Laminitis treatment by regional drug delivery to the horse’s foot

Summary

This project will deliver effective pharmacological regimens that will genuinely, for the first time, make laminitis a treatable disease. We have pioneered laminitis research at the molecular level and discovered that increased transcription and activation of constituent lamellar proteases is a key event in laminitis development, prior to the onset of clinical pain. At the completion of this project, the veterinary profession will be presented with a paradigm shift in laminitis intervention strategies that will benefit the horse industry and the welfare of horses globally.

Program

Thoroughbred Horses

Research Organisation

The University of Queensland

Objective Summary

1. Develop methods to assay the concentration of potential antilaminitis drugs identified by ‘in vitro’ work. 2. Develop a minimally invasive lamellar tissue fluid collection system for pharmacokinetic studies using ultrafiltration and microdialysis. 3. Perfect regional infusion methods and assess their lamellar tissue perfusion capabilities. 4. Determine the efficacy of the regionally delivered candidate drugs in preventing experimentally induced laminitis. 5. Use nanotechnology to bioengineer drug presentation to optimise regional delivery, and further enhance ALD efficacy. 6. Prevent/treat experimentally induced laminitis by regional delivery of bioengineered candidate drugs. 7. Refine this stateoftheart ALD strategy for clinical and commercial application.