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Time of Year Has No Effect on Indicators of Insulin Resistance in Fasting Horses
Author(s) -
MartinezFlores Brenda,
Harms Abigail Rachel,
Mofatt Cheyenne N.,
Paquin Zachary W.,
Guild Ayla,
Johnson Kathryn M.S.
Publication year - 2019
Publication title -
the faseb journal
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 1.709
H-Index - 277
eISSN - 1530-6860
pISSN - 0892-6638
DOI - 10.1096/fasebj.2019.33.1_supplement.545.7
Subject(s) - insulin resistance , laminitis , quantitative insulin sensitivity check index , medicine , insulin , endocrinology , horse , breed , zoology , biology , insulin sensitivity , paleontology
Laminitis is a severe equine lameness associated with obesity and obese‐related conditions, such as insulin resistance. Extremely painful, laminitis typically manifests in horses in the spring and/or summer. It is unclear if insulin resistance is the mechanism that initiates the seasonal onset of laminitis or even if insulin resistance is altered seasonally in horses. To determine if insulin resistance varies throughout the year in horses, blood was collected via the jugular vein, from overnight fasted horses (n=35), from four different breeds with varying known risks for obesity‐related conditions and laminitis, (stock horses, n=11; draft/draft crosses horses, n=7; Saddlebreds, n=7; and Welsh ponies, n=10) every 60 days for a year (September 2015–July 2016). Fasting insulin resistance was determined by plasma glucose to insulin ratio (GIR=[fasting plasma glucose]/[fasting plasma insulin]) and quantitative insulin sensitivity check index (QUICKI=1/(log[fasting plasma glucose]+log[fasting plasma insulin])), with lower levels of each indicating increased insulin resistance. Neither time of year (MANOVA, F 5,23 =0.911, p=0.491; F 5,23 =1.28, p=0.307) nor breed (F 5,27 =0.417, p=0.091; F 5,27 =2.43, p=0.087) had an effect on GIR and QUICKI. Therefore, no difference in insulin resistance was detected in fasting horses throughout the year. GIR and QUICKI are commonly used in clinical settings; however, it is possible that these indicators may not accurately reflect the insulin status in horses, due to the fasted states required by these measurements. Other metrics of insulin sensitivity may need to be implemented to determine if insulin resistance is a precursor to the onset of seasonal laminitis. Support or Funding Information This work was supported by the Biomedical Scholars program at Beloit College. This abstract is from the Experimental Biology 2019 Meeting. There is no full text article associated with this abstract published in The FASEB Journal .