Equine insulin dysregulation and Laminitis: Developing a framework for testing treatment and preventive strategies
Authors: A. Meier
Summary
# Editorial Summary: Equine Insulin Dysregulation and Laminitis Insulin-associated laminitis remains one of equine medicine's most challenging problems, with limited treatment options and poor outcomes once established; Meier's 2019 research addressed this gap by developing standardised experimental models, severity grading systems, and risk assessment frameworks that allow more rigorous evaluation of potential interventions. The study validated velagliflozin, an SGLT2 inhibitor, as both a preventive and therapeutic agent, demonstrating safety and efficacy over several months of administration—a significant advancement given laminitis's current lack of registered veterinary treatments. By establishing reproducible methods to induce laminitis experimentally and quantify disease progression, this framework enables future researchers to test novel approaches systematically rather than relying on inconsistent clinical observations. For practitioners managing insulin-dysregulated horses—particularly those with equine metabolic syndrome or pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction—these findings suggest a potential pharmaceutical strategy to reduce laminitis risk whilst the field continues developing longer-term management protocols. The validation of velagliflozin as a safe, multi-month therapy marks a watershed moment for laminitis management, though continued clinical trials and eventual market approval will be essential before incorporation into routine preventive protocols.
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Practical Takeaways
- •A new drug treatment (velagliflozin) may soon become available as the first registered veterinary therapy for insulin-associated laminitis, offering prevention rather than just management
- •Risk stratification tools are being developed to identify horses at high risk of laminitis, enabling targeted preventive strategies
- •These advances shift the paradigm from treating symptomatic laminitis toward prevention in insulin-dysregulated horses
Key Findings
- •Novel experimental methods were developed to induce laminitis and accurately grade disease severity in horses
- •A framework was established to determine individual horse risk for developing insulin-associated laminitis
- •Velagliflozin demonstrated ability to prevent laminitis development in experimental settings
- •Velagliflozin showed safety and efficacy over several months of use, representing potential first registered veterinary treatment for laminitis