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Comparison of a customized glycemic pellets challenge with the oral sugar test to measure glycemic and insulinemic responses in horses.
Abstract: Testing for insulin dysregulation (ID) in horses is commonly performed to guide management and therapeutic strategies. Objective: To evaluate a newly developed glycemic pellets challenge (GPC) and compare results to those obtained using the low-dose oral sugar test (OST). Methods: Twenty-four adult horses with unknown insulin status. Methods: A randomized crossover trial was performed. Horses underwent GPC (0.5 g glycemic carbohydrates/kg body weight) and OST (0.15 mL corn syrup/kg body weight) 7 days apart. Feed was withheld before testing and blood samples were collected at T0, T60, T120, and T180 minutes for GPC and at T0, T60, and T90 minutes for OST. Blood glucose concentration was measured using a point-of-care glucometer and insulin by radioimmunoassay. Comparisons were made using nonparametric tests, linear regression, and Bland-Altman agreement analysis. Results: Eighteen horses consumed >85% of the GPC pellets within 10 minutes and had acceptable OST results. Maximum glucose (P = .02) and insulin (P = .007) concentrations were significantly higher for GPC compared with OST. Time to maximum insulin concentration (Tmax[ins]) varied within and between tests and neither Tmax[ins] (P = .28) nor maximum insulin concentration (P = .46) was correlated with the time horses took to consume pellets. Conclusions: The GPC is well tolerated and may offer another diagnostic testing modality for ID. Blood glucose and insulin concentrations increase during GPC and reach higher concentrations than observed with low-dose OST. The Tmax[ins] varied for GPC and OST, emphasizing the importance of identifying the optimal time range for the collection of samples to capture diagnostically relevant changes in insulin concentration.
© 2024 Boehringer Ingelheim Animal Health and The Author(s). Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine.
Publication Date: 2024-10-28 PubMed ID: 39463160PubMed Central: PMC11586548DOI: 10.1111/jvim.17191Google Scholar: Lookup The Equine Research Bank provides access to a large database of publicly available scientific literature. Inclusion in the Research Bank does not imply endorsement of study methods or findings by Mad Barn.
- Journal Article
- Comparative Study
Summary
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The research paper presents a comparative study of a newly developed glycemic pellets challenge (GPC) and the currently used oral sugar test (OST) when testing for insulin dysregulation in horses. The study found out the GPC is well tolerated, generates higher glucose and insulin measurements than OST, and suggests its potential as a new diagnostic tool for insulin dysregulation in horses.
Methods of Study
- Twenty-four adult horses with unknown insulin status were involved in a randomized crossover trial where they underwent GPC and OST tests seven days apart.
- For the GPC, each horse was fed with a dose of 0.5 g glycemic carbohydrates/kg body weight. For OST, 0.15 mL corn syrup/kg body weight was used.
- Feed was withheld before testing.
- Blood samples were taken at different time intervals and measured for blood glucose concentration with a point-of-care glucometer and insulin levels with a radioimmunoassay.
- The results of the two tests were then compared using nonparametric tests, linear regression, and Bland-Altman agreement analysis.
Findings of the Study
- Eighteen out of the twenty-four horses consumed more than 85% of the GPC pellets within 10 minutes and provided acceptable OST results.
- They found that the maximum glucose and insulin concentrations were significantly higher for GPC compared to OST.
- The time needed to reach maximum insulin concentration varied within and between both tests. Additionally, this time was not correlated with the actual time it took horses to consume the pellets.
Conclusions
- The researchers concluded that the GPC is well tolerated, increases blood glucose and insulin concentrations, and reaches higher measurements than are observed with the low-dose OST.
- GPC may offer a new diagnostic testing methodology for insulin dysregulation in horses.
- They also highlight the importance of identifying the optimal time range to collect samples, to capture diagnostic changes in insulin concentration accurately. This is because the time to maximum insulin concentration varied for both tests.
Cite This Article
APA
Thane K, Sonntag J, Warnken T, Reiche D, Uricchio C, Frank N.
(2024).
Comparison of a customized glycemic pellets challenge with the oral sugar test to measure glycemic and insulinemic responses in horses.
J Vet Intern Med, 38(6), 3281-3287.
https://doi.org/10.1111/jvim.17191 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Tufts University, Cummings School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, Massachusetts, USA.
- Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH, Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany.
- Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH, Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany.
- Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH, Ingelheim am Rhein, Germany.
- University of Massachusetts, Amherst, Massachusetts, United States.
- Mississippi State University, College of Veterinary Medicine, Mississippi, United States.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Horses / blood
- Blood Glucose / analysis
- Insulin / blood
- Cross-Over Studies
- Male
- Female
- Glucose Tolerance Test / veterinary
Grant Funding
- Boehringer Ingelheim Vetmedica GmbH
Conflict of Interest Statement
Nicholas Frank consults for, and Johanna Sonntag, Dania Reiche, and Tobias Warnken are or were employed by, Boehringer Ingelheim, which provided funds to support this study; these authors did not contribute to data collection or analysis. No other authors declare a conflict of interest.
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