The UC Davis news circulating around the world relates a horse’s remarkable recovery from laminitis thanks to an experimental compound discovered during research on insects by entomologist Bruce Hammock. The compound was discovered while studying mammalian metabolism of a green pesticide based on an insect hormone according to Hammock.
Success in treating laminitis in horses
The experimental anti-inflammatory compound t-TUCB was discovered more than 40 years ago during basic insect research and has now been successfully used to treat laminitis in horses at UC Davis.
“Four horses suffering from laminitis have been treated with the investigational anti-inflammatory drug so far. One experienced a complete remission that has lasted for more than a year, and three others have shown some improvement.”
The horses were treated under a "compassionate use" protocol approved by the UC Davis Institutional Animal Care and Use Committee. That protocol allows animals to be treated with an experimental drug if no approved alternative treatment exists. A clinical trial to assess the drug's safety and establish a tolerable dose for the compound is was done.
Further clinical trials would be needed to establish the drug's effectiveness as a laminitis treatment. The experimental compound is known t-TUCB and belongs to a group of anti-inflammatory compounds called sEH (soluble epoxide hydrolases) inhibitors. Hammock discovered the compound more than 40 years ago while he was working on basic insect research.
Laminitis is an extremely painful condition that involves inflammation of a horse's nailbed, which is the connective tissue where the horse's hoof and lower foot bone join. The survival rate for laminitis is about 25 percent.
Despite decades of research, laminitis remains a leading cause of death in horses. Many equines are humanely destroyed each year because their intense pain and crippling inflammation can’t be alleviated by treatments including medication, therapeutic shoeing, cryotherapy, and other management tools.
This anti-inflammatory drug discovered 40 years ago, but never used on large animals, may be the breakthrough that veterinarians and horse owners have been looking for.
The first horse to benefit was a laminitic mare being treated at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine. Although she had been intensively treated with conventional methods, the mare was not responding well. As her condition worsened to the point that euthanasia seemed to be the only recourse, veterinarians decided to try t-TUCB on the mare.
After the first day of treatment, the mare’s condition improved dramatically. Continued use of t-TUCB allowed the mare to return to a pain-free state with normal blood pressure and acceptable posture and mobility.
The results of the research study at UC Davis have now been published in The Journal of Veterinary Anaesthesia and Analgesia and, according to veterinarians and researchers, the results appear promising for horses with laminitis.
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