Recent News for Metabolic Problems
Article
Cushing's Disease and Laminitis--Not Just Old Horses
April 01, 2004
Researchers recently revealed that Cushing's disease is a major contributing factor to laminitis among horses in a primary care veterinary practice, and that the median age of laminitic Cushing's horses was 151/2years--disproving tha... Read More
Article
Obesity and Cushing's Disease
April 01, 2004
There is speculation that metabolic syndrome could be a factor in horses which develop Cushing's disease. ... Read More
Article
Diet: When Horses Need Less Carbs
April 01, 2004
Research suggests some horses (growing foals, laminitic horses, etc.) could do well on low-glycemic diets. ... Read More
Article
AQHA Board of Directors Votes on Key Rule Changes at Convention
March 11, 2004
The American Quarter Horse Association Board of Directors voted Tuesday on the recommendations of the AQHA standing committees as approved in the general membership meeting. The following is the final results of the vote regarding hyperkalemic... Read More
Article
Diseases of Dietary Origin
March 01, 2004
The axiom, "You are what you eat" does have relevance to horses with regard to health and well-being. Although horses have evolved to eat plant material, not all plants are safe to eat. Some food substances directly exert toxic effects, while... Read More
Article
The Future of Horses with HYPP
December 30, 2003
Letter to the Editor: This letter must begin by saying how proud I am of a man whom I have never met. His name is Steve Stevens of Houston, TX, the current president of the American Quarter Horse Association (AQHA). Mr.... Read More
Article
Dietary Clues to Tying-Up
June 20, 2003
Recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (RER, a type of tying-up) is an inherited disorder in Thoroughbreds. Research suggests that RER involves an abnormality in the regulation of calcium in muscle cells. High-grain diets have been implicated as... Read More
Article
Equine Metabolic Syndrome and Laminitis
May 01, 2003
Of particular interest to horse owners was Johnson's black-and-white linkage of the newly termed EMS condition with laminitis and obesity. "Obesity-associated insulin refractory state" was Johnson's precise description of "Equine Metabolic Syndrome" ... Read More
Article
Speed Limit
March 05, 2003
The racing Thoroughbred is trapped between a rock and a hard place. The rock is speed, which evolved slowly by natural selection for 50 million years, then rapidly by human hand the last 500. The hard place is where we find our ward today, beset... Read More
Article
When Your Horse's Muscles Ache
March 01, 2003
Equine muscle injuries are often elusive, leading to frustration for the rider and a challenging diagnosis. ... Read More
Article
AAEP Convention: Peripheral Cushing's
March 01, 2003
Peripheral Cushing's syndrome (PCS) is a recently named problem seen in middle-aged horses and ponies with obesity-associated laminitis. These horses tend to accumulate fat in the crest of the neck, over the rump, and in the sheath of males. It... Read More
Article
AAEP 2002: Vitex Agnus Castus Extract for Treatment of Equine Cushing's Syndrome
February 21, 2003
Vitex agnus castus extract (Chaste Berry) has been reputed to have therapeutic efficacy in the treatment of Equine Cushing’s syndrome. However, results of a study at the University of Pennsylvania’s New Bolton Center repudiated these... Read More
Article
Diagnosis and Treatment of Rhabdomyolysis in Foals
February 13, 2003
We hear a lot about a horse experiencing rhabdomyolysis (tying-up) during or after exercise. However, foals are also susceptible to muscle damage. Stephanie Valberg, DVM, PhD, of the University of Minnesota, presented "A Review of the Diagnosis... Read More
Article
AAEP 2002: Thyroid Function in Horses with Peripheral Cushing's Syndrome
January 07, 2003
Peripheral Cushing's syndrome (PCS) is seen in middle-aged horses with obesity-associated laminitis. These horses tend to accumulate fat in the crest of the neck, over the rump, and in the sheath of male horses. Researchers are trying to... Read More
Article
Locked Into Place
August 01, 2002
Much has been learned about exertional rhabdomyolysis (tying-up) in recent years, but unfortunately some of that knowledge has been troubling. For example, at least one newly recognized cause of tying-up in foals has, in identified cases, always... Read More
Article
Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy and Back Pain
August 01, 2002
As many as 40% of all cases of equine back pain are the result of soft tissue injury. The primary causes include chronic and recurrent exertional rhabdomyolysis (CER and RER, respectively), and an inherited enzyme deficiency called polysaccharid... Read More
Article
Tying-Up in Horses
July 01, 2002
Tying-up is the most common muscle problem in horses. This syndrome is also called azoturia, set fast, paralytic myoglobinuria, and chronic exertional rhabdomyolysis (ER). HYPP (hyperkalemic periodic paralysis) in Quarter Horses is a different... Read More
Article
Environmental Factor in Cushing's?
June 01, 2002
I have been treating an aging pony mare for Cushing's syndrome. She had been chronically foundering for three years when she abruptly started exhibiting diabetic symptoms. After reading your article on Cushing's and conferring with my... Read More
Article
AAEP Convention 2001: General Medicine
February 01, 2002
Hormone Responses to Feeds Joe Pagan, PhD, owner of Kentucky Equine Research in Versailles, Ky., discussed glycemic response in growing horses as an indicator of developmental orthopedic disease. He said looking at diet and... Read More
Article
General Medicine: The Michigan Cushing's Project
November 26, 2001
There have been advancements in the diagnosis and treatment of Cushing’s disease; however, previously there were no studies comparing the two most used medications—pergolide, a dopaminergic agonist, and cyproheptadine, a serotonin... Read More
Article
Cushing's and Seizures?
November 05, 2001
Seizures are rare in the horse, and adult horses especially have a high seizure threshold. Cushing's disease can cause seizures, but they are very rarely seen with this disease.... Read More
Article
Exertional Rhabdomyolysis
October 10, 2001
Tying-up is a problem that has troubled horses and their owners for many years, and it has been known by many names. The old-timers who battled the syndrome in their draft horses following a Sunday away from the fields called it Monday morning... Read More
Article
HYPP: Hyperkalemic Periodic Paralysis
October 10, 2001
They gave the muscular Quarter Horse colt an ambitious name: Impressive. He lived up to the name in such dramatic fashion that it became a household word in Quarter Horse circles - especially among breeders and exhibitors involved in showing... Read More
Article
Medical Messengers--British Equine Veterinary Association
October 08, 2001
The annual meeting of the British Equine Veterinary Association provided a wealth of information on topics ranging from tendons and ligaments to muscle diseases, from disorders of the back to conformation. Sue Dyson, MA, VetMB, PhD, DEO, FRCVS,... Read More
Article
Tying Up is Split Up
October 01, 2001
Muscle disease in performance horses commonly is referred to as tying-up, exertional rhabdomyolysis, azoturia, or Monday morning disease. Horses experiencing tying-up show a stiff gait; reluctance to move; firm, painful muscle cramps; profuse... Read More
