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Survey of the therapeutic approach and efficacy of pentosan polysulfate for the prevention and treatment of equine osteoarthritis in veterinary practice in Australia.
Abstract: To survey veterinary practitioners in Australia on how they administer pentosan polysulfate (PPS) to horses and their perceptions of the efficacy of PPS for: the prevention and treatment of osteoarthritis (OA), the treatment of OA when PPS is combined with other drugs, and the efficacy of PPS compared with other disease-modifying osteoarthritic drugs. Methods: Practitioners were contacted by email, which contained a link to an online survey. Results: A total of 76 responses (34.5%) to the survey were received. Respondents most commonly used PPS as prophylactic therapy prior to competition (80.3%). As a prophylactic agent, PPS was considered by 48.2% of respondents to have high efficacy. The most common dose regimen for prevention and treatment of OA was 3 mg/kg, intramuscularly, once weekly for 4 weeks followed by monthly injections. Most respondents (78%) combined PPS with other drugs for treatment of OA. Intra-articular corticosteroids and hyaluronate (HA) was the most common drug combination used with PPS. PPS was preferred as a prophylactic agent when compared with HA (88.7% vs 11.3%). For treating OA, 83% of respondents considered a combination of PPS, HA and glucosamine to be more efficacious than PPS alone. However, the most common reason not to use this combination was cost (79.1%). Conclusions: All respondents used PPS for prophylaxis and/or treatment of OA despite limited published scientific evidence proving its efficacy in horses. Further research is necessary to provide evidence of the clinical efficacy of PPS for the prevention and treatment of OA in horses.
© 2014 Australian Veterinary Association.
Publication Date: 2014-11-27 PubMed ID: 25424761DOI: 10.1111/avj.12266Google 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.
- Journal Article
Summary
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The study aimed to investigate the use and believed effectiveness of pentosan polysulfate (PPS) in preventing and treating osteoarthritis in horses by carrying out a survey among veterinary practitioners in Australia. Results indicated that PPS was being frequently used, often in combination with other drugs, as a prophylactic before competitions or during treatment. However, more scientific evidence regarding its efficacy is required.
Research Methodologies
- The researchers conducted a survey involving veterinary practitioners in Australia to gain insights about their practice particularly pertaining to the use and perceived effectiveness of PPS in managing osteoarthritis in horses.
- The practitioners were reached via email containing a link to an online assessment.
Results of the Survey
- The survey had a response rate of 34.5% with a total of 76 responses received.
- Most respondents reported the use of PPS as a preventive therapy before competitions, with a whopping 80.3% choosing this approach.
- About half of the respondents (48.2%) ranked PPS as a high efficacy prophylactic.
- The most commonly followed dose regimen of PPS was 3 mg/kg, administered intramuscularly, once per week for a month, followed by monthly shots.
Combination with Other Drugs
- Out of the respondents, 78% reported the use of PPS in conjunction with other drugs for the treatment of osteoarthritis in horses.
- The most frequent drug combo was PPS, intra-articular corticosteroids, and hyaluronate (HA).
- The respondents overwhelmingly preferred PPS as a preventive drug when compared to HA (88.7% vs 11.3%).
- During osteoarthritis treatment, 83% believed a mixture of PPS, HA, and glucosamine was more effective than PPS alone.
- However, the chief reason for not using this combination was its high cost, as reported by 79.1% of the respondents.
Conclusions and Further Research
- Despite lacking substantial scientific proof of its effectiveness in horses, all participants used PPS for prophylaxis and/or treatment of osteoarthritis.
- Therefore, the researchers recommend further studies be conducted to verify the clinical efficacy of PPS for the prevention and treatment of osteoarthritis in horses.
Cite This Article
APA
Kramer CM, Tsang AS, Koenig T, Jeffcott LB, Dart CM, Dart AJ.
(2014).
Survey of the therapeutic approach and efficacy of pentosan polysulfate for the prevention and treatment of equine osteoarthritis in veterinary practice in Australia.
Aust Vet J, 92(12), 482-487.
https://doi.org/10.1111/avj.12266 Publication
Researcher Affiliations
- Faculty of Veterinary Science, The University of Sydney, Camperdown, New South Wales, Australia.
MeSH Terms
- Animals
- Anticoagulants / therapeutic use
- Australia
- Glycosaminoglycans / therapeutic use
- Health Surveys
- Horse Diseases / drug therapy
- Horse Diseases / prevention & control
- Horses
- Humans
- Osteoarthritis / drug therapy
- Osteoarthritis / prevention & control
- Osteoarthritis / veterinary
- Pentosan Sulfuric Polyester / therapeutic use
- Treatment Outcome
- Veterinarians
- Veterinary Medicine
Citations
This article has been cited 7 times.- Smith MM, Melrose J. Pentosan Polysulfate Affords Pleotropic Protection to Multiple Cells and Tissues. Pharmaceuticals (Basel) 2023 Mar 13;16(3).
- Anderson JR, Phelan MM, Foddy L, Clegg PD, Peffers MJ. Ex Vivo Equine Cartilage Explant Osteoarthritis Model: A Metabolomics and Proteomics Study. J Proteome Res 2020 Sep 4;19(9):3652-3667.
- Alekseeva A, Raman R, Eisele G, Clark T, Fisher A, Lee SL, Jiang X, Torri G, Sasisekharan R, Bertini S. In-depth structural characterization of pentosan polysulfate sodium complex drug using orthogonal analytical tools. Carbohydr Polym 2020 Apr 15;234:115913.
- Hennermann JB, Gökce S, Solyom A, Mengel E, Schuchman EH, Simonaro CM. Treatment with pentosan polysulphate in patients with MPS I: results from an open label, randomized, monocentric phase II study. J Inherit Metab Dis 2016 Nov;39(6):831-837.
- Simonaro CM, Tomatsu S, Sikora T, Kubaski F, Frohbergh M, Guevara JM, Wang RY, Vera M, Kang JL, Smith LJ, Schuchman EH, Haskins ME. Pentosan Polysulfate: Oral Versus Subcutaneous Injection in Mucopolysaccharidosis Type I Dogs. PLoS One 2016;11(4):e0153136.
- Herrero LJ, Foo SS, Sheng KC, Chen W, Forwood MR, Bucala R, Mahalingam S. Pentosan Polysulfate: a Novel Glycosaminoglycan-Like Molecule for Effective Treatment of Alphavirus-Induced Cartilage Destruction and Inflammatory Disease. J Virol 2015 Aug;89(15):8063-76.
- Anderson JR, Phelan MM, Caamaño-Gutiérrez E, Clegg PD, Rubio-Martinez LM, Peffers MJ. Metabolomic and proteomic stratification of equine osteoarthritis. Equine Vet J 2025 Sep;57(5):1204-1218.
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