Equine metabolic syndrome: Etiopathogenesis, diagnostics and therapy

Abstract

Equine metabolic syndrome (EMS) is a term adopted in 2002 in aim to define the complex pathology involving obesity, insulin resistance and laminitis in horses and ponies. The EMS was terminologically derived upon similar condition in humans. The metabolic disturbance in equines is developed sequentially to the primary chronic overfeeding, i.e. intake of surplus food to individual needs combined with insufficient activity of animal. The syndrome has been reported more frequently in ponies than in other breeds although genetic background of EMS has not been confirmed. The characteristic symptoms include regional collection of adipose tissue under the skin often distributed regionally i.e. in crest (neck from pool to withers), behind the shoulders, at the dock of the tail and in prepuce in males or in the udder in mares; as well as impaired locomotion and/or lameness in all four limbs and cycling disturbance in mares.

Metabolički sindrom konja (MSK) je termin koji je prvi put predložen 2002. godine, za opisivanje sindroma koji uključuje gojaznost, rezistenciju na insulin i laminitis kod ponija i konja, po ugledu na metabolički sindrom kod ljudi. Prvenstveno se javlja kao posledica hroničnog, neodmerenog prehranjivanja (unošenja većih količina hrane u odnosu na potrebe organizma) i nekretanja. Češće se zapaža kod ponija, iako se ne može sa sigurnošću govoriti o genetskoj uslovljenosti. Karakteriše se regionalnim nagomilavanjem potkožnog masnog tkiva u predelu vrata, od potiljka do grebena, iza ramenog zgloba, u korenu repa i u regiji prepucijuma i vimena, gojaznošću, otežanim kretanjem ili hramanjem na sva četiri ekstremiteta i poremećajem estralnog ciklusa kod kobila.