Cushings Medication "Pergolide" Will Be Withdrawn from US Market, FDA Says

Horse people in the USA know pergolide (also called Permax, when the brand name is used) as the medication of choice for many horses suffering from Cushing's disease. What many in the horse world don't know is that it is actually a human medication used to treat symptoms of Parkinson's disease.

Recently, reports have surfaced of heart problems developing in human patients. Acting on those reports, the FDA today announced that the drug--both Permax and pergolide generic derivatives--will no longer be sold in the US.

What does that mean to owners of horses with Cushing's disease? It's hard to say. I have been trying to get more information to share.

As always, Eleanor Kellon VMD is right on the case. Dr Kellon is veterinary consultant to the Equine Cushings discussion list on yahoo.com; the list currently boasts almost 5000 members, of which I am one, and the group is one of the fairest, best-informed and most diligent that I have found on the web. Obviously many of those 5000 are medicating their horses with pergolide and this is Big News on the List today.

Here is some sage advice from Dr Kellon: "First, don't panic.Many drugs that fall by the wayside for human use actually end up in veterinary use. Trental (pentoxifylline) is a good example. They're not approved for veterinary use, but the FDA grants veterinarians considerable leeway in 'off-label' (i.e. not approved for the use on
the label) drug prescribing in animals.

"There may be some information available on closely related alternatives," she continued. "I'm checking into that."

"In humans, most recent studies are finding about 22% of people on pergolide develop some level of dysfunction of their heart valves. The number that develop serious problems with it is much, much lower. As for horses **as far as we know, the has not been recognized as a clinical problem in horses on pergolide**. We probably have more
long term follow up on Cushing's horses here than even in university vet school records. Some horses here have been on it for 5, even 10 years."

Dr.Kellon is also the author of the reference book Equine Drugs and Vaccines, as well as Equine Supplements and Nutraceuticals, both of which are well-thumbed and never far from my desk.

Events Guide Updated at Hoofcare.com

Be sure to check the events page at hoofcare.com to see our list of exciting events coming up in 2007!

Most of these are events that are either sponsored by Hoofcare & Lameness Journal or are events at which our editors will be speaking or demonstrating.

When you contact event organizers about attending or participating in an event, please let them know that you heard about it through Hoofcare & Lameness Journal and hoofcare.com. Thanks!

Allied Professionals Legislation Defeated in Colorado

House Bill 07-1296 “Concerning the Right of an Animal Owner to Choose a Provider of Humane Care for the Animal,” was defeated by a vote of 3-4 in a hearing in front of the Colorado Senate’s Agriculture, Natural Resources & Energy Committee on March 22, 2007. The bill’s defeat is a major victory for CVMA and the bill’s other opponents, who had significant concerns about the bill’s impact on animal health and welfare as well as public health and consumer safety.

The legislation was proposed by the Colorado Alliance of Animal Owners Rights.

The CAAOR had proposed that massage therapists, farriers, and other allied health professionals should be allowed to work without the direct supervision of a veterinarian, as speccified in the state's Veterinary Practice Art.

An article in the Montrose Daily Press attempts to tell both sides of the story, which is similar to an attempt made to legally free allied health professionals of the danger of a felony prosecution.

In an interesting twist of fate, the same committee approved the legality of licensed physical therapists, presumably even those without any training in animal physiology and anatomy, to work on animals without veterinary supervision.

The April issue of Smithsonian hit the newsstands today and the good news is that you can pick up a copy and enjoy a first-class article about Barbaro's struggle, written with sensitivity and intellectual curiosity by Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Steve Twomey.

The even better news is that you can read the text online:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2007/april/barbaro.php

with an added interview with Twomey here:
http://www.smithsonianmag.com/issues/2007/april/barbaro-author.php

But the images are visible only in the printed copy. If your newsstand doesn't have it, your library probably has a subscription.

Hoofcare & Lameness Journal is proud to have been a part of this article. I wish that he could have interviewed all our readers to learn just how much you all and your horses are affected by the disease of laminitis. Even though Barbaro is gone, horses continue to suffer from this horrible malady. Hopefully, having laminitis profiled in a magazine like Smithsonian will help focus more attention on the disease and the need for research.

See you at the newsstand. Save one for me!

Real Quiet, Real Comfortable

Who'll be the next Kentucky Derby winner to grace the gates of the University of Pennsylvania's New Bolton Center? Barbaro was still in the headlines when Real Quiet was referred to the facility after developing breeding problems that were suspected to be related to hind foot problems.

According to the Blood-Horse today, he has now been released and is back breeding mares at Pin Oak Lane Farm near New Freedom, Pennsylvania, after spending more than a month at the hospital. According to the Blood-Horse, the problem was abscesses in both hind feet. Ouch.

Book Announcement: LAMINITIS & FOUNDER by Butler and Gravlee Goes on Sale Today!

March 25 is the first day we will be taking orders for the new book "Laminitis and Founder" by Doug Butler and Frank Gravlee. The book is an overall guide to the causes and mechanism of acute laminitis, chronic laminitis and especially what we call "metabolic" laminitis.

The hoofcare chapters of the book are limited to steel heart-bar mechanics and contains excellent information on how to properly fit these technical shoes. Dr. George Platt is referenced in this section, along with farrier Burney Chapman.

I recently interviewed one of Burney's sons about the book, and Blaine Chapman, who had just returned from doing a clinic for farriers in Michigan, had this to say:

"The book is, of course, easy to read and very informative. It is not filled with a bunch of propaganda. There is technical information on every page. What you have here is two credible authors who also have class. Besides the fact that they are both masters at what they do, they present the book with dignity and honor. Whether you agree with them or not, you'll have a hard time discounting their information.

"What I like is that Dr. Butler, before he does anything else, gets the foot in balance, even if it is atrophied or deformed. He gets the foot right and then applies the apparatus."

The books are $30 each plus $5 for postage and handling in the USA; $10 postage to the rest of the world.

Call 978 281 3222, fax 978 283 8775 or email books@hoofcare.com to order your copy.