Stress Response with Laminitis

Researchers at Colorado State University conducted a prospective hospital-based study to examine stress hormone profiles including thyroid hormone, adrenocorticotrophic hormone (ACTH), cortisol and histamine in 14 horses that presented with laminitis compared with a group of 12 horses affected by gastrointestinal (GI) disease and a group of 12 controls at the hospital for non-medical reasons such as prepurchase examination or dental work. Among the laminitis cases, nine were chronic and five were acute without a prior history of the condition. The GI disease group included nine surgical colic cases and three horses with colitis.

Stress hormone levels for horses with laminitis and GI disease were different from the controls, but not in a uniform, consistent manner. ACTH was higher in laminitis and GI groups compared with controls. Thyroid hormone was lower and cortisol was higher in GI horses compared with both laminitis and control horses. Histamine was significantly higher in horses with laminitis compared with GI horses and controls.

The authors conclude although the stress hormone profiles of horses with laminitis were variably different from the nonlaminitic horses examined in this study, stress hormone profiles may warrant further investigation as potential biomarkers for horses at risk for laminitis. Examining histamine levels over time may be particularly useful as a biomarker for laminitis.

— Moss A et al. J of Vet Sci 2023:e33

Sarapin Block Found Ineffective

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