Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID or Cushing's disease) is a disease that affects many older horses, but it can often be controlled with the use of a medication called Pergolide.
In other parts of the world, Pergolide is used in human medicine to combat the symptoms of Parkinson's disease, restless leg syndrome, and hyperprolactinemia. Side effects can include fibrotic lesions of the atrioventricular valves in the heart.
Dr. Heidrun Gehlen, from the Department of Veterinary Medicine at the Free University of Berlin, gathered a team of scientists to determine whether the same effects would be seen in horses.
The scientists examined 23 horses between 19 and 30 years old, all of which had been diagnosed with PPID using the ACTH adrenocorticotrophin hormone test. The treatment group comprised 12 horses that had been receiving Pergolide for between 14 days and 6 years, while 11 other horses in the control group received no Pergolide.
The researchers performed an echocardiographic exam on all horses, and found that each was free of cardiovascular disease; no valve defects were found.
Follow-up exams were then given to nine horses in the treatment group and five in the control group between three and eight months later. The findings were the same: use of Pergolide did not affect ventricular function or cause valve disease in horses.
Read more at Equine Science Update.
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