WHAT'S NEW...

WANTED:  Horses with Cushing's Disease

EAST LANSING, MI... Investigators at Michigan State University's College of Veterinary Medicine will be working with Elanco Animal Health to gain FDA approval for the use of the drug pergolide for treatment of horses afflicted with equine Cushing's disease.

Pergolide has been used to treat humans with Parkinson's disease for decades but was recently pulled off the market due to concerns that the drug could contribute to heart valve problems in a small number of patients.  However, off-label use of the drug, at a relatively low dose, has also been successful in treating older horses with Cushing's disease for the past twenty years.  No heart valve problems have been found in treated horses and pergolide has become the treatment of choice for horses with Cushing's disease.

MSU-CVM is currently recruiting newly diagnosed cases of equine Cushing's Disease in order to document the efficacy of pergolide for FDA approval. Horses that are part of the study would be required to come to MSU-CVM at the beginning of the study, after three months of pergolide drug treatment, and again after six months.  The pergolide and evaluations at MSU-CVM would be provided at no cost to the owner.  It is possible that Elanco will provide some additional pergolide after the completion of the study.

Horses nearing twenty years of age or older that havenot shed out well in the spring for the past one or two years are possibly developing equine Cushing's disease.  Additional signs can include increased water consumption and urination, loss of muscle over the top line, and possibly at the same time the development of abnormal fat deposits, such as a crusty neck and a bulge of fat over each eye. Another sign is unexplained laminitis (founder).

If you have noticed one or more of these signs in your aged horse, then your horse may be a candidate for the study.  An initial evaluation, including laboratory testing, would confirm whether or not the horse would meet the study criteria.  This initial evaluation could be performed at MSU in consultation with your primary care veterinarian.

However, to be included in this study, horse should not have been treated with medications or dietary supplements recommended for use in horses with equine Cushing's disease.

MSU-CVM's goal is to study twenty to thirty horses.  If you have an interest in either bringing or donating a horse for this study, please contact Dr. Hal Schott, equine clinician at (517)353-9710.