What are the symptoms of PSSM in horses?
Clinical signs of PSSM range from mild to severe. They include sweating, lameness, sore muscles, undiagnosed lameness, poor performance, and muscle tremors (“tying up”). These may occur with or without exercise. Under saddle, affected horses may be reluctant to go forward or collect.
What causes equine metabolic syndrome?
EMS is caused when fat cells or adipose tissue produce high levels of adipokines, a protein hormone that leads to an increase in cortisol. As a result of the abnormal hormone production, a horse’s normal response to the hormone insulin is disrupted, resulting in high insulin and glucose blood concentrations.
Can horses get diabetes mellitus?
Although diabetes mellitus is uncommon in horses, there is a condition called Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) that has few similarities with diabetes mellitus type 2. The term EMS in horses defines a group of risk factors for the development of laminitis.
How does the equine body respond to an increase in blood glucose levels?
The high blood glucose levels stimulate the production of insulin resulting in a concurrent persistent high blood level of insulin. The main role of insulin in the body is to encourage the uptake of glucose from the blood into cells where it can be either used or stored for energy.
How is PSSM diagnosed?
Muscle Biopsy: PSSM can be diagnosed based on microscopic evaluation of a muscle biopsy in horses over two years-of-age, however, a definitive diagnosis of the type 1 form of PSSM requires genetic testing. The sample is taken from the semimembranosus muscle, which is part of the rear limb hamstring muscles.
When does PSSM start?
Some horses with type 1 PSSM are asymptomatic, but most horses with the genetic defect will begin to show signs of PSSM by six years of age. Valberg cautioned that the signs of PSSM can begin as early as one year of age and as late as the mid-teens.
Can Equine Metabolic Syndrome be reversed?
Thankfully, EMS can be reversed, but only with a lot of hard work. Horses with EMS are very, very hard to diet – so it takes real dedication to get the job done. It involves a serious permanent lifestyle change. Your vet and a nutritionist will help you plan a tailor-made diet for your horse.
How do you treat a horse with equine metabolic syndrome?
Equine metabolic syndrome is treated with dietary management in the form of non-structural carbohydrate (NSC) restriction, restriction of total calorie intake, and a reduction (grazing muzzle) or elimination of pasture access.
How do horses get diabetes?
Although diabetes mellitus (type 2 diabetes) may occur as a complication of EMS, it is extremely rare in horses. In cases of diabetes or ‘uncompensated insulin resistance’, the pancreas secretes insufficient levels of insulin or in some cases stops secreting completely, resulting in poor glucose regulation.
How do you check a horse’s blood sugar?
Oral sugar tests The simplest way to do this is to feed the normal concentrate ration of the horse and measure insulin concentration 2 hours after. Although less standardised, this gives a good idea of what insulin levels are occurring in response to a horse’s normal diet.
What is equine hyperinsulinemia?
Hyperinsulinemia, which is defined as an unusually high blood or plasma insulin concentration, with or without hyperglycemia, is common in horses. Pituitary dysfunction and obesity can cause IR and both are correlated with an increased risk of laminitis.
How do I know if my horse is insulin resistance?
There is not a specific set of symptoms that an insulin-resistant horse will show, but there are signs that might indicate insulin resistance. These include abnormal fat deposits, usually on the crest, rump and above the eye, excessive urinating and drinking, and potentially developing laminitis.
What are the signs and symptoms of diabetic myopathy?
It occurs in conjunction with symptoms such as paresthesia, pain or fever-like symptoms. Complications of muscle weakness vary depending on the stage of diabetic myopathy and they include contractures and muscle atrophy. 5. Exercise intolerance
What causes muscle spasms in diabetic myopathy?
Diabetic Myopathy. Therefore, myopathy is a systemic disease caused by neuropathy (nerve damage) that impairs proper functioning of muscle fibers causing general muscle weakness in affected areas. Myopathy also causes muscle spasms, inflammation and paralysis.
What are the signs and symptoms of mitochondrial myopathy?
Myopathy The main symptoms of mitochondrial myopathy are muscle fatigue, weakness, and exercise intolerance. The severity of any of these symptoms varies greatly from one person to the next, even in the same family. In some individuals, weakness is most prominent in muscles that control movements of the eyes and eyelids.
How is physical therapy used to treat myopathy?
Patients should be informed that physical activity can help prevent and mitigate the effects of corticosteroid-induced myopathy, and should be prescribed physical therapy as part of a preventive and treatment regimen. A program of screening for steroid-induced myopathy should be implemented in the appropriate patient population.