Savvy's donor. Coombs test and Leptospira titers were all negative and the Dr.s involved in the case began to think Savvy's hemolysis was immune mediated. She was started on Dexamethosone Dec 8.
By 12/12/00 her PCV had fallen to 12% and while the staff was placing another IV catheter in the right jugular, she collapsed due to hypoxia. After administering diazepam, 8L of blood was transfused. She improved a little over the next few days, but another transfusion was eminent and more horses, including the UGA Equestrian Team's mounts, were all cross matched. A match was found in a Quarter Horse gelding named Quill. Savvy was transfused, again, on 12/19. No one was very optimistic, but Savvy continued to improve daily and continued on daily Dexamethisone injections. As we would try to decrease the levels of the steroid, she would start hemolyzing and we were unable to decrease the dose as quickly as we wanted to to avoid laminitis problems. By Christmas Day she was beginning to show some foot soreness, but no true lameness when circled. She improved enough by 1/16 for the IV catheter to be removed and it was decided that on January 23, 2001 she could go home.
I kept her on decreasing doses of the steroid until 3/16 when I discontinued it. All went well until 5/15/2001 when the hemolysis started again. I would pull a little blood in a "crit" tube and spin it daily to get an idea of where her PCV was and I would run a CBC every 3-5 days. When the trend started again, I called UGA and went back for evaluation. They sent us home with Prednisolone this time and a 30 day supply of Azathioprin (Immuron). Things were not looking so good again, but I was able to decrease the Prednisolone and I did not want to continue on the Azathioprin due to cost and the fact that it is a Chemotherapy drug. By then it was mid-June and she was starting to get a little lame. Both Vet and Farrier thought it might be an abscess.
July went by (slowly) with steroid injections every 3-4 days in decreasing doses until August 8 when I discontinued the steroid. By this time she was quite "Cushinoid" and the foot situation was getting worse. My local Vet had not given us much hope at this point and I was told my horse probably had Lymphosarcoma or Myoleioma. Still, she showed no symptoms of these diseases and was bright, alert, and responsive. She has never looked like a "sick" horse.
On September
16 the first abscess appeared at the top of the right coronary band. Another
one appeared an inch away and soon they were connected. Her blood work was
little low, but nothing critical. I was giving Pred every 7-10 days. Needless
to say she was VERY lame and I was waiting for her to tell me it was "time".
My vet rescected the abscess and suggested I try a long acting steroid like
Depo-
Medrol.
The University vets. weren't supportive of that and said it probably wouldn't
work, but I thought, what have we got to loose? A lot of CBC's later, she
was stable until 11/29 when she got another Depo injection. By that time the
laminitic symptoms were improving and she was abler to be turned out in a
very small paddock.
Then we met Dr. Mac Barksdale........ I had paid a lot of money to another nutrition company to formulate a custom supplement based on Savvy's hair analysis and still had some of that left.
All through
December Dr. Mac and I discussed a treatment plan. On 1/1/2002 I gave Savvy
her 1st TF Stress Pack. We did this
for 2 weeks. The blood work was improving!! At the same time, we started TF
Performance and Show. The results were dramatic.
Hematocrit and Red Cell count CONTINUED to rise. By 1/25 the farrier was able to put shoes with pads on her and she was walking and turning normally. We were administering Butazolidin (NSAID) through out January and were able to discontinue it on February 2. She was stable enough for me to take a much needed vacation. Before I left on my trip I administered 7 days of Stress Pack and she was stable with a HCT of 35.8.I don't know why, but upon my return her HCT had fallen to 32.1 and with much trepidation, Dr. Mac and I decided to administer the Depo-Medrol (40 mg.).
She remained stable for 5-6 weeks and when the HCT and Red Cells started to drop out of range I would give another TF Stress Pack, all the while on the daily 2 scoops recommended dose of TF Performance and Show. I could get the same result with the Stress Pack as I did with the steroid injection!! Key Ingredients
On April 2, 2002, I had biopsies done on tissue samples that came back non-malignant. The Dex Suppression Test for Cushing's was done on 4/5, also negative. Serum thyroid tests were negative, also. It is now July 12, 2002 and she has been "steroid free" for OVER 120 days. Does this horse have Cancer? I don't know. I want very much to say no. If you saw her in person, you'd say no. I used to think "I don't know if we have 6 months or 6 days".
Yes, this horse is a fighter. Before her illness, she and I had done things I never thought possible in the show ring. She was a voracious competitor in the Adult Hunters. She has been Champion or Reserve Champion at almost every show she's ever been in. I'm riding her lightly now. The right front hoof is grown out from the resection and she is not even wearing a pad on the shoe! It's unlikely I will show her again; she's earned her retirement. That's not to say that she couldn't go back to the show ring. She still looks like she can win the hack! But I do think that her recovery from this devastating disease is all due to the 4Life Research Company and their Transfer Factor products. I have no intention of removing these products from her program or the other horses in my care. Needless to say, I believe that Savvy is the only horse in veterinary history "to have recovered from THIS horrible disease".
I would be happy to discuss the benefits of these products with anyone interested. Many thanks to the Doctors that have developed these products, and especially, my good friend, Dr. Mac Barksdale.
Respectfully
submitted,
Nan Buckner
Atlanta, GA
Another Auto Immune Equine Success Story - Pemphigus Foliaceus
autoimmune disease: caused when the body produces antibodies to its own substances. In some blood disorders, antibodies may be produced against the body's own red and white blood cells. The body gets mixed signals and it begins attacking itself..
Why will the TF Performance and Show and the TF Animal Stress Pack work on an autoimmune problem when all modern medicine has to offer is damaging steroids and immunosuppressive drugs?
It is called the suppressor fraction: This fraction down regulates the immune response when the threat has been defeated. They are responsible for returning the immune system to a resting state to await the next threat. These transfer factors modulate immune system function when reacting to auto-immune situations where the microbes have "hidden" in specific tissues and the immune response mistakenly becomes directed toward "self".
The supressor fraction will do something no drug in the world can do! Stop the body from attacking itself, while the other two fractions build and re-educate the immune system. read about the other 2 fractions
The Role Transfer Factor Plays in the Health of Your Performance Horse.
TF
Performance and Show
TF Stress Pack
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