Topic:Betamethasone
Betamethasone is a synthetic glucocorticoid used in equine medicine for its anti-inflammatory and immunosuppressive properties. It is commonly administered to manage conditions such as joint inflammation and allergic reactions in horses. Betamethasone works by inhibiting the release of substances that cause inflammation, thereby reducing swelling and discomfort. Its use in horses is subject to regulation, especially in competitive settings, due to its potential to enhance performance by alleviating pain and inflammation. This page compiles peer-reviewed research studies and scholarly articles that explore the pharmacokinetics, therapeutic applications, and regulatory considerations of betamethasone in equine medicine.
Pharmacokinetics of intra-articular betamethasone sodium phosphate and betamethasone acetate and endogenous hydrocortisone suppression in exercising horses. To the date, no reports exist of the pharmacokinetics (PK) of betamethasone (BTM) sodium phosphate and betamethasone acetate administered intra-articular (IA) into multiple joints in exercising horses. The purpose of the study was to determine the PK of BTM and HYD concentrations in plasma and urine after IA administration of a total of 30 mg BTM. Eight 4 years old Thoroughbred mares were exercised on a treadmill and BTM was administered IA. Plasma and urine BTM and HYD were determined via high performance liquid chromatography spectrometry for 6 weeks. Concentration-time profiles of BTM and H...
Resolution, quantification and confirmation of betamethasone and dexamethasone in equine plasma by liquid chromatography/tandem mass spectrometry. This method describes the simultaneous separation, identification, quantification and confirmation of betamethasone (BTM) and dexamethasone (DXM) in equine plasma by liquid chromatography (LC) integrated with multidimensional tandem mass spectrometry. Analytes were directly extracted from equine plasma by methyl tert-butyl ether (MTBE). The residues were reconstituted with sample solvent. LC separation of the analytes was performed on a Hypercarb column using acetonitrile/water/formic acid (95:5:0.5, v/v/v) as the mobile phase. Sample screening, quantification and confirmation were performed i...
Effects of anti-arthritic drugs on proteoglycan synthesis by equine cartilage. The concentration-effect relationships of phenylbutazone, indomethacin, betamethasone, pentosan polysulphate (PPS) and polysulphated glycosaminoglycan (PSGAG), on proteoglycan synthesis by equine cultured chondrocytes grown in monolayers, and articular cartilage explants were measured. The effect of PSGAG on interleukin-1beta induced suppression of proteogycan synthesis was also investigated. Proteoglycan synthesis was measured by scintillation assay of radiolabelled sulphate (35SO4) incorporation. Polysulphated glycosaminoglycan and PPS stimulated proteoglycan synthesis in chondrocyte monolay...
Clinical effects of betamethasone and hyaluronan, and of defocalized carbon dioxide laser treatment on traumatic arthritis in the fetlock joints of horses. The clinical effects of intra-articular betamethasone together with hyaluronan (betaM/HA) and treatment with a defocalized carbon dioxide laser on acute traumatic arthritis of the fetlock joint were assessed. The horses in these studies were selected using a thorough lameness examination, including intra-articular anaesthesia abolishing the lameness. This investigation comprised an observer-blind study, including 10 sport horses (10 joints), and a prospective study, including 180 sport horses (333 joints). In both studies, the material was divided into two groups treated with either betaM/HA o...
The effect of drugs commonly used in the treatment of equine articular disorders on the activity of equine matrix metalloproteinase-2 and 9. Loss of articular cartilage, which is the most important pathological lesion occurring in osteoarthritis, has been shown to be enzymatically mediated. The matrix metalloproteinases (MMPs) are a group of enzymes which have been implicated in this degradation of articular cartilage matrix. The use of pharmacological agents to inhibit this catabolic process in the joint is a potential route for therapeutic intervention. The gelatinase MMPs, MMPs-2 and 9, were purified by affinity chromatography from equine cell cultures. The ability of phenylbutazone, flunixin, betamethasone, dexamethasone, methy...
Effect of betamethasone and exercise on equine carpal joints with osteochondral fragments. Osteochondral fragments were created arthroscopically on the distal aspect of both radial carpal bones in 12 horses. On day 14 after surgery, one middle carpal joint of each horse was injected with 2.5 mL Betavet Soluspan (3.9 mg betamethasone sodium phosphate and 12 mg betamethasone acetate per milliliter) and the contralateral joint was injected with 2.5 mL saline as a control. Intra-articular treatments were repeated on day 35. On day 17, six horses began exercising 5 days per week on a high-speed treadmill. The other six horses were kept in box stalls throughout the study as nonexercised c...
Increase in plasma progestagen concentrations in the mare after foetal injection with CRH, ACTH or betamethasone in late gestation. Maternal plasma progestagen concentrations increase about 20 days before parturition. The major contributors to the increase are reduced metabolites (ie 5 alpha-pregnanes). Precocious increases (ie less than 310 days of gestation) in these metabolites may occur in abnormal pregnancies. The effects of CRH, ACTH or betamethasone administered to the foetus at gestational ages ranging from about 250 to 320 days were examined. Sixteen healthy pony mares were used for foetal injection employing aseptic techniques. Water or normal saline were used as controls. Maternal plasma progestagen concentratio...
Applications of equine models of acute inflammation. The Ciba-Geigy Prize for Research in Animal Health. The development of reproducible models of acute inflammation in which inflammatory heat is easily quantified and from which inflammatory exudate is readily harvested has facilitated studies in the horse of the actions of steroids and non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDS). Blockade of the synthesis of eicosanoids and suppression of inflammatory heat by clinical dose rates of NSAIDS suggests a causal link between the two events and provides further evidence for a role of these compounds in acute equine inflammation. The tendency for enolic and carboxylic acids NSAIDS to accumulate in in...
Identification of betamethasone and a major metabolite in equine urine. Betamethasone and its major unconjugated metabolite, 6-beta-hydroxybetamethasone, were detected in equine urine by thin-layer chromatography and characterized by micro-liquid chromatography/mass spectrometry (micro-LC/MS). Their structures were confirmed by a combination of infrared spectroscopy and nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy.
The use of combined high performance liquid chromatography negative ion chemical ionization mass spectrometry to confirm the administration of synthetic corticosteroids to horses. Negative ion chemical ionization mass spectra of some corticosteroids have been obtained by direct syringe introduction on to the Finnigan moving belt high-performance liquid chromatography-mass spectrometer interface. Proprietary preparations based upon dexamethasone, betamethasone and prednisolone were administered to horses at therapeutic dose level. Urine samples were extracted, the extracts purified by Sephadex LH-20 chromatography and the presence of the parent steroids in the eluates was confirmed by combined high-performance liquid chromatography negative ion chemical ionization mass s...
Corticosteroid-potentiated vascular responses of the equine digit: a possible pharmacologic basis for laminitis. Spirally cut digital arteries and veins were mounted isotonically in organ baths containing oxygenated Krebs' Q-Henseleit solution. Twelve arterial and 12 venous preparations all contracted dose dependently when epinephrine, norepinephrine, serotonin, or histamine were added to the bathing fluid. Addition of hydrocortisone or betamethasone alone did not cause contractions in any of the tissues tested. However, when hydrocortisone or betamethasone was added to vessel strips that were partially contracted (40% to 60% maximal) by epinephrine, norepinephrine, or serotonin, each vessel strip invari...