Posted by: [EMAIL PROTECTED] OCD AND INSULIN RESISTANCE A serendipitous discovery by vet nutritionist Sarah Ralstan,VMD,PhD, may lead to a test to identify young horses a risk of ostechondritis dissecans (OCD), a developmental joint abnormality that results in the separation of the cartilage from bone. While conducting nutrition studies on weanlings, Ralston uncovered a link between high levels of insulin and the incidence of OCD. Normally, insulin is released by the pancreas in response to a horses's intake of glucose-a simple sugar. Insulin helps transport the glucose into cells, where it is utilized. Some horses, however, produce a greater-than-average amount of insulin to handle the glucose load; they are considered insulin-resistant. In the course of her work, Ralston says, "I noticed that only the colts and fillies with OCD had abnormally high insulin levels...two to three times more (insulin) than the amount of glucose in their blood would normally indicate" However, when these insulin-resistant foals were fed primarily hay or low-glucose diets, their insulin levels were normal, and they out-grew the condition by the time they were 2 years old.But when they between 3 and 5 months old, they were more likely to have orthopedic lesions than their "normal peers. (continued)
