FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / J Anim Sci / Diagnostic accuracy of post-ACTH challenge salivary cortisol...
Journal of animal science2018; 96(6); 2154-2161; doi: 10.1093/jas/sky074

Diagnostic accuracy of post-ACTH challenge salivary cortisol concentrations for identifying horses with equine glandular gastric disease.

Abstract: The aims of this study were to better characterize the adrenal response to i.v. adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in horses with and without gastric disease and to validate and simplify the ACTH stimulation test by determining the diagnostic accuracy of six consecutive sampling time points after ACTH administration for equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) and equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD). Twenty-six endurance and eventing horses without clinical disease [Sport Horse Population (SHP)] and an independent population of 62 horses [General Population (GP)] were grouped by gastroscopic findings (no/mild vs. moderate/severe EGGD, grade 0-1 vs. 2-4 ESGD, respectively) and underwent an ACTH stimulation test. Salivary cortisol (ng/mL) was analyzed before and 30, 60, 90, 120, and 150 min after i.v. injection of 1 µg/kg BW synthetic ACTH1-24. The association between having moderate or severe EGGD or ESGD and the amount of salivary cortisol was analyzed by means of receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis. The following explanatory variables were considered: cortisol values for every time point, the area under the curve (AUC)-including all time points and corrected for the baseline-and the partial areas under the curve AUC0-90 and AUC90-150. Sampling after 60 min had highest association with moderate/severe EGGD. The diagnostic potential of the ACTH test was higher for the SHP [sensitivity 100% (95% CI 54% to 100%), specificity 75% (95% CI 51% to 91%), ROC-AUC 91% (95% CI 69% to 98%), 1-sided P-value < 0.001] than for the GP [sensitivity 75% (95% CI 48% to 93%), specificity 52% (95% CI 37% to 67%), ROC-AUC 68% (95% CI 51% to 79%), 1-sided P-value = 0.0064]. There were, however, no significant associations with ESGD. The superiority of sampling after 60 min suggests that the initial release of cortisol rather than its peak or the AUC are relevant regarding EGGD. Even though the wide confidence intervals and thus the lack of diagnostic accuracy do not presently support clinical use, characterization of the adrenal response to an ACTH stimulus improves the understanding of EGGD pathophysiology and its relation to stress.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2018-05-16 PubMed ID: 29762691PubMed Central: PMC6095231DOI: 10.1093/jas/sky074Google 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.
LinkedInCopy
  • Journal Article

Summary

This research summary has been generated with artificial intelligence and may contain errors and omissions. Refer to the original study to confirm details provided. Submit correction.

This research aims to examine the adrenal response in horses with and without gastric disease after administering a hormone called adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH). The effectiveness of the ACTH stimulation test was also validated and simplified in diagnosing equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD) and equine squamous gastric disease (ESGD), looking specifically at salivary cortisol levels at six different times after giving ACTH.

Study Design and Participants

  • The study involves two groups: a Sports Horse Population (SHP) comprised of 26 healthy endurance and eventing horses, and a General Population (GP) of 62 horses with varying health statues.
  • Horses from both groups were categorized based on gastroscopic findings into those with no/mild or moderate/severe EGGD and ESGD.
  • All horses underwent an ACTH stimulation test, in which 1 µg/kg BW synthetic ACTH1-24 was injected intravenously. Salivary cortisol levels were then measured before and at 30-minute intervals for the following 150 minutes.

Research Analysis

  • Through receiver-operating characteristic (ROC) analysis, the study examined the relationship between the severity of EGGD and ESGD and salivary cortisol levels.
  • Explanatory variables considered include cortisol levels at each time point, the complete area under the curve (AUC) for all the time points corrected for baseline, and partial areas AUC0-90 and AUC90-150.
  • The results show the highest association between salivary cortisol levels measured 60 minutes after ACTH administration and moderate/severe EGGD.

Study Findings

  • Diagnostic effectiveness of the ACTH test was higher for the SHP group (100% sensitivity, 75% specificity, ROC-AUC 91%) than for the GP group (75% sensitivity, 52% specificity, ROC-AUC 68%).
  • No significant associations were found in relation to ESGD.
  • The higher correlation with EGGD at the 60-minute marker suggests that the initial release of cortisol after ACTH administration is more critical than its peak or overall presence as measured by AUC.
  • The wide confidence intervals highlight a lack of diagnostic accuracy for clinical use but enhance understanding of EGGD’s underlying mechanisms and its connection to stress responses in horses.

Cite This Article

APA
Sauer FJ, Bruckmaier RM, Ramseyer A, Vidondo B, Scheidegger MD, Gerber V. (2018). Diagnostic accuracy of post-ACTH challenge salivary cortisol concentrations for identifying horses with equine glandular gastric disease. J Anim Sci, 96(6), 2154-2161. https://doi.org/10.1093/jas/sky074

Publication

Journal of animal science
ISSN: 1525-3163
NlmUniqueID: 8003002
Country: United States
Language: English
Volume: 96
Issue: 6
Pages: 2154-2161

Researcher Affiliations

Sauer, Fay J
  • Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Swiss Institute for Equine Medicine (ISME), Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, and Agroscope, Bern, Switzerland.
Bruckmaier, Rupert M
  • Veterinary Physiology, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Ramseyer, Alessandra
  • Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Swiss Institute for Equine Medicine (ISME), Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, and Agroscope, Bern, Switzerland.
Vidondo, Beatriz
  • Veterinary Public Health Institute, Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, Bern, Switzerland.
Scheidegger, Milena D
  • Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Swiss Institute for Equine Medicine (ISME), Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, and Agroscope, Bern, Switzerland.
Gerber, Vinzenz
  • Department of Clinical Veterinary Medicine, Swiss Institute for Equine Medicine (ISME), Vetsuisse Faculty, University of Bern, and Agroscope, Bern, Switzerland.

MeSH Terms

  • Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / administration & dosage
  • Animals
  • Area Under Curve
  • Female
  • Horse Diseases / diagnosis
  • Horses
  • Hydrocortisone / analysis
  • Male
  • ROC Curve
  • Sensitivity and Specificity
  • Stomach Diseases / diagnosis
  • Stomach Diseases / veterinary

References

This article includes 28 references
  1. Akobeng AK. Understanding diagnostic tests 3: Receiver operating characteristic curves.. Acta Paediatr 2007 May;96(5):644-7.
    pubmed: 17376185doi: 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2006.00178.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  2. Alexander SL, Irvine CH. The effect of social stress on adrenal axis activity in horses: the importance of monitoring corticosteroid-binding globulin capacity.. J Endocrinol 1998 Jun;157(3):425-32.
    pubmed: 9691975doi: 10.1677/joe.0.1570425google scholar: lookup
  3. Alexander SL, Irvine CH, Livesey JH, Donald RA. Effect of isolation stress on concentrations of arginine vasopressin, alpha-melanocyte-stimulating hormone and ACTH in the pituitary venous effluent of the normal horse.. J Endocrinol 1988 Mar;116(3):325-34.
    pubmed: 2832503doi: 10.1677/joe.0.1160325google scholar: lookup
  4. Bachmann I, Bernasconi P, Herrmann R, Weishaupt M, Staﾬher M. Behavioural and physiological responses to an acute stressor in crib-biting and control horses. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 82:297–311.
    doi: 10.1016/s0168-1591(03)00086-8google scholar: lookup
  5. Becker-Birck M, Schmidt A, Lasarzik J, Aurich J, Möstl E, Aurich C. Cortisol release and heart rate variability in sport horses participating in equestrian competitions. J. Vet. Behav. 8:87–94.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jveb.2012.05.002google scholar: lookup
  6. Bousquet-Mélou A, Formentini E, Picard-Hagen N, Delage L, Laroute V, Toutain PL. The adrenocorticotropin stimulation test: contribution of a physiologically based model developed in horse for its interpretation in different pathophysiological situations encountered in man.. Endocrinology 2006 Sep;147(9):4281-91.
    pubmed: 16763068doi: 10.1210/en.2005-1161google scholar: lookup
  7. Briefer Freymond S, Bardou D, Briefer EF, Bruckmaier R, Fouché N, Fleury J, Maigrot AL, Ramseyer A, Zuberbühler K, Bachmann I. The physiological consequences of crib-biting in horses in response to an ACTH challenge test.. Physiol Behav 2015 Nov 1;151:121-8.
    pubmed: 26187578doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2015.07.015google scholar: lookup
  8. Fazio E, Medica P, Aronica V, Grasso L, Ferlazzo A. Circulating beta-endorphin, adrenocorticotrophic hormone and cortisol levels of stallions before and after short road transport: stress effect of different distances.. Acta Vet Scand 2008 Mar 3;50(1):6.
    pmc: PMC2268694pubmed: 18315878doi: 10.1186/1751-0147-50-6google scholar: lookup
  9. Furr MO, Murray MJ, Ferguson DC. The effects of stress on gastric ulceration, T3, T4, reverse T3 and cortisol in neonatal foals.. Equine Vet J 1992 Jan;24(1):37-40.
    pubmed: 1555538doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1992.tb02776.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  10. Greiner M, Pfeiffer D, Smith RD. Principles and practical application of the receiver-operating characteristic analysis for diagnostic tests.. Prev Vet Med 2000 May 30;45(1-2):23-41.
    pubmed: 10802332doi: 10.1016/s0167-5877(00)00115-xgoogle scholar: lookup
  11. Harewood E, McGowan C. Behavioral and physiological responses to stabling in naive horses. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 25:164–170.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2005.03.008google scholar: lookup
  12. Hewetson M, Sykes BW, Hallowell GD, Tulamo RM. Diagnostic accuracy of blood sucrose as a screening test for equine gastric ulcer syndrome (EGUS) in adult horses.. Acta Vet Scand 2017 Mar 11;59(1):15.
    pmc: PMC5346197pubmed: 28284214doi: 10.1186/s13028-017-0284-1google scholar: lookup
  13. Linden A, Art T, Amory H, Desmecht D, Lekeux P. Effect of 5 different types of exercise, transportation and ACTH administration on plasma cortisol concentration in sport horses. Equine Exerc. Physiol. 3:391–396.
  14. Malmkvist J, Poulsen JM, Luthersson N, Palme R, Christensen JW, Søndergaard E. Behaviour and stress responses in horses with gastric ulceration. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 142:160–167.
    doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2012.10.002google scholar: lookup
  15. Moberg G, Mench J. The biology of animal stress: basic principles and implications for animal welfare. CABI publishing .
  16. Mönki J, Hewetson M, Virtala AM. Risk Factors for Equine Gastric Glandular Disease: A Case-Control Study in a Finnish Referral Hospital Population.. J Vet Intern Med 2016 Jul;30(4):1270-5.
    pmc: PMC5108429pubmed: 27461724doi: 10.1111/jvim.14370google scholar: lookup
  17. Mormède P, Andanson S, Aupérin B, Beerda B, Guémené D, Malmkvist J, Manteca X, Manteuffel G, Prunet P, van Reenen CG, Richard S, Veissier I. Exploration of the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal function as a tool to evaluate animal welfare.. Physiol Behav 2007 Oct 22;92(3):317-39.
    pubmed: 17234221doi: 10.1016/j.physbeh.2006.12.003google scholar: lookup
  18. Murray MJ. Equine model of inducing ulceration in alimentary squamous epithelial mucosa.. Dig Dis Sci 1994 Dec;39(12):2530-5.
    pubmed: 7995175doi: 10.1007/bf02087686google scholar: lookup
  19. Peeters M, Sulon J, Beckers JF, Ledoux D, Vandenheede M. Comparison between blood serum and salivary cortisol concentrations in horses using an adrenocorticotropic hormone challenge.. Equine Vet J 2011 Jul;43(4):487-93.
    pubmed: 21496072doi: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.2010.00294.xgoogle scholar: lookup
  20. Rietmann T, Stuart A, Bernasconi P, Staﾬher M, Auer J, Weishaupt M. Assessment of mental stress in warmblood horses: heart rate variability in comparison to heart rate and selected behavioural parameters. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 88:121–136.
    doi: 10.1016/j.applanim.2004.02.016google scholar: lookup
  21. Scheidegger MD, Gerber V, Bruckmaier RM, van der Kolk JH, Burger D, Ramseyer A. Increased adrenocortical response to adrenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) in sport horses with equine glandular gastric disease (EGGD).. Vet J 2017 Oct;228:7-12.
    pubmed: 29153110doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2017.09.002google scholar: lookup
  22. Scheidegger MD, Gerber V, Ramseyer A, Schüpbach-Regula G, Bruckmaier RM, van der Kolk JH. Repeatability of the ACTH stimulation test as reflected by salivary cortisol response in healthy horses.. Domest Anim Endocrinol 2016 Oct;57:43-7.
    pubmed: 27565229doi: 10.1016/j.domaniend.2016.04.002google scholar: lookup
  23. Schmidt A, Hödl S, Möstl E, Aurich J, Müller J, Aurich C. Cortisol release, heart rate, and heart rate variability in transport-naive horses during repeated road transport.. Domest Anim Endocrinol 2010 Oct;39(3):205-13.
    pubmed: 20688463doi: 10.1016/j.domaniend.2010.06.002google scholar: lookup
  24. Stewart AJ, Behrend EN, Wright JC, Martin LG, Kemppainen RJ, Busch KA, Hanson RR. Validation of a low-dose ACTH stimulation test in healthy adult horses.. J Am Vet Med Assoc 2011 Sep 15;239(6):834-41.
    pubmed: 21916767doi: 10.2460/javma.239.6.834google scholar: lookup
  25. Strand SC, Tiefenbacher S, Haskell M, Hosmer T, McDonnell SM, Freeman DA. Behavior and physiologic responses of mares to short-term isolation. Appl. Anim. Behav. Sci. 78:145–157.
    doi: 10.1016/s0168-1591(02)00106-5google scholar: lookup
  26. Strzelec K, Kankofer M, Pietrzak S. Cortisol concentration in the saliva of horses subjected to different kinds of exercise. Acta Veterinaria Brno 80:101–105.
    doi: 10.2754/avb201180010101google scholar: lookup
  27. Swets JA. Measuring the accuracy of diagnostic systems.. Science 1988 Jun 3;240(4857):1285-93.
    pubmed: 3287615doi: 10.1126/science.3287615google scholar: lookup
  28. Sykes BW, Hewetson M, Hepburn RJ, Luthersson N, Tamzali Y. European College of Equine Internal Medicine Consensus Statement--Equine Gastric Ulcer Syndrome in Adult Horses.. J Vet Intern Med 2015 Sep-Oct;29(5):1288-99.
    pmc: PMC4858038pubmed: 26340142doi: 10.1111/jvim.13578google scholar: lookup

Citations

This article has been cited 3 times.
  1. Kranenburg LC, van der Poel SH, Warmelink TS, van Doorn DA, van den Boom R. Changes in Management Lead to Improvement and Healing of Equine Squamous Gastric Disease.. Animals (Basel) 2023 Apr 28;13(9).
    doi: 10.3390/ani13091498pubmed: 37174535google scholar: lookup
  2. Sauer FJ, Hermann M, Ramseyer A, Burger D, Riemer S, Gerber V. Effects of breed, management and personality on cortisol reactivity in sport horses.. PLoS One 2019;14(12):e0221794.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0221794pubmed: 31790402google scholar: lookup
  3. Banse HE, Andrews FM. Equine glandular gastric disease: prevalence, impact and management strategies.. Vet Med (Auckl) 2019;10:69-76.
    doi: 10.2147/VMRR.S174427pubmed: 31406687google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,344 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.