FREE SHIPPING over $40
OVER 9000 FIVE-STAR REVIEWS
5% OFF ALL SUBSCRIPTIONS
100% HAPPINESS GUARANTEE
Analyze Diet
0
Home / Equine Research Bank / Animals (Basel) / Oral Supplementation with Ultramicronized Palmitoylethanolam...
Animals : an open access journal from MDPI2020; 10(9); doi: 10.3390/ani10091469

Oral Supplementation with Ultramicronized Palmitoylethanolamide for Joint Disease and Lameness Management in Four Jumping Horses: A Case Report.

Abstract: Background: Four show jumping horses were evaluated for non-responsive lameness, which caused their withdrawal from show jumping competitions. The clinical evaluation was performed by radiographic examination, flexion tests, diagnostic anesthesia and lameness evaluation using the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) scale. The diagnoses were a case of navicular syndrome, a complicated case of chronic navicular syndrome and arthrosis of the distal interphalangeal joint of the right anterior limb and two cases of distal intertarsal joint arthritis. Nutraceuticals are often an important management strategy or coadjutant of pharmacological therapies in joint disease. Ultramicronized Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA-um) is an endogenous fatty acid amide that is well-known for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic proprieties widely used in human medicine and small animal veterinary medicine. Although it includes a small number of cases, our study describes for the first time the efficacy of the use of PEA-um in horses. The four horses with non-responsive lameness and significant impairment in athletic performance were daily treated with PEA-um into their normal diet. After four months of PEA-um supplementation, all horses showed remissions of lameness that led to their reintroduction into showjumping competitions without disease recurrence. Therefore, despite the small number of cases included in this study, these observations suggest a good prospective for developing a controlled experiment to test PEA in a larger cohort of horses.
Get Full Text
Publication Date: 2020-08-21 PubMed ID: 32825646PubMed Central: PMC7552276DOI: 10.3390/ani10091469Google 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
  • Case Reports
  • 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 study investigates the effects of Ultramicronized Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA-um) on treating lameness in show jumping horses. After a persistent lack of responsiveness to other treatments, the study finds that supplementing these horses’ diets with PEA-um led to the remission of lameness and subsequent healthy return to competition.

Study Methodology

  • The study involved four show jumping horses suffering from non-responsive lameness, a condition which had previously caused their removal from competitions.
  • These horses were clinically evaluated through several means, including radiographic examination, flexion tests, diagnostic anesthesia, and lameness evaluation based on the American Association of Equine Practitioners (AAEP) scale.
  • The diagnoses varied among the horses, including a case of navicular syndrome, a chronic case of the same syndrome complicated with arthrosis of the distal interphalangeal joint of the right anterior limb, and two cases of distal intertarsal joint arthritis.

Importance and Role of Nutraceuticals

  • The study highlights the important role nutraceuticals can play in managing joint diseases or as adjuncts to pharmacological therapies.
  • Specifically, the researchers investigated the efficacy of Ultramicronized Palmitoylethanolamide (PEA-um), an endogenous fatty acid amide known for its anti-inflammatory and analgesic properties. While PEA-um is used frequently in human and small animal medicine, its efficacy in horses remained unproven before this study.
  • The four participating horses were treated daily with PEA-um mixed into their normal diet.

Findings and Outcome

  • After four months of PEA-um supplementation, the researchers observed that all horses exhibited remissions of lameness.
  • This led to their successful re-entry into competitive show jumping events without experiencing a recurrence of the joint diseases.
  • Though a small study, these observations suggest promising potential for PEA-um’s effectiveness in treating lameness in horses and warrant further investigation with a larger cohort of horses in controlled experiments.

Cite This Article

APA
Gugliandolo E, Barbagallo A, Peritore AF, Cuzzocrea S, Crupi R. (2020). Oral Supplementation with Ultramicronized Palmitoylethanolamide for Joint Disease and Lameness Management in Four Jumping Horses: A Case Report. Animals (Basel), 10(9). https://doi.org/10.3390/ani10091469

Publication

Animals : an open access journal from MDPI
ISSN: 2076-2615
NlmUniqueID: 101635614
Country: Switzerland
Language: English
Volume: 10
Issue: 9

Researcher Affiliations

Gugliandolo, Enrico
  • Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy.
Barbagallo, Alfio
  • Department of Veterinary Science, University of Messina, 98168 Messina, Italy.
Peritore, Alessio Filippo
  • Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy.
Cuzzocrea, Salvatore
  • Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy.
  • School of Medicine, Saint Louis University, St Louis, MO 63104, USA.
Crupi, Rosalia
  • Department of Chemical, Biological, Pharmaceutical and Environmental Sciences, University of Messina, 98166 Messina, Italy.

Conflict of Interest Statement

Salvatore Cuzzocrea is a coinventor on patent WO2013121449 A8, which deals with methods and compositions for the modulation of amidases capable of hydrolyzing N-acylethanolamines employable in the treatment of inflammatory diseases. This invention is wholly unrelated to the present study. Moreover, Cuzzocrea is also, with Epitech Group, a coinventor on the patents EP 2 821 083, MI2014 A001495, and 102015000067344, which are unrelated to the study. The remaining authors report no conflicts of interest.

References

This article includes 32 references
  1. Trumble T.N.. The use of nutraceuticals for osteoarthritis in horses.. Vet. Clin. North Am. Equine Pract. 2005;21:575–597.
    doi: 10.1016/j.cveq.2005.08.004pubmed: 16297722google scholar: lookup
  2. Parkes R., Newton R., Dyson S.. Is there an association between clinical features, response to diagnostic analgesia and radiological findings in horses with a magnetic resonance imaging diagnosis of navicular disease or other injuries of the podotrochlear apparatus?. Vet. J. 2015;204:40–46.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2014.12.038pubmed: 25724857google scholar: lookup
  3. Waguespack R.W., Hanson R.R.. Treating navicular syndrome in equine patients.. Compend. Contin. Educ. Vet. 2011;33:E2.
    pubmed: 21882161
  4. Grewal J.S., McClure S.R., Booth L.C., Evans R.B., Caston S.S.. Assessment of the ultrasonographic characteristics of the podotrochlear apparatus in clinically normal horses and horses with navicular syndrome.. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 2004;225:1881–1888.
    doi: 10.2460/javma.2004.225.1881pubmed: 15643838google scholar: lookup
  5. Neil K.M., Caron J.P., Orth M.W.. The role of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate in treatment for and prevention of osteoarthritis in animals.. J. Am. Vet. Med. Assoc. 2005;226:1079–1088.
    doi: 10.2460/javma.2005.226.1079pubmed: 15825732google scholar: lookup
  6. Re G., Barbero R., Miolo A., Di Marzo V.. Palmitoylethanolamide, endocannabinoids and related cannabimimetic compounds in protection against tissue inflammation and pain: Potential use in companion animals.. Vet. J. 2007;173:21–30.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2005.10.003pubmed: 16324856google scholar: lookup
  7. Cruccu G., Stefano G.D., Marchettini P., Truini A.. Micronized Palmitoylethanolamide: A Post Hoc Analysis of a Controlled Study in Patients with Low Back Pain—Sciatica.. CNS Neurol Disord Drug Targets 2019;18:491–495.
    doi: 10.2174/1871527318666190703110036pmc: PMC7132032pubmed: 31269891google scholar: lookup
  8. Noli C., Valle M.F.D., Miolo A., Medori C., Schievano C., The Skinalia Clinical Research Group. Efficacy of ultra-micronized palmitoylethanolamide in canine atopic dermatitis: An open-label multi-centre study.. Vet. Dermatol. 2015;26:432-e101.
    doi: 10.1111/vde.12250pubmed: 26283633google scholar: lookup
  9. Gabrielsson L., Mattsson S., Fowler C.J.. Palmitoylethanolamide for the treatment of pain: Pharmacokinetics, safety and efficacy.. Br. J. Clin. Pharmacol. 2016;82:932–942.
    doi: 10.1111/bcp.13020pmc: PMC5094513pubmed: 27220803google scholar: lookup
  10. Scarampella F., Abramo F., Noli C.. Clinical and histological evaluation of an analogue of palmitoylethanolamide, PLR 120 (comicronized Palmidrol INN) in cats with eosinophilic granuloma and eosinophilic plaque: A pilot study.. Vet. Dermatol. 2001;12:29–39.
    doi: 10.1046/j.1365-3164.2001.00214.xpubmed: 11301536google scholar: lookup
  11. Steel C.M., Hopper B.J., Richardson J.L., Alexander G.R., Robertson I.D.. Clinical findings, diagnosis, prevalence and predisposing factors for lameness localised to the middle carpal joint in young Standardbred racehorses.. Equine Vet. J. 2006;38:152–157.
    doi: 10.2746/042516406776563332pubmed: 16536385google scholar: lookup
  12. Marques-Smith P., Kallerud A.S., Johansen G.M., Boysen P., Jacobsen A.M., Reitan K.M., Henriksen M.M., Lofgren M., Fjordbakk C.T.. Is clinical effect of autologous conditioned serum in spontaneously occurring equine articular lameness related to ACS cytokine profile?. BMC Vet. Res. 2020;16:181.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-020-02391-7pmc: PMC7278142pubmed: 32513154google scholar: lookup
  13. Dobenecker B., Reese S., Jahn W., Schunck M., Hugenberg J., Louton H., Oesser S.. Specific bioactive collagen peptides (PETAGILE((R))) as supplement for horses with osteoarthritis: A two-centred study.. J. Anim. Physiol. Anim. Nutr. (Berl.) 2018;102(Suppl. 1):16–23.
    doi: 10.1111/jpn.12863pubmed: 29623685google scholar: lookup
  14. De Clifford L.T., Lowe J.N., McKellar C.D., Bolwell C., David F.. Use of a 2.5% Cross-Linked Polyacrylamide Hydrogel in the Management of Joint Lameness in a Population of Flat Racing Thoroughbreds: A Pilot Study.. J. Equine Vet. Sci. 2019;77:57–62.
    doi: 10.1016/j.jevs.2019.02.012pubmed: 31133317google scholar: lookup
  15. De Grauw J.C., van Loon J.P.. Systematic pain assessment in horses.. Vet. J. 2016;209:14–22.
    doi: 10.1016/j.tvjl.2015.07.030pubmed: 26831169google scholar: lookup
  16. Pinho-Ribeiro F.A., Verri W.A., Jr., Chiu I.M.. Nociceptor Sensory Neuron-Immune Interactions in Pain and Inflammation.. Trends Immunol. 2017;38:5–19.
    doi: 10.1016/j.it.2016.10.001pmc: PMC5205568pubmed: 27793571google scholar: lookup
  17. McDougall J.J., Albacete S., Schuelert N., Mitchell P.G., Lin C., Oskins J.L., Bui H.H., Chambers M.G.. Lysophosphatidic acid provides a missing link between osteoarthritis and joint neuropathic pain.. Osteoarthr. Cartil. 2017;25:926–934.
    doi: 10.1016/j.joca.2016.08.016pubmed: 27651153google scholar: lookup
  18. Rijkenhuizen A.B.. Navicular disease: A review of what’s new.. Equine Vet. J. 2006;38:82–88.
    doi: 10.2746/042516406775374216pubmed: 16411592google scholar: lookup
  19. Contino E.K.. Management and Rehabilitation of Joint Disease in Sport Horses.. Vet. Clin. North Am. Equine Pract. 2018;34:345–358.
    doi: 10.1016/j.cveq.2018.04.007pubmed: 29793734google scholar: lookup
  20. Skaper S.D., Facci L., Fusco M., Della Valle M.F., Zusso M., Costa B., Giusti P.. Palmitoylethanolamide, a naturally occurring disease-modifying agent in neuropathic pain.. Inflammopharmacology. 2014;22:79–94.
    doi: 10.1007/s10787-013-0191-7pubmed: 24178954google scholar: lookup
  21. Gugliandolo E., Peritore A.F., Piras C., Cuzzocrea S., Crupi R.. Palmitoylethanolamide and Related ALIAmides: Prohomeostatic Lipid Compounds for Animal Health and Wellbeing.. Vet. Sci. 2020;7:78.
    doi: 10.3390/vetsci7020078pmc: PMC7355440pubmed: 32560159google scholar: lookup
  22. Hesselink J.M.K., Kopsky D.J.. Palmitoylethanolamide, a neutraceutical, in nerve compression syndromes: Efficacy and safety in sciatic pain and carpal tunnel syndrome.. J. Pain Res. 2015;8:729–734.
    doi: 10.2147/JPR.S93106pmc: PMC4631430pubmed: 26604814google scholar: lookup
  23. Faig-Marti J., Martinez-Catassus A.. Use of palmitoylethanolamide in carpal tunnel syndrome: A prospective randomized study.. J. Orthop. Traumatol. 2017;18:451–455.
    doi: 10.1007/s10195-017-0453-zpmc: PMC5685977pubmed: 28299455google scholar: lookup
  24. Fusco R., Gugliandolo E., Campolo M., Evangelista M., Di Paola R., Cuzzocrea S.. Correction: Effect of a new formulation of micronized and ultramicronized N-palmitoylethanolamine in a tibia fracture mouse model of complex regional pain syndrome.. PLoS ONE. 2018;13:e0201501.
    doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0201501pmc: PMC6059482pubmed: 30044864google scholar: lookup
  25. Britti D., Crupi R., Impellizzeri D., Gugliandolo E., Fusco R., Schievano C., Morittu V.M., Evangelista M., Di Paola R., Cuzzocrea S.. A novel composite formulation of palmitoylethanolamide and quercetin decreases inflammation and relieves pain in inflammatory and osteoarthritic pain models.. BMC Vet. Res. 2017;13:229.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-017-1151-zpmc: PMC5541643pubmed: 28768536google scholar: lookup
  26. Impellizzeri D., Di Paola R., Cordaro M., Gugliandolo E., Casili G., Morittu V.M., Britti D., Esposito E., Cuzzocrea S.. Adelmidrol, a palmitoylethanolamide analogue, as a new pharmacological treatment for the management of acute and chronic inflammation.. Biochem. Pharmacol. 2016;119:27–41.
    doi: 10.1016/j.bcp.2016.09.001pubmed: 27599446google scholar: lookup
  27. Valastro C., Campanile D., Marinaro M., Franchini D., Piscitelli F., Verde R., Di Marzo V., Di Bello A.. Characterization of endocannabinoids and related acylethanolamides in the synovial fluid of dogs with osteoarthritis: A pilot study.. BMC Vet. Res. 2017;13:309.
    doi: 10.1186/s12917-017-1245-7pmc: PMC5674828pubmed: 29110674google scholar: lookup
  28. Paladini A., Fusco M., Cenacchi T., Schievano C., Piroli A., Varrassi G.. Palmitoylethanolamide, a Special Food for Medical Purposes, in the Treatment of Chronic Pain: A Pooled Data Meta-analysis.. Pain Physician. 2016;19:11–24.
    pubmed: 26815246
  29. Gugliandolo E., D’Amico R., Cordaro M., Fusco R., Siracusa R., Crupi R., Impellizzeri D., Cuzzocrea S., Di Paola R.. Effect of PEA-OXA on neuropathic pain and functional recovery after sciatic nerve crush.. J. Neuroinflamm. 2018;15:264.
    doi: 10.1186/s12974-018-1303-5pmc: PMC6137737pubmed: 30217164google scholar: lookup
  30. Bartolucci M.L., Marini I., Bortolotti F., Impellizzeri D., Di Paola R., Bruschetta G., Crupi R., Portelli M., Militi A., Oteri G.. Micronized palmitoylethanolamide reduces joint pain and glial cell activation.. Inflamm. Res. 2018;67:891–901.
    doi: 10.1007/s00011-018-1179-ypubmed: 30121836google scholar: lookup
  31. Steels E., Venkatesh R., Steels E., Vitetta G., Vitetta L.. A double-blind randomized placebo controlled study assessing safety, tolerability and efficacy of palmitoylethanolamide for symptoms of knee osteoarthritis.. Inflammopharmacology. 2019;27:475–485.
    doi: 10.1007/s10787-019-00582-9pubmed: 30927159google scholar: lookup
  32. Noli C., Della Valle M.F., Miolo A., Medori C., Schievano C., The Skinalia Clinical Research Group. Effect of dietary supplementation with ultramicronized palmitoylethanolamide in maintaining remission in cats with nonflea hypersensitivity dermatitis: A double-blind, multicentre, randomized, placebo-controlled study.. Vet. Dermatol. 2019;30:387-e117.
    doi: 10.1111/vde.12764pmc: PMC6852539pubmed: 31237065google scholar: lookup
Subscribe to our newsletter
Join 99,357 horse owners like you who receive our email updates on horse health and nutrition.