Metabolic Syndrome (horse)

from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

The equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is a disease of the endocrine system in horses.

prehistory

The syndrome mainly affects races that are easy to feed ( pony breeds , Spanish mustangs , Morgans , Arabs, etc.). The animals are mostly between the ages of 6 and 25 years.

Symptoms

Affected horses are:

  • often extremely fat,
  • with noticeable accumulations of fat over the eyes of the animals, in the mane crest, on the trunk, around the base of the tail and in the immediate vicinity of the hose in the male horse and the udder in mares

Diagnosis

Most laboratories offer the parameters glucose, triglycerides, and cortisol. It is important to ensure that the transport time is not too long, as otherwise glucose is broken down.

Determining the ACTH and insulin values ​​is more complicated. In the case of insulin, it is sufficient if the serum is centrifuged off immediately and, cooled with ice packs, is sent to the examination by courier within a few hours. If this is not guaranteed, the centrifuged serum - just like the centrifuged plasma for ACTH determination - must be sent frozen at -20 ° C.

Clinical appearance

  • mostly overweight and / or
  • Fat deposits in certain places: in front of the udder or in the tube area, around the base of the tail, on the mane crest, above the eyes, croup
  • Signs of creeping deer may be present
  • later clinically manifest relapses
  • increased appetite
  • occasionally increased thirst and frequent urination ( polydipsia , polyuria )
  • lethargy

Laboratory values

They should be collected after a twelve hour fasting period. The normal values ​​are partly dependent on the laboratory.

  • Insulin : (norm = 70–140 pmol / l) is increased: in MS it can rise to over 300 pmol / l
  • Glucose : (norm = 55–95 mg / dl) is mostly slightly increased: in MS it is mostly 110-140 mg / dl
  • Triglycerides : (norm = below 50 mg / dl) are also usually slightly increased: rise to over 50 mg / dl. It becomes questionable from around 200 mg / dl ( hyperlipidemia )
  • Cortisol : (norm = 3–6.7 µg / dl) and ACTH (norm = 20–50 pg / ml) should be normal, but can increase slightly in pain-related stressful situations (acute laminitis) and therefore be false positive.
  • Dexamethasone suppression test : (blood sample, 40 µg dexamethasone / kg body mass intramuscularly, new blood tests after 15 and 19 hours) serve to exclude the ECS : in healthy horses, the cortisol level falls below 1 µg / dl
  • Thyroid values: (norm = 0.3–0.9 µg / l) and T 4 (norm = 1.3–4.1 µg / dl) can be wrongly too low (" Euthyroid-Sick-Syndrome "), the thyroid gland however, it can be stimulated normally with a TRH stimulation test.
  • intravenous glucose tolerance test : 0.5 g glucose / kg body mass is quickly infused intravenously in a 50% solution and the blood sugar level is checked at short intervals. In a healthy horse, a return to the normal range occurs after about one to two hours. In MS, the level remains elevated even after three hours ( insulin resistance ).

diet

Hay (preferably washed hay) or hay and softened unmolassed beet pulp are fed as a diet measure . The age or appearance of the hay has no influence on the sugar and calorie content. The horse needs at least 1.5% of the body weight as a minimum. If the horse is too fat, the amount is based on the target body weight. The hay should be watered for at least half an hour before feeding, an hour and warm water would be optimal. If the hay z. B. can not be watered because of frost, part of the heuration should be replaced with unmolassed beet pulp.

Grains or pellets, fresh grass, carrots or apples (since they contain sugar), and supplementary mineral and vitamin foods should be avoided.

This diet is an emergency program; After evaluating the hay analysis, an appropriate vitamin-mineral preparation should be selected.