Investigations on metabolic diseases of horses in Egypt.
Authors: Aboelmaaty Amal M, Ahdy Ahmed M, El-Khodery Sabry, Elgioushy Magdy
Journal: Frontiers in veterinary science
Summary
# Editorial Summary Egyptian researchers examined 90 mares across a range of body conditions to characterise the metabolic signatures of obesity, laminitis, and insulin dysregulation, collecting comprehensive blood profiles including glucose metabolism markers, protein fractions, oxidative stress indicators, and inflammatory mediators alongside clinical and adiposity assessments. Counterintuitively, laminitic mares presented with lower glucose and body weight but elevated catalase and IGF-1, suggesting a distinct metabolic phenotype separate from simple obesity; obese mares (>450 kg) conversely showed hyperglycaemia, reduced IGF-1 and albumin, and impaired glucose-to-insulin ratios indicating insulin resistance. Hyperinsulinaemia (>20 µU/L) emerged as the most metabolically disruptive condition, characterised by marked reductions in albumin and the albumin-to-globulin ratio, suppressed antioxidant capacity (catalase), reduced nitric oxide availability, and severely compromised glucose-to-insulin ratios—findings that suggest systemic protein catabolism and endothelial dysfunction. The critical practical insight is that obesity and hyperinsulinaemia are not interchangeable diagnostic categories: some obese mares remain metabolically normal, whilst hyperinsulinaemic mares can occur across body weights, indicating that insulin dysregulation rather than weight alone drives many of the pathological sequelae associated with equine metabolic syndrome. Farriers and veterinarians should therefore prioritise insulin status and protein metabolism markers alongside body condition scoring when risk-stratifying laminitis and metabolic disease, rather than relying on weight or visual adiposity alone as predictive indicators.
Read the full abstract on PubMed
Practical Takeaways
- •Don't assume all overweight horses are metabolically abnormal—check insulin and glucose levels; obesity and hyperinsulinemia are independent risk factors requiring separate management strategies
- •Hyperinsulinemia appears to be the primary driver of metabolic dysfunction rather than weight alone; focus diagnostic and management efforts on insulin status regardless of body condition
- •Laminitis cases showed unexpected metabolic patterns (lower glucose, higher IGF-1); consider individual biochemical profiling rather than relying solely on body weight or condition scoring
Key Findings
- •Laminitis was associated with lower glucose (4.83 vs 5.56 mmol/L) and body weight (380 vs 447.6 kg) but higher catalase and IGF-1 levels
- •Obesity (>450 kg) showed increased glucose and reduced IGF-1, albumin, and glucose/insulin ratio despite higher body weight
- •Hyperinsulinemia (>20 μU/L) significantly reduced albumin (2.67 vs 3.56 g/dL) and glucose/insulin ratio (0.18 vs 0.72) with elevated globulins
- •Obesity is not always associated with hyperinsulinemia or metabolic abnormalities; hyperinsulinemia can occur independently of obesity and indicates insulin resistance