Hydrocortisone levels in the urine and blood of horses treated with ACTH.
Abstract: An investigation was undertaken to demonstrate whether therapeutic treatment with ACTH raises hydrocortisone (cortisol) levels in horse urine above the limit (1000 ng/ml) established by the International Conference of Racing Authorities with the aim of controlling the abuse of cortisol and ACTH in equine sports. ACTH (200 iu) was administered i.m. to 3 Thoroughbred horses; urine and blood samples were collected at intervals afterwards and analysed by an immunoenzymatic system (ELISA) and HPLC-MS. To ascertain post exercise cortisol levels in untreated horses, 101 urine and 103 serum samples were taken from horses immediately after racing and analysed by ELISA. The peak urine level of cortisol, detected 8 h after ACTH administration, was around 600 ng/ml using either ELISA or HPLC-MS. The peak serum cortisol concentration was found to be around 250 ng/ml by ELISA, but consistently less by HPLC-MS. Mean cortisol levels in post race horses were 135.1+/-72.1 ng/ml in urine and 90.1+/-41.7 ng/ml in serum. High levels of the metabolite 20beta-dihydrocortisol in urine and the cortisol precursor 11beta-desoxycortisol in serum were found. The latter showed high cross-reactivity with cortisol on ELISA. In our experiment, treatment with ACTH 200 iu i.m. did not raise urinary cortisol levels above the 1000 ng/ml threshold proposed by the ICRA.
Publication Date: 1999-08-24 PubMed ID: 10454083DOI: 10.1111/j.2042-3306.1999.tb03816.xGoogle Scholar: Lookup
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- Journal Article
- Adrenocorticotropic Hormone (ACTH)
- Blood Analysis
- Clinical Study
- Cortisol
- Diagnostic Technique
- Drug
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay (ELISA)
- Equine Health
- High-performance Liquid Chromatography (HPLC)
- Hormones
- Horse Racing
- Horses
- Immunology
- Laboratory Methods
- Metabolites
- Steroid Hormones
- Thoroughbreds
- Urine Analysis
- Veterinary Medicine
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 study focused on determining if the therapeutic use of a hormone, ACTH, raises cortisol levels in horses’ urine above the established limit set by the International Conference of Racing Authorities. The researchers administered ACTH to Thoroughbred horses, collected samples, analyzed them, and found the cortisol levels remain below the threshold.
Study Objective
- The research aimed to investigate whether therapy with ACTH (Adrenocorticotropic hormone), could raise the concentration of cortisol in horse urine above the 1000 ng/ml limit, a threshold established by the International Conference of Racing Authorities.
Study Methodology
- ACTH was administered to three Thoroughbred horses (200 iu, intramuscular injection).
- Urine and blood samples were collected at different intervals following treatment.
- These samples were analyzed using an immunoenzymatic system (ELISA) and High-Performance Liquid Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry (HPLC-MS).
- For comparison, the cortisol levels in untreated horses after exercise were assessed by collecting and analyzing 101 urine samples and 103 serum samples.
Study Findings
- The highest cortisol level in the urine (the peak level), which was detected 8 hours following ACTH administration, was about 600 ng/ml as per both the ELISA and HPLC-MS results.
- The peak concentration of cortisol in the blood serum was approximately 250 ng/ml as per the ELISA results, although HPLC-MS consistently recorded a lesser value.
- The average cortisol level in post-race horses was 135.1±72.1 ng/ml in urine and 90.1±41.7 ng/ml in serum.
- High levels of 20beta-dihydrocortisol, a metabolite of cortisol, were found in the urine while 11beta-desoxycortisol, a cortisol precursor, was detected in the serum. The latter showed high cross-reactivity with cortisol on ELISA.
Conclusion
- The study concluded that the therapeutic dosage of ACTH (200 iu, intramuscular) did not elevate urinary cortisol levels beyond the threshold limit of 1000ng/ml, a benchmark set by the International Conference of Racing Authorities.
Cite This Article
APA
Caloni F, Spotti M, Villa R, Mariani C, Montana M, Pompa G.
(1999).
Hydrocortisone levels in the urine and blood of horses treated with ACTH.
Equine Vet J, 31(4), 273-276.
https://doi.org/10.1111/j.2042-3306.1999.tb03816.x Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Institute of Veterinary Pharmacology and Toxicology, University of Milan, Italy.
MeSH Terms
- Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / administration & dosage
- Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / pharmacokinetics
- Adrenocorticotropic Hormone / therapeutic use
- Animals
- Calibration
- Chromatography, High Pressure Liquid / veterinary
- Doping in Sports
- Enzyme-Linked Immunosorbent Assay / veterinary
- Gas Chromatography-Mass Spectrometry / veterinary
- Horses / blood
- Horses / metabolism
- Horses / urine
- Hydrocortisone / blood
- Hydrocortisone / urine
- Injections, Intramuscular / veterinary
Citations
This article has been cited 1 times.- Kikuchi M, Ishige T, Minamijima Y, Hirota KI, Nagata SI, Tozaki T, Kakoi H, Ishiguro-Oonuma T, Kizaki K. Identification of Potential miRNA Biomarkers to Detect Hydrocortisone Administration in Horses. Int J Mol Sci 2023 Sep 25;24(19).
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