Equine hyperlipaemia in the United Kingdom: clinical features and blood biochemistry of 18 cases.

This research paper investigates 18 cases of equine hyperlipaemia, a condition where there’s an excess of fat in the horse’s bloodstream, in the UK. It describes the clinical signs, blood biochemistry, and management of these cases, providing insights into the mortality rate, treatment outcomes, and factors influencing the condition.

Research Subjects

• The study was conducted on 18 cases of equine hyperlipaemia, which comprised of different types of horses including Shetland ponies, Welsh mountain ponies, a fell pony and two riding ponies of mixed breeding.
• The average age of the studied horses was nine years.
• Most of the subjects were mares, some of which were in foal and some were lactating. The others were geldings.
• Twelve of the animals were considered obese.
• No bias was observed based on age, season, or geographic location of horses.

Key Findings

• The underlying or concurrent diseases were identified in only six animals. Stress precipitated hyperlipaemia in one animal, whereas undernutrition to prevent laminitis did the same in another.
• Plasma triglyceride concentrations, which indicate the level of fat in the bloodstream, in the subjects were increased by between five- and 80-fold.
• There was biochemical evidence of liver damage in 17 cases and kidney insufficiency in 15 cases. Three cases showed signs of pancreatic pathology.

Treatment and Outcomes

• Four animals were euthanased without any treatment.
• The rest of the horses were treated with oral glucose solutions. In some instances, this was supplemented with insulin and heparin injections, and in some other cases with insulin alone.
• Despite the treatment, eight animals died, leading to an overall mortality rate of 67 percent.
• No relationship was found between the outcome of the treatment and the degree of hypertriglyceridaemia, the existence and severity of liver, kidney or pancreatic pathology, or the choice of therapeutic regimen.

The findings from this study help improve our understanding of equine hyperlipaemia, highlighting the severity of the condition and the poor prognosis, while also indicating the need for further research into effective treatment methods.