Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
A case of a pony with Cushing's disease.
- Journal:
- The Journal of veterinary medical science
- Year:
- 1997
- Authors:
- Okada, T et al.
- Affiliation:
- Department of Veterinary Anatomy · Japan
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
A pony diagnosed with Cushing's disease, which is a condition caused by problems in the pituitary gland, was studied to understand the cause of its symptoms. Tests showed that a part of the pony's pituitary gland was significantly enlarged and producing too much of certain hormones, specifically ACTH and beta-endorphin. This overproduction of hormones was linked to the pony's clinical symptoms. The findings confirmed that the pony's Cushing's disease was due to this excess hormone secretion from the enlarged gland.
Abstract
The pars intermedia of the pituitary gland, and plasma ACTH and cortisol levels in the pony, which was first diagnosed in Japan as indicating equine Cushing's disease, were examined by immunohistochemistry and radioimmunoassay, respectively. The pars intermedia was greatly enlarged and most of its cells were immunoreactive for antisera to both adenocorticotropic hormone (ACTH) and beta-endorphin (beta-End). The plasma ACTH level was elevated when clinical symptoms appeared. The present results reveal that equine Cushing's disease in this pony was induced by the hypersecretion of ACTH and beta-End from the enlarged pars intermedia of the pituitary gland.
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Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/9300369/