Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Horse with low blood sugar due to kidney cancer
By Baker, J L et al.·Published in Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association·2001·School of Veterinary Medicine, United States·View original on PubMed →
PetCaseFinder translated the abstract of this peer-reviewed paper into plain English so pet owners can read it. We do not publish original research — every detail traces back to the citation above. How we work →
Original publication title: Intermittent hypoglycemia in a horse with anaplastic carcinoma of the kidney.
- Species:
- horse
Plain-English summary
In adult horses, low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) is not very common, but it can happen, especially in cases of certain tumors. This study looked at a horse with a type of kidney cancer called anaplastic carcinoma, which is known to sometimes cause low blood sugar due to the production of a different form of insulin-like growth factor. If your horse is showing signs of low blood sugar, it's important to consider that there could be an underlying tumor. Overall, the findings suggest that veterinarians should think about cancer when diagnosing low blood sugar in adult horses.
Abstract
Clinically apparent hypoglycemia is rare in adult horses. Hypoglycemia is a well-recognized paraneoplastic syndrome in humans and dogs with non-insulin-secreting tumors and may occur in horses as well. Hypoglycemia associated with non-insulin-secreting tumors is believed to result from production of an abnormal form of insulin-like growth factor II. Neoplasia should be considered in the differential diagnosis for adult horses with hypoglycemia.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/11195830/