Though horses can develop laminitis from a myriad of factors, the most common form of the dangerous disease is hyperinsulinemia-associated laminitis (HAL). High circulating insulin levels cause laminitis, a painful hoof condition affecting the laminae of the hoof, which supports the coffin bone.
Read more about laminitis here.
Unlike other forms of laminitis, HAL-induced laminitis may be partially reversible – but intervention must take place as quickly as possible, reports The Horse.
Dr. Andrew van Eps, speaking at the 2023 Saratoga Vet & Farrier Conference, has found that using the “lucent zone,” seen on radiographs, can help determine the extent of acute laminitis damage. This zone is parallel to the coffin bone and represents the lamellae. In healthy hooves, this zone should measure less than 7.5 millimeters. Any increase in this zone, no matter how slight, is significant, he said.
The lucent zone also changes shape and angle, particularly when the coffin bone begins sinking. Van Eps looks at the ratio of the lucent zone and total wall thickness to measure the separation, which is less affected by X-ray technique.
Though the lucent zone may increase within hours, improvement, as indicated by the shrinking of the zone, may take multiple months and aggressive treatment. Treatment of acute HLA often involves cooling the hooves, restricting the diet and administration of drugs that lower blood insulin as rapidly as possible.
Van Eps recommends pulling the horse from pasture grass, offering hay that has been soaked (at 1.5 percent of the horse's body weight per day) and administering drugs like metformin or a sodium-glucose co-transporter 2 inhibitor (SGLT2i). In some cases, early reduction of blood insulin concentrations has been shown to offer more rapid improvement of HAL.
Read more laminitis updates at The Horse.
The post ‘Lucent Zone’ May Be Useful In Diagnosing Acute Laminitis appeared first on Horse Racing News | Paulick Report.
