Summary

Conventional treatments of equine tendon injuries lead to an unsatisfactory healing process that usually results in a relatively high recurrence rate. Therefore, in recent years so-called regenerative therapeutics were studied scientifically in vitro and in laboratory animals. These include substances that ideally lead to the formation of replacement tissue, which in contrast to the low quality scar, has similar functional properties as the original intact tendon. Currently, a plethora of different substrates is either commercially available or can be produced in practice with the help of kits. The current knowledge on the production and the regenerative potential of nucleated cells like stem cells from bone marrow and fat tissue, of the blood products PRP (platelet rich plasma), ACP (autologous conditioned plasma), ACS (autologous conditioned serum) and of the scaffold substance UBM (urinary bladder matrix) are presented. Finally, the potential of some growth factors and of gene therapy is considered. Currently, it is assumed that the regeneration of tendon tissue is promoted by a complex interaction of scaffolds, growth factors and cells. At present, only very few studies are available which allow a comparison between these substances. Studies on the effect of regenerative substrates on tendons in live horses are presented elsewhere.