David Frisbie, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVS, of Colorado State University, spoke to a large audience at the 2009 American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) convention, held Dec. 5-9 in Las Vegas, Nev., about treating joint disease with a novel formulation not yet approved by the FDA.

Frisbie stressed that you have to have an accurate diagnosis to treat the problem effectively. Treatment goals for osteoarthritis are to decrease pain (using a symptom-modifying osteoarthritic drug or SMOAD) and to minimize further deterioration (using a disease-modifying osteoarthritic drug or DMOAD).

Polyglycan, the novel formulation made up of hyaluronic acid, chondroitin sulfate, and N-acetyl-D-glucosamine (HACSAG), is labeled for intra-articular post-surgical lavage and replacement of synovial fluid. It is not currently marketed or approved as a drug in the United States, although it is manufactured here in an FDA-inspected and -approved facility.

Investigators created a surgically induced cartilage fragment on a joint of each horse in three study groups. The same joint on each horse's opposite limb served as a sham control