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Home / Equine Research Bank / Equine Vet J / Influence of feeding and other factors on adrenocorticotropi...
Equine veterinary journal2023; doi: 10.1111/evj.14030

Influence of feeding and other factors on adrenocorticotropin concentration and thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test in horses and ponies.

Abstract: The basal (bACTH) and post-thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation concentration of adrenocorticotropin (pACTH) are recommended for diagnosis of pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID). Many factors influence bACTH (e.g., disease, age, month) and some affect the results only in autumn (e.g., breed, colour, sex). There are discrepancies about the impact of feeding on b/pACTH. Objective: To determine whether feeding, month, age, breed, colour, sex and body condition score affect b/pACTH. Methods: Prospective crossover. Methods: Sixty-one animals were divided into groups: healthy, PPID, treated-PPID. The b/pACTH was measured three times (1 mg protirelin; blood collection after 10 min; mid-November to mid-July) after different feedings: fasting, hay, hay + grain. Friedman's test was applied to evaluate the influence of feeding on b/pACTH and linear mixed model to evaluate impact of further factors. Results: The b/pACTH was not significantly affected by feeding (p = 0.7/0.5). The bACTH was lowest in healthy (29.3 pg/mL, CI 9-49.5 pg/mL) and highest in PPID-group (58.9 pg/mL, CI 39.7-78.1 pg/mL). The pACTH was significantly lower in healthy (396.7 pg/mL, CI 283.2-510.1 pg/mL) compared to PPID (588.4 pg/mL, CI 480.7-696.2 pg/mL) and treated-PPID group (683.1 pg/mL, CI 585.9-780.4 pg/mL), highest in July (881.2 pg/mL, CI 626.3-1136.3 pg/mL) and higher in grey (723.5 pg/mL, CI 577.5-869.4 pg/mL) than other colours (338.7 pg/mL, CI 324.8-452.5 pg/mL). The size of effect for those variables was >0.5. Conclusions: Small number of animals, subsequent bACTH measurements were significantly lower in each horse. Conclusions: There was no evidence that feeding influences the b/pACTH. There was evidence that pergolide affects the bACTH but it had little effect on pACTH. Further investigation of the impact of month and coat colour on b/pACTH is warranted to better interpret the results.
© 2023 The Authors. Equine Veterinary Journal published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of EVJ Ltd.
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Publication Date: 2023-11-27 PubMed ID: 38010866DOI: 10.1111/evj.14030Google Scholar: Lookup
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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 examines multiple factors and their impact on adrenocorticotropin hormone levels in horses and ponies, with a particular focus on the role of feeding. The study concludes that feeding does not significantly impact these hormone levels, but other factors like disease status, month, and coat colour do.

Objective and Methodology

  • The primary objective of the research was to examine whether parameters such as feeding, month, age, breed, colour, sex, and body condition score influence the concentration of adrenocorticotropin hormone (both basal and post-thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation concentrations).
  • Sixty-one animals were involved in the study, split into three categories: those in healthy condition, those with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID), and those being treated for PPID.
  • Over a period extending from mid-November to mid-July, blood samples were taken from the animals three times after different feeding regimes – after fasting, after hay feed, and after a combination of hay and grain feed.
  • The researchers used statistical tests like Friedman’s test and linear mixed model to evaluate the influence of different variables.

Results

  • The results indicated that feeding doesn’t significantly impact the levels of adrenocorticotropin hormone (p=0.7/0.5).
  • The study found that the hormone levels were lowest in the healthy group and highest in the untreated PPID group. For the treated PPID group, the post-stimulation levels of the hormone were significantly higher compared to the healthy group.
  • These hormone levels were also observed to be highest in July and higher in grey-coloured horses compared to those with other coat colours.

Conclusions

  • Given that the sample size was small, further studies with larger samples are needed to confirm these findings.
  • The research concluded without finding evidence that feeding influences hormone levels. However, it did find that the disease condition and its treatment affect the hormone levels, specifically the basal adrenocorticotropin hormone.
  • Moreover, the study found that the month in which the hormone test is done and the horse’s coat colour do impact hormone levels, suggesting further studies in these areas will enhance understanding.

Cite This Article

APA
Drozdzewska K, Winter J, Barton AK, Merle R, Gehlen H. (2023). Influence of feeding and other factors on adrenocorticotropin concentration and thyrotropin-releasing hormone stimulation test in horses and ponies. Equine Vet J. https://doi.org/10.1111/evj.14030

Publication

Equine veterinary journal
ISSN: 2042-3306
NlmUniqueID: 0173320
Country: United States
Language: English

Researcher Affiliations

Drozdzewska, Karolina
  • Equine Clinic, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Winter, Judith
  • Synlab.vet GmbH, Berlin, Germany.
Barton, Ann Kristin
  • Equine Clinic, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Merle, Roswitha
  • Institute of Veterinary Epidemiology and Biostatistics, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.
Gehlen, Heidrun
  • Equine Clinic, Freie Universität Berlin, Berlin, Germany.

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