Effective treatment prevents laminitis due to EMS
Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) is a disease complex involving severe changes in the metabolism of horses, which, despite proper feeding and care, are at risk of laminitis. A drug that prevents these already severely ill horses from developing laminitis is highly desirable.
The key component of EMS is the misregulation of the blood sugar regulating hormone insulin. The horses get abnormally high insulin levels in their blood, which increases the risk of the very painful hoof disease laminitis.
A study conducted at the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences investigated whether a new class of diabetes drugs, called sodium-glucose co-transporter (SGLT2) inhibitors, could be used as a treatment option for EMS horses with severely impaired insulin regulation.
The horses included in the study were privately owned and diagnosed with EMS. The horses were tested using a so-called oral glucose tolerance test to measure their ability to regulate blood insulin levels. The test was performed before and after three weeks of treatment with an SGLT2 inhibitor or placebo.
The short-term treatment with the SGLT2 inhibitor lowered the measured insulin levels during the latter glucose tolerance test by 66.5% compared to placebo. Thus, the treatment is very effective and can be used to prevent laminitis in horses with EMS. However, the possible long-term effects of the drug have not yet been investigated.
The study was funded by the Swedish Horse Research Foundation.
Link to the publication
https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.16906
Reference
, , , , . Short-term effects of canagliflozin on glucose and insulin responses in insulin dysregulated horses: A randomized, placebo-controlled, double-blind, study. J Vet Intern Med. 2023; 37(6): 2520-2528. doi:10.1111/jvim.16906
Contact
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PersonSanna Truelsen Lindåse, University LecturerDepartment of Clinical Sciences