Michigan State Seeking Horses With Cushing’s Disease For Research Study

Elanco Animal Health – a Division of Eli Lilly and Company, in collaboration with Michigan State University (MSU), Oklahoma State University (OSU), and Louisiana State University (LSU) is seeking horses afflicted with Equine Cushing’s Disease also known as Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (ECD/PPID) to participate in a research study.  MSU, OSU and LSU are recruiting cases of ECD/PPID to document the efficacy and safety of pergolide in support of FDA approval.  Veterinary prescribed off-label use of pergolide in horses with ECD/PPID has been documented in the literature for nearly 20 years in 25 global, scientific publications.  An FDA approved pergolide product for horses afflicted with ECD will assure the access to and the uniformity and quality of a pergolide therapy for horses in the United States.

About ECD/PPID and PERGOLIDE
Horses nearing fifteen to twenty years of age or older that have not shed out well in the spring for the past one or two years are possibly developing ECD/PPID.  Additional signs can include increased water consumption and urination, loss of muscle over the top line, and possibly concurrent development of abnormal fat deposits, such as a crested neck and/or a bulge of fat over each eye. Another sign is unexplained laminitis (founder) and recurrent or chronic infections.

If one or more of these signs is noted in an aged horse, then the horse may be a candidate for the study. An initial evaluation, including laboratory testing, would confirm whether or not the horse would meet study criteria.

Owner Responsibilities
Horses that are part of the study would be evaluated at the beginning of the study, and then after three and six months of pergolide treatment. Study drug, ECD/PPID testing, and all health evaluations would be provided free of charge.  Horse owners will be required to document the daily dosing of medication to their horses and any side effects they may notice. 

The three visits will require overnight hospitalization for testing (1 night).  Enrollment will occur between November 3, 2008 and January 30, 2009.  Each horse will participate for six months total duration from initiation of treatment.

To be included in this study, horses should not have been treated with medications or dietary supplements recommended for ECD/PPID within 60 days of study pergolide treatment initiation.

Horse Donations
In addition to client-owned animals, the Universities may accept horses as donations.  These horses would be enrolled in the pergolide study and maintained in paddocks in small groups for the six-month study period.

These horses would not be returned to the owners at the end of the study, and would be University-owned animals after donation. 

CONTACT INFORMATION
If you have an interest in either bringing or donating a horse for this study, please contact:
Dr. Hal Schott, Veterinary Teaching Hospital, College of Veterinary Medicine, Michigan State University at (517) 353-9710.
Dr. Dianne McFarlane, Physiological Sciences, Oklahoma State University, Stillwater, Oklahoma at (405) 744-2072
Dr. Frank M. Andrews, Equine Health Studies Program (EHSP), Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, Baton Rouge, Louisiana at (225) 578-9580

Source: http://cvm.msu.edu