Mobility (Study 1 – in vivo)

Purpose

To evaluate the anti-inflammatory effect Mobility™ in horses with spontaneously occurring degenerative joint disease.

Methods

Six horses diagnosed by a veterinary practitioner with osteoarthritis of the carpal or tarsal joint (lameness, plus at least one other clinical sign of arthritis) were housed at the Equine Research Centre at the University of Guelph. Horses were randomly allocated to receive Mobility™ (165g/day) or a placebo (165g/day of ground alfalfa meal) for 28 days. After 28 days, groups were washed out for 21 days, then groups were crossed over and the trial was repeated. This design allowed for 6 horses per treatment, with each horse acting as its own control. Synovial fluid samples were taken from the affected joint on days 0, 14 and 28 of each phase, and analyzed
for biomarkers for pain (PGE 2 ), and cartilage structure (GAG and HA). Blood samples were analyzed for GAG, HA, as well as complete blood count and biochemistry in order to identify potential systemic (or adverse) effects of the treatments.

Results

PGE 2 significantly increased in control horses between Day 0 and 28, likely due to repeated intra-articular sampling. This increase was not observed in Mobility-fed horses. There were no other statistically significant outcomes in either diet group.

Fig 1. Average % change in synovial fluid PGE 2 in horses with OA receiving Mobility or an inactive control

Conclusions

The ability of Mobility to protect against production of PGE 2 in response to an inflammatory stimulus (intra-articular sampling) provides evidence for its pain-relieving properties in horses with arthritis.