Basics
PPID stands for?
Pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction
Most common clinical sign
Failure to shed fully
What hampers veterinarians in diagnosing patients
Poor sensitivity
Does treatment cure the disease
NO just manages
Another clinical signs of PPID
Infertility
Lethargy
Excess sweating
chronic infections
Another name for PPID
Cushing's Syndrome
Name another clinical sign that deals with haricot
curly hair coat
How to test for PPID
plasma ACTH levels
Most widely used drug to treat PPID
Pergolide (Prascend)
Name another testing method
Dexamethasone suppression test
True or false
PPID is uncommon in horses?
False: is the most common endocrine disorder
What clinical sign effects the foot (hoof)
repeated laminitis episodes/hoof abscesses
What do you expect to be high if positive
ACTH
Another drug that may help PPID (less effective)
Cyproheptadine (serotonin antagonist)
What is the reference range
>29 pg/ml
PIPA stands for
Pars intermedia pituitary adenoma
Technical word for curly, long hair coat that fails to shed
hypertrichosis
Laboratory tests that may be abnormal
Low lymphocytes
Increased neutrophils
intermittent high blood sugar
Name 2 side effects of Parcend
Not eating
Weight loss
lethargy
Diet for PPID horse
low soluble carbohydrate feed and forage
low carb hay pellets
No CLASSIC SWEET FEED
Cause of PPID
In a normal equine pituitary gland, a specific cell type (melanotrope) receives neuronal input from the hypothalamus. These neurons release dopamine. Dopamine then inhibits the intermediate lobe of the pituitary gland from making and releasing many different hormones. In the diseased gland, these hypothalamic neurons degenerate and much of that dopamine input is lost. The melanotropes become dys-inhibited. As a result, the pituitary gland’s intermediate lobe undergoes hypertrophy and hyperplasia. The cells are hyperactive or present in high numbers and lead to production of abnormally high levels of many pituitary hormones.
Specifically, ACTH overstimulates a horse’s cortisol synthesis by the adrenal glands. The hyper-cortisolemic state leads to the long list of outward problems in the affected animal
Name a something your horse may do more of
increased H2 or urination
What do you do if negative but have clinical signs that highly suggest PPID
TRH (Thyrotropin releasing hormone)
TRH stim
if negative, then repeat test in 6-12 months
What age of horses are affected
Older >17
Young as 7
What is major focus of equine endocrine disease researchers
Making a PPID diagnosis at a much earlier stage of the disease process