Pia Haubro

Surviving Surgery!

I have spent a great deal of the last 30 years in surgery theaters doing surgery on horses, cows and pigs, teaching and researching within my favorite topics – trauma, inflammation and pain.

Since my early carrier, I have been fascinated by the fact that the gastro-intestinal contents are toxic, and if the gastro-intestinal barrier is compromised, it will result in severe disturbances of the immune system, resulting in systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS). If this syndrome is not reversed, shock, organs failure and death are possible options. As far as we know, one of the most toxic components of the GI contents is endotoxin, or LPS. One main interest is therefore detection of LPS in plasma and other fluids. Endotoxin disappears very fast from the systemic circulation, it is cleared within few minutes by Kuppfer cells and other resident macrophages in the body. Investigation of the “foot-prints” of LPS is therefore another great interest, and investigation of biomarkers and clinical markers that indicate that endotoxin has been at play are therefore of great interest.

A number of equine and bovine diseases have been associated to the presence of LPS in the body. This is for example the case in equine laminitis and colic. Also ruminitis, induced by high concentrate feeding in  cows and metritis-mastitis-agalactia in sows have been associated to the translocation of LPS from the intestine to the systemic circulation. Hard evidence for the precise role of LPS is however still lacking. Also, if this true, novel therapies focusing at the leaky GI are lacking.

Pregraduate: Lectures, practicals and examination in most subjects in the large animal surgery curriculum for veterinary students.

Postgraduate: Lecturer at courses and seminars on inflammation, intensive therapy and traumatology for practicing veterinarians, the Education of Equine Veterinary Specialists, Copenhagen and Ph.D. Courses.

• MALDI-TOF for rapid diagnosis of joint disease in horses (Pringle, KV, SVA, UDS)
• Quantification of LPS in plasma and serum. Translocation of LPS and other microbial products in cattel and horses. With Danscher, AM, and University of Manitoba, Canada and KV researchers
• Further, I have a number PhD project in collaborations with researchers from Copenhagen University and Aarhus university.
• Sepsis and the diagnostic value of circulating endothelial cells in the equine (PhD student Lindberg, AHL)
• Quantification of pain in horses and cattle, equine pain faces (PhD student Gleerup, KB)
• Quantification of pain in cattle, especially regarding lameness (PhD student Raundal, P)
• Objective evaluation of ataxia in horses (PhD student Olsen, E.), together with Royal Vet. College London, UK.
• Scientific base for an equine health database (PhD student Hartig, W.)
• Objective lameness evaluation, using a single 3D accelerometer (PhD student Nissen, AG)
• Equine Corneal Inflammatory Diseases (PhD student Henriksen, Michala de L.) together with Dr. Dennis Brooks, University of Florida

Academic Qualifications

Degree of Veterinary Medicine (DVM) 1980, Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, DK

Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) 1985. Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, DK. Thesis: “Portal endotoxemia”.

Doctor of Veterinary Science (DVSci) 2000. Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, DK. Thesis “Bovine endotoxicosis: Aspects of relevance for ruminal acidosis in cattle”.

Appointments

1980 - 1983:    PhD scholarship, Dept. Clinical Studies, Large Animal Surgery,  KVL, DK.

1983 - 1986:    Research assistant, Institute of Toxicology, Ministry of the Environment, Mørkhøj, Denmark.

1986 - 1988:    Assistant professor at Royal Veterinary and Agricultural University, Dept. Clinical Studies, DK.

1988 - 1991:     Post-doc research, section of Large Animal Surgery, KVL.

1991 - 1997:     Associate professor, same department.

1997 - 2000:    Head of Research School for Animal Production and Health

2000 - 2001:    Associate professor, Large Animal Surgery

2001 - 2004:    Department Chair, Department of Clinical Sciences, KVL   

2004 – 2012:   Full professor of Large Animal Surgery, Faculty of Life Sciences, Copenhagen University, Denmark

2012     Full professor of Large Animal Surgery, Faculty of Animal Sciences, Swedish Agricultural University, Uppsala, Sweden

Positions of trust

Former member of several Danish Research Councils, SJVF and FSS. Former member of FORMAS, the Swedish Research Council. Former Head of Research School for Animal for Animal Production and Health, with more than 45 PhD students. Former head of the research committee of Dept. Large Animal Sciences. Copenhagen University. Former head of the Danish Council for Hoof Health. Present member of Forskarrådet, SLU, Sverige (since 2012). Present member of the Danish Animal Ethics Council (since 1998).

The Abildgaard Award, KVL, 2004 for excellent leadership.

Årets Dyrevelfærdspris 2006, for contributions to animal welfare.

.. related to endotoxin
Lindegaard C, Thomsen MH, Larsen S, Andersen PH. Analgesic efficacy of intra-articular morphine in experimentally induced radiocarpal synovitis in horses. Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia. 2010;37(2):171-185.

Lindegaard C, Gleerup KCB, Thomsen MH, Martinussen T, Jacobsen S, Andersen PH. Anti-inflammatory effects of intra-articular administration of morphine in horses with experimentally induced synovitis. American Journal of Veterinary Research. 2010;71(1):69-75.

Danscher AM, Enemark HL, Andersen PH, Aalbæk B, Nielsen OL. Polysynovitis after oligoofructose overload in dairy cattle. Journal of Comparative Pathology. 2010;142(2-3):129-138

Jacobsen S, Andersen PH. The acute phase protein serum amyloid A (SAA) as a marker of inflammation in horses. Equine Veterinary Education. 2007;19(1):38-46.

Jacobsen S, Andersen PHF, Aasted B. The cytokine response of circulating peripheral blood mononuclear cells is changed after intravenous injection of lipopolysaccharide in cattle. Veterinary Journal. 2007;174(1):170-175.

Jacobsen S, Niewold T, Thomsen MH, Nanni S, Olsen E, Lindegaard C and Andersen PH. Serum amyloid A isoforms in serum and synovial fluid in horses with lipopolysaccharide-induced arthritis. Veterinary Immunology and Immunopathology. 2006;110(3-4):325-30.

Jacobsen, S., Toelboell, T., Andersen, P.H. 2004. The clinical and hematological responses to lipopolysaccharide in dairy cows are dose-dependent and display significant inter-individual variation. Vet. Res., 36, 13-25.

Thoefner, M.B., Pollitt, C.C., van Eps, A.W., Milinovich, O. Wattle, G.J., Trott, D.J. and Andersen, P.H. (2004) Acute Bovine laminitis: a new induction model using alimentary oligofructose overload. J. Dairy Science. 87: 2932-2940

Jacobsen, S; Andersen, P. H; Tølbøll, T; Heegaard, P. M. H. (2004): Dose dependency and individual variability of the lipopolysaccharide- induced bovine acute phase protein response. J. Dairy Sci. 87: 3330-3339

Andersen, P.H: Bovine Endotoxicosis – Some Aspects of Relevance to Production Diseases. A Review (2003) Acta Vet. Scand: Suppl 98 141- 155.

Andersen, P.H., H. Houe and A. Fomsgaard: Prevalence of antibodies to lipid A in Danish cattle. J. Vet. Med. A. 1996, 43: 271 -27.

Andersen, P.H., N. Jarløv, M. Hesselholt and L. Bæk. Studies on in vivo Endotoxin Plasma Disappearance Times in Cattle. J.Vet.Med.A. 1996, 43: 93 -101.

Andersen, P.H., N. Jarløv and A. Basse: Chronic Catheterization of an Hepatic vein, the Portal Vein and a Mesenteric vein in Cattle Using a Totally Implantable Cathe¬ter System. Scand. J. Lab. Anim. Sci. 1995, 22: 255 - 262

Andersen, P.H., M. Hesselholt and N. Jarløv: Endotoxin and Arachidonic Acid Metabolites in Portal, Hepatic and Arterial Blood of Cattle With Acute Ruminal Acidosis. Acta Vet. Scand. 1994, 35: 223 - 234.

Andersen, P.H.: Portal Infusion of Low-Dosage Endotoxin: A Model Simulating Translocation of Ruminal Endotoxin in Cattle. Acta Vet. Scand. 1994, 35: 111 - 114

Andersen, P.H. and B. Bergelin: Effect of the feeding regimen on the concentration of free endotoxin in the rumen fluid of cattle. J. Anim. Sci. 1994, 72: 487- 491.

Katholm, J and P.H. Andersen. Acute coliform mastitis in dairy cows: endotoxin and biochemical changes in plasma and colony-forming units in milk. Vet. Rec. 1992 131: 513-514.

Jarløv, N., P. H. Andersen and M. Hesselholt. Pathophysiology of Experimental Bovine Endotoxicosis: Endotoxin-Induced Syntehsis of Prostaglandins and Thromboxane and the Modulatory Effect of Some Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs. Acta Vet. Scand. 1992 33: 1-8.

Andersen, P.H: Aspects of bovine endotoxaemia of possible relevance to lesions in the ruminant digit. In: Update in Cattle Lameness,  1990, ed. R.D. Murray, ISBN 0951627007, 59 -70.

Andersen, P.H. and N. Jarløv: Investigation of the possible role of Endotoxin, TXA2, PGI2 and PGE2 in experimentally induced rumen acidosis in cattle. Acta vet. scand. 1990 31: 27 - 38.

..related to evaluation of clinical performance and objective clinical methods:
Pihl, Tina Holberg,  Pia Haubro Andersen, Mads Kjelgaard-Hansen, Nina Brinch Mørck, Stine Jacobsen (2012). Serum amyloid A and haptoglobin in serum and peritoneal fluid of healthy horses and horses with acute abdominal pain. Veterinary Clinical Pathology (in press).

Rosenmeier, J.G, Strathe, AB, Andersen, PH. 2012. Evaluation of coronary band temperatures in healthy horses. Am.J.Vet.Res. Vol 73, p 719-723.

Lindegaard, C; Ekstrøm, C; Wulff, S; Vendelbo, J; Andersen, PH: Nephrosplenic entrapment of the large colon (NSE) in 142 horses (2000-2009). Analysis of factors associated with decision of treatment and short term survival."  Accepted 2011 by Equine Veterinary Journal (manuscript ID: EVJ-GA-10-407.R1.)

Christophersen, MT, Tnibar, A, Pihl, TH, Andersen, PH & Ekstrøm, CT 2011, 'Sporting activity following colic surgery in horses', Equine Veterinary Journal, vol 43, nr. Suppl. 40, s. 3-6.

Thomsen MH, Persson AB, Tolver A, Sørensen H, Andersen PH. Agreement between accelerometric symmetry scores and clinical lameness scores during experimentally induced transient distension of the metacarpophalangeal joint in horses. Equine Veterinary Journal. 2010;42 (Suppl.38):510-515.

Thomsen MH, Tolver Jensen A, Sørensen H, Lindegaard C, Andersen PH. Symmetry indices based on accelerometric data in trotting horses. Journal of Biomechanics. 2010;43(13):2608-2612.