Platelet-rich plasma (PRP) is becoming a common regenerative medical therapy for treating a wide range of injuries in athletic horses; however, not all PRP is created equal. During a presentation at the 2011 North American Veterinary Regenerative Medicine Association Conference, held June 2-4, 2011 in Lexington, Ky., Taralyn McCarrel, DVM, a surgical resident at Rood & Riddle Equine Hospital, in Lexington, discussed the benefits of PRP optimization.

"A variety of commercial PRP products are available, but each of these preparations is different in terms of the number of platelets, growth factors, and white and red blood cells, to name only a few important differences," relayed Fortier, an associate professor of large animal surgery at Cornell University, who co-authored the abstract with McCarrel.

Other important differences between different PRP preparations used in horses include:

• Recommended timing of first treatment;
• Treatment intervals;
• Volume of injection; and
• Cost.

If PRP is optimized in terms of how it is prepared, how many platelets are used to treat a horse, and how frequently horses need to be treated for a particular injury, then veterinarians will be able to provide uniform recommendations to all horse owners