Endocrinopathic Laminitis

Introduction
There have been many apparent causes of laminitis, yet recent research has stratified these causes into 3 main categories: Inflammatory caused by systemic diseases accompanied by clinical indicators of endotoxaemia, including enterocolitis, pleuropneumonia, retained fetal membranes or grain overload (Parsons et al. 2007); weightbearing laminitis and endocrinopathic laminitis, arising from hormonal influences rather than in association with proinflammatory and intestinal conditions (Johnson et al. 2004).

It has only been relatively recently that endocrinopathic laminitis was shown to be the most common cause of laminitis presenting primarily as laminitis (Donaldson et al. 2004, Karikoskiet al. 2011) rather than secondary to presenting for acute severe illness and hospitalisation (Parsons et al. 2007).
Conditions associated with endocrinopathic laminitis fall into 2 basic categories associated with either:

1. increased glucocorticoid activity, which has been associated with pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID) and iatrogenic corticosteroid administration or;

2. insulin resistance, especially that associated with equine metabolic syndrome (EMS). Common to both these conditions appear to be disturbed

glucose and insulin regulation and, most importantly, the development of insulin resistance which in the horse is manifest as hyperinsulinaemia. [...]