C O O L E D S E M E N VIDEO
The American Quarter Horse Association has just released a new video called "Artificial Insemination with Cooled Transported Semen." The video introduces American Quarter Horse breeders to the management of a cooled transported semen breeding program. This new technology has recently been approved for use by AQHA in Rule 209 of the 1997 AQHA Official Handbook. "This video is important for all breeders wanting to take advantage of the cooled transported semen technology," said Gary Griffith, AQHA Registrar. Cooled transported semen requires special handling procedures and equipment with which most breeders are not familiar. The new video gives breeders a step-by-step look at the procedures and equipment needed to have a successful cooled transported semen breeding program. New AQHA bylaws allow breeders to collect semen from a stallion, cool it, then transport it to another facility for insemination. Research has shown that cooled semen will only be viable for up to 48 hours, sometimes less. The video was produced as a cooperative effort between Colorado State University and AQHA. The video can be purchased for $9.95 by calling Quarter Horse Outfitters America at 1-800583-8897. It also is available on loan from the AQHA video library by calling (806) 376-4888, ext. 201. The AQHA is the largest equine breed registry in the world with more than 3.5 million registered horses and 314,000 members. Information about AQHA and its programs is available through AQHA's homepage on the
Volume 17, Number 4, 1997
Internet, http://www.aqha.com or contact AQHA Customer Inquiry at (806) 376-4811. from: American Quarter Horse Association
NFLFUNDS CSU R E S E A R C H
The National Football League has teamed up with Colorado State University researchers and Vail's noted Steadman-Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation to develop new methods for treating knee injuries. Ongoing research efforts headed by Colorado State's Dr. C. Wayne Mcllwraith have shown promising results in treating knee injuries with a new surgical technique. The research also will explore enhancing treatment with injection of growth factors, or hormones. The ongoing research is funded by grants from the National Football League Charities. The surgical technique, developed by Dr. J. Richard Steadman, is called microfracture and involves punching small holes in the subchondral bone in the knee near a joint surface injury. Colorado State researchers also plan to use the surgical process in conjunction with biomedical applications of growth factor hormones to promote healing of disabling knee injuries. The combined treatments could prevent injured horses and athletes who suffer from osteoarthritis--a degenerative joint disease characterized by the breakdown of the joint's cartilage from needing joint replacements. Cartilage breakdown causes bone to mb against bone, resulting in pain and loss of movement. The disease affects weight-bearing joints such as knees, hips, feet and back. The NFL-funded study is the result of an initial collaboration between
McIlwraith, director of Equine Sciences and Orthopedic Research at Colorado State, and Steadman, an internationally renowned human orthopedic surgeon and director of the Steadman-Hawkins Sports Medicine Foundation in Vail. The research team includes David Frisbie, Gayle Trotter, Barbara Powers, Louise Southwood and Julie Oxford, all doctors from Colorado State' s College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences. Dr. Bill Rodkey from the Steadman-Hawkins clinic also is on the team. The equine orthopedic research program has had a number of projects aimed at healing knee cartilage defects in race horses with funds from the Colorado State Horse Racing Commission. Meanwhile, Steadman had developed the microfracture technique as a possible new approach in treating humans with debilitating knee joint conditions. Steadman and Mcllwraith teamed up to test the procedure in horses, which like human athletes, frequently sustain partial or full defects to knee cartilage. In the first year of study at Colorado State, 10 horses with articular cartilage loss, or osteoarthritis, were operated on using the microfracture procedure. Six weeks after the operations, lesions that had received the microfracture technique started producing a mature form of type II collagen, a "building block" found in normal knee cartilage. Further long-term studies in horses showed that lesions undergoing microfracture operations had a greater amount of healthy tissue present over time and a better adherence of the tissue to the subchondral bone in the knee compared with other surgery methods. The research team also identified a source of healing growth factor proteins that could be injected in joints to speed healing following the micro-frac-
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