Applying Laminitis Research to Clinical Practice

Seeing the forest for the trees with regards to laminitis can be difficult because researchers are approaching the problem from many different angles, often at the molecular level. At the Sept. 17-18 Laminitis West Conference in Monterey, Calif., Thomas J. Divers, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVECC, professor and Chief of Large Animal Medicine at Cornell University spoke about how veterinarians are
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Seeing the forest for the trees with regards to laminitis can be difficult because researchers are approaching the problem from many different angles, often at the molecular level. At the Sept. 17-18 Laminitis West Conference in Monterey, Calif., Thomas J. Divers, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVECC, professor and Chief of Large Animal Medicine at Cornell University spoke about how veterinarians are putting the whole picture together to help treat and prevent laminitis cases.

Divers explained three reasons why applying results of laminitis research to actual cases is difficult:

  • Laminitis has several different causes, including equine metabolic syndrome, systemic inflammatory disease (SID), equine Cushing's disease, corticosteroid use, and uneven weight-bearing as a result of injury (opposite-limb laminitis).

  • With SID, two different models are used in research to induce laminitis–carbohydrate overload and black walnut extract. There are some differences in the pathophysiology of the disease in each model.

  • There are different stages of laminitis, all with different pathophysiologic findings, making it more difficult to study disease mechanisms and target treatment.

In treating horses with conditions that could lead to laminitis, Divers has two goals–treating the primary disease and inhibiting the laminitis disease process in the hoof. He begins by treating the whole horse to (control sepsis), often using fluid and anti-inflammatory treatments in addition to toxin drainage or neutralization when possible. He then works on the foot to prevent laminitis or provide treatment during the earliest stages.

The use of non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs is well documented in alleviating many clinical signs associated with SID, but Divers said NSAID use is not as well-documented for efficacy in directly preventing laminitis. He added that the type and dose of NSAID prescribed depends on the primary disease causing the laminitis and the stage of the laminitis

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Written by:

Tracy Gantz is a freelance writer based in Southern California. She is the Southern California correspondent for The Blood-Horse and a regular contributor to Paint Horse Journal, Paint Racing News, and Appaloosa Journal.

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