Blood Test Result

[maddielove]

and I'm a but confused about the results. I've only had my mum's version on it-not the vets. They said hormones came back normal (was expected to be absnormal, though there is another hormone test that we are awaiting results on) but her muscle enzymes are abnormal. The only thing I can read up is tying up, which i dont think she's had any symptoms of.
I've also read something that she has symptoms for-but i dont think it's that either.
Her symptoms are excessive urination, sore back and over a few months she's gone lame on the side where her back is most tense(in her fore,near) Had her ovaries scanned and it turns out one is slightl bigger than the other(dont know if this is relevant) and sh's also very moody too.
Bit pointless-would be grateful for anyone to shead light on muscule enzyme irregularities. thanks in advance x

 

[Bossanova]

Raised muscle enzymes can be caused by a virus.
You need to speak to vet really, they probs have an idea whats going on!

 

[maddielove]

Thats interesting, could be a bit virus-y like, although, temp was normal. Hopefully speak to the vet asap...paranoid mum

 

[teabiscuit]

http://www.newrider.com/forum/showthread.php?t=120639&highlight=enzymes

have a look here, it might help shed some light on the subject

 

[teabiscuit]

more info


As this has been going on for almost a year now I've had a few requests to explain what exactly it is that is going on with Cooper and these weird results that I keep quoting so I thought I would create this thread for your info and something I can refer back to.

Tis a bit long but IMO - very interesting.





EPSM—Muscle Disease in Draft Horses

by Beth A. Valentine, DVM, PhD

The muscle disease Equine Polysaccharide Storage Myopathy (EPSM) has been confirmed or suspected in virtually every draft horse breed, including Belgian, Percheron, Clydesdale, Shire, Haflinger, Norwegian Fjord, Irish Draught, Friesian, Gypsy Vanner, draft cross, and a draft mule.

This newly-recognized disease, under research at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University, has likely been around for hundreds of years. It has been identified in many breeds of horse, but appears to be particularly common, severe, and difficult to detect in the draft breeds.

In fact, approximately two-thirds of all draft related horses show evidence of EPSM, if you look at their muscles microscopically.

The CK result that I speak about is a muscle enzyme (creatine kinase) that is elevated in the blood stream when muscle damage occurs - it is also elevated in people who have heart attacks due to the damage to the myocardium.

In drafts EPSM has been identified as a cause of severe muscle wasting and weakness in both young and older horses, of "tying up" (Monday Morning Disease) in older horses, as a cause of poor performance, "shivers," and other abnormal hind limb gaits.

Affected horses may easily be misdiagnosed as having foaling complications, colic, or other diseases. Most devastating of all, this disease has been identified as causing recumbency ("down horses") due to weakness during work, associated with foaling, at rest, or following general anesthesia.

EPSM and Other Conditions
"Monday morning disease" is most often described in hard-working draft horses that are given a day off with full grain feed. When they are asked to work the next day, these horses show severe signs of the condition known as "tying up" in saddle horses—muscles become stiff and begin to degenerate; the horse stops moving and may go down.

Massive muscle injury results in release of the pigment myoglobin from damaged muscle, and the urine becomes a dark red-brown (myoglobinuria).

We havn't seen this sign in Cooper yet.

Because of this reddish color, the disease is also called "azoturia" ("azo" from the red clothing dye + "t" from who knows where + "uria," referring to urine). Other names include "set fast," "exertional myopathy," and "exertional rhabdomyolysis."

We believe the massive muscle damage in EPSM drafts is due to lack of muscle energy.

The common occurrence of slightly increased levels of muscle enzymes in the blood of apparently normal or only mildly affected horses suggests that these horses have low-level muscle injury during exercise.

We don't yet understand what puts them over the edge into massive muscle injury, but studies of muscle from horses with signs of Monday morning disease show that EPSM is a common underlying condition, and we believe EPSM is the cause of the disease.


Therapy

An important part of the studies began at Cornell, and continued at Oregon State University study has been the evaluation of diet change as a treatment.

Horses with EPSM seem not to be able to derive adequate muscle energy from carbohydrates, the main source of energy in grains, sweet feeds, and pelleted horse feeds.

The diet change involves decreasing the amount of dietary carbohydrates and replacing them with fat as an energy source. For details see Dietary Recommendations for a Horse with EPSM.

Cooper is on Alpha A Oil.


You might think high-fat feed is much more expensive than feeding other grains, but high-fat feeds are so high in calories that the amount necessary to provide the same number of calories is much less.


Good quality hay and pasture are still vitally important; only the grain is changed.

The simplest diet consists of replacing a portion of the grain with alfalfa and adding vegetable oil, but these days we have many different ways to achieve an EPSM diet. The best diet for your EPSM horse is one you are happy buying that your horse is happy eating, and that keeps your horse's muscles healthy.

With dietary therapy, many cases of EPSM show 100% improvement.

Dietary therapy is most effective when started in the disease's earlier stages.

Severely affected draft horses may die, despite having been started on dietary therapy. We believe they die because the disease is so advanced at the time of diagnosis.

Unfortunately, the naturally stoic nature of many draft horse can allow sever changes to occur within the muscles without signs of problems for the owner to observe.

By the time these horses show obvious problems the disease may be quite advanced and severe.

Changing the diet of draft horses from a carbohydrate-based concentrate to a high-fat low-carbohydrate feed may decrease, delay, or even prevent the signs of EPSM in affected horses.

For some EPSM horses, diet therapy has been life-saving. Horses on this diet often have improved muscling and increased energy. Most important, they are able to perform with minimal to no muscle damage. Only time will tell just how well diet therapy works.

After dietary fat, exercise is the second most important thing needed by horses with EPSM. Standing in a tie stall or going for long trailer rides only makes these horses worse.

Give an EPSM horse as much daily turnout and as much regular work as possible, allowing the horse to maximally utilize the dietary fat.

Be careful with warm-ups, though, and don't over-exert the horse when returning it to work after a lay-up

Within six months, many horses treated with this diet resumed training to previous levels, without signs of EPSM and without elevated CK, LDH or AST. Furthermore, horses benefited most from as little rest as possible and recovered sooner than horses treated only with diet modification.

Once diagnosed, EPSM is treatable; the animal has a reasonable prognosis for return to work. However, because EPSM may be inherited, the veterinarian should advise clients against breeding affected horses.


Diagnosis of EPSM form of tying up can be made with a muscle biopsy.

Not sure if you have made it this far but it might be interesting reading for those of you with Draught related horses.