We continue to get new testimonials in on weekly basis with improvement in a variety of equine as well as companion animal conditions. In many cases, these patients have been on long term administration of potentially dangerous NSAID medications such as phenylbutazone in horses. These medications are effective in many cases in terms of reducing the pain associated with the conditions, but are only approaching the inflammation from a single viewpoint and that is COX reduction. Given this "all or nothing" approach, the side effects can be endless ranging from gastric ulceration to kidney disease. The testimonial below is from one of our sponsored eventers, Cassidy Sitton. She normally uses our Cur-OST Plus product in her competition horses with great results, however, she decided to use the product on an older and retired competitor recently.
"My old retired man, Ted, who was an Olympic alternate for Ireland and the World Games, has been going through a pretty rough time with laminitis/cushing's disease and other problems. We've all been really worried about him. He's been on 4 grams of bute a day and has been having some good times and bad times. Well, on a whim, I put him on the Cur-OST Plus product and notice IMMENSE improvement. I've been able to decrease his bute to 2 grams per day and will continue to wean him down. The change has been remarkable. Thank you !!"
Thank you, Cassidy !
Tom Schell, D.V.M.
Thursday, October 27, 2011
Tuesday, September 20, 2011
Chronic Inflammation
"Inflammation, inflammation, inflammation!! It has become quite the buzzword in human products advertised on television. The word 'inflammation' is mentioned in asthma medication commercials, pain medications and even in those targeting cardiovascular health. So what is the story and why all the hype?
The truth of the matter is that "inflammation" is a hot topic in research and in overall health. The process of inflammation is a complicated one, yet one that we are all familiar with to varying degrees. Have you ever stubbed a toe, hit your thumb with a hammer, pulled a muscle or experienced back pain? Unless you are a superhero, I am sure you have to some degree or another. Well, inflammation is a defense mechanism put out by our bodie's immune system to help protect us against infection and aid in the repair of injured or damaged tissue. So, let's pretend we hit our thumb with a hammer. First, we feel the pain, then we experience the swelling and maybe bruising. This is the inflammatory process at work, dilating blood vessels, signaling pain to the brain, recruiting white blood cells to clean up infection and to remove dead tissue. After a few days, the process is complete, swelling is reduced and the function of our thumb is fully restored. This in simplest terms is acute or short term inflammation.
The problem comes when the 'acute' inflammatory response becomes a 'chronic' or long term condition. In most cases, the inflammatory response only lasts a few days or until the tissue is healed, but in some cases the fire of inflammation can continue for weeks, months or even years. When the fire ceases to subside, continual tissue damage is done and signaling proteins that ramp up the immune system continue to be released. This chronic inflammatory response is very typical of long term injuries that fail to heal or fully recover such as tendonitis, arthritis and back pain. If the conditions continue to progress, further tissue damage and cellular function can be altered throughout the body resulting in many other diseases aside from typical injuries. It can weaken the body overall, resulting in predisposition to disease, infection and poor overall health.
Human research links 'chronic inflammation' with a host of diseases ranging from allergies, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, skin conditions and even cancer. So, with big name diseases such as these, there is a big push in the pharmaceutical industry to find answers. Take for instance cardiovascular disease and a baby aspirin regimen. Initially, the benefit was thought to occur secondary to the blood thinning effect (anticoagulant)that aspirin provided. This is true, but they have also discovered that the baby aspirin can help reduce overall inflammation within the body, which then can lower the incidence of cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Yes, I said CANCER. Google search aspirin and cancer and you will find that those that take a baby aspirin per day average a 20% reduction in various types of cancers. Hmmmm. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? This inflammation thing could be valid after all.
The problem with various anti-inflammatory prescription pain medications is that in most instances, they only target one arm or one part of the inflammatory pathway. Well, one part is better than nothing right? True...but we can do better. Our diets and food are the key, which is nothing new to the press. Foods hold magical medicinal values, some providing anti-inflammatory properties and other as anti-oxidants. Some foods, such as fried, actually contribute to the inflammatory process. Sort of like throwing fuel on the fire.
Herbs have unbelievable medicinal properties. You have to remember that over 70% of all prescription medications are formulated after herbs. Plants are the root of all that is good. Many herbs have potent anti-inflammatory properties such as curcumin, boswellia, green tea and ashwaghanda. The beauty is that they don't just approach inflammation from one arm, but are multi-modal and affect inflammation from different perspectives. They provide effective, broad spectrum type coverage that is not "overkill". Prescription medications can tend to be 'over-effective', reducing a natural response to nothing instead of just returning it to normal levels. This is why we tend to see ulcers and kidney failure as a result of certain prescription pain medications.
Don't get me wrong, prescription pain medications are wonderful and absolutely necessary in many instances, but can come with a price with long term use. Herbs are ancient technology that have been research supported to exhibit many health benefits not only for ourselves but also for our pets and horses. The results can be phenomenal.
All our best,
Tom Schell, D.V.M.
The truth of the matter is that "inflammation" is a hot topic in research and in overall health. The process of inflammation is a complicated one, yet one that we are all familiar with to varying degrees. Have you ever stubbed a toe, hit your thumb with a hammer, pulled a muscle or experienced back pain? Unless you are a superhero, I am sure you have to some degree or another. Well, inflammation is a defense mechanism put out by our bodie's immune system to help protect us against infection and aid in the repair of injured or damaged tissue. So, let's pretend we hit our thumb with a hammer. First, we feel the pain, then we experience the swelling and maybe bruising. This is the inflammatory process at work, dilating blood vessels, signaling pain to the brain, recruiting white blood cells to clean up infection and to remove dead tissue. After a few days, the process is complete, swelling is reduced and the function of our thumb is fully restored. This in simplest terms is acute or short term inflammation.
The problem comes when the 'acute' inflammatory response becomes a 'chronic' or long term condition. In most cases, the inflammatory response only lasts a few days or until the tissue is healed, but in some cases the fire of inflammation can continue for weeks, months or even years. When the fire ceases to subside, continual tissue damage is done and signaling proteins that ramp up the immune system continue to be released. This chronic inflammatory response is very typical of long term injuries that fail to heal or fully recover such as tendonitis, arthritis and back pain. If the conditions continue to progress, further tissue damage and cellular function can be altered throughout the body resulting in many other diseases aside from typical injuries. It can weaken the body overall, resulting in predisposition to disease, infection and poor overall health.
Human research links 'chronic inflammation' with a host of diseases ranging from allergies, arthritis, asthma, diabetes, cardiovascular disease, skin conditions and even cancer. So, with big name diseases such as these, there is a big push in the pharmaceutical industry to find answers. Take for instance cardiovascular disease and a baby aspirin regimen. Initially, the benefit was thought to occur secondary to the blood thinning effect (anticoagulant)that aspirin provided. This is true, but they have also discovered that the baby aspirin can help reduce overall inflammation within the body, which then can lower the incidence of cardiovascular disease and even cancer. Yes, I said CANCER. Google search aspirin and cancer and you will find that those that take a baby aspirin per day average a 20% reduction in various types of cancers. Hmmmm. Makes you wonder, doesn't it? This inflammation thing could be valid after all.
The problem with various anti-inflammatory prescription pain medications is that in most instances, they only target one arm or one part of the inflammatory pathway. Well, one part is better than nothing right? True...but we can do better. Our diets and food are the key, which is nothing new to the press. Foods hold magical medicinal values, some providing anti-inflammatory properties and other as anti-oxidants. Some foods, such as fried, actually contribute to the inflammatory process. Sort of like throwing fuel on the fire.
Herbs have unbelievable medicinal properties. You have to remember that over 70% of all prescription medications are formulated after herbs. Plants are the root of all that is good. Many herbs have potent anti-inflammatory properties such as curcumin, boswellia, green tea and ashwaghanda. The beauty is that they don't just approach inflammation from one arm, but are multi-modal and affect inflammation from different perspectives. They provide effective, broad spectrum type coverage that is not "overkill". Prescription medications can tend to be 'over-effective', reducing a natural response to nothing instead of just returning it to normal levels. This is why we tend to see ulcers and kidney failure as a result of certain prescription pain medications.
Don't get me wrong, prescription pain medications are wonderful and absolutely necessary in many instances, but can come with a price with long term use. Herbs are ancient technology that have been research supported to exhibit many health benefits not only for ourselves but also for our pets and horses. The results can be phenomenal.
All our best,
Tom Schell, D.V.M.
Wednesday, September 14, 2011
Equine Insulin Resistance
Insulin resistance in horses has plagued us veterinarians for decades. Those "easy keepers" as we like to call them. The ones that just look at a scoop of grain or a lush pasture and they gain weight or even founder. You know the type. Well, as a veterinarian, I am not immune to this condition and actually have two insulin resistant (IR) horses myself. For years, we have battled with their weight and thankfully have not encountered any incidence of laminitis.
In many cases, just knowing that a horse is overweight with laminitis is usually all one needs to suspect IR, but we have various blood tests that we can perform to verify. One such blood test is called an insulin panel and is generally performed after an overnight fast. This test will tell us what the horse's insulin level is at rest, when there is no food source in the system. In most cases of IR, the insulin value is elevated, sometimes with an elevated glucose or sugar level as well. To explain further, insulin is the chemical that is produced by our pancreas in response to climbing blood sugar levels. Insulin is responsible for pushing the glucose into the cells in order to produce energy...in simple terms. In the case of an IR animal or human for that matter, for some reason, the cells become non-responsive to the insulin and don't allow it to introduce the glucose. This leads in many cases to an elevated insulin level as well as glucose value. The inability of the cells to respond to the insulin then can lead to not only weight gain but also impairs cellular function at various levels, including that within the hoof resulting in laminitis. If the cells can't get their energy source, they don't function very well.
Traditional treatments for IR include turnout of the horse onto a dry lot with minimal grass as well as reduced grain intake or "low carb" feeds. If the horse has laminitis, then appropriate measures are taken there to stabilize that condition. The problem, in my eyes, with this traditional treatment regimen is that it is not addressing the underlying problem, all it is doing is depriving the system of carbohydrates.
In human research on diabetics, the conclusion has been drawn that chronic inflammation is at the root of the problem. This is a long discussion and meant for another time and post. The bottom line is that the inflammation is responsible on a certain level for the cell's inability to respond to insulin. Therefore, in theory, if we are able to control the inflammatory response, we may be able to reverse the problem and improve cellular response.
Our Cur-OST products are targeted at chronic inflammation, period. We have had reports both in our veterinary practice as well as in our customers across the U.S. that their IR horses are improving on our products, specifically the EQ GREEN product. I have used the EQ Green product in my own horses as well as a few others and followed their insulin values. There is definitely a response going on with reduced insulin values after administration of the product. Recently, I have been utilizing a new formula that we are working on that has a combination of berry extracts shown in human literature to decrease insulin values in IR humans. The results with our new formula have been impressive. Just recently we had a mule on the test formula from Texas. His initial insulin value was 222 pmol/L and after 30 days, his level had decreased to 102 pmol/L. Normal insulin values are 32-187 pmol/L. He is doing well per his owner and feels great.
The big question in my mind is if we can control the inflammation and reduce insulin values, can these horses resume a normal life being on pasture with little to no limitations? In the case of my horses, they are both on the test formula, maintaining normal insulin values, on full pasture and even fed a small amount of grain with orchard grass in the evening when stalled. Clinically they are doing great with some weight loss noted but still much to go. We are headed in the right direction.
Want more information or have questions? Email me through our website.
All my best,
Tom Schell, D.V.M.
In many cases, just knowing that a horse is overweight with laminitis is usually all one needs to suspect IR, but we have various blood tests that we can perform to verify. One such blood test is called an insulin panel and is generally performed after an overnight fast. This test will tell us what the horse's insulin level is at rest, when there is no food source in the system. In most cases of IR, the insulin value is elevated, sometimes with an elevated glucose or sugar level as well. To explain further, insulin is the chemical that is produced by our pancreas in response to climbing blood sugar levels. Insulin is responsible for pushing the glucose into the cells in order to produce energy...in simple terms. In the case of an IR animal or human for that matter, for some reason, the cells become non-responsive to the insulin and don't allow it to introduce the glucose. This leads in many cases to an elevated insulin level as well as glucose value. The inability of the cells to respond to the insulin then can lead to not only weight gain but also impairs cellular function at various levels, including that within the hoof resulting in laminitis. If the cells can't get their energy source, they don't function very well.
Traditional treatments for IR include turnout of the horse onto a dry lot with minimal grass as well as reduced grain intake or "low carb" feeds. If the horse has laminitis, then appropriate measures are taken there to stabilize that condition. The problem, in my eyes, with this traditional treatment regimen is that it is not addressing the underlying problem, all it is doing is depriving the system of carbohydrates.
In human research on diabetics, the conclusion has been drawn that chronic inflammation is at the root of the problem. This is a long discussion and meant for another time and post. The bottom line is that the inflammation is responsible on a certain level for the cell's inability to respond to insulin. Therefore, in theory, if we are able to control the inflammatory response, we may be able to reverse the problem and improve cellular response.
Our Cur-OST products are targeted at chronic inflammation, period. We have had reports both in our veterinary practice as well as in our customers across the U.S. that their IR horses are improving on our products, specifically the EQ GREEN product. I have used the EQ Green product in my own horses as well as a few others and followed their insulin values. There is definitely a response going on with reduced insulin values after administration of the product. Recently, I have been utilizing a new formula that we are working on that has a combination of berry extracts shown in human literature to decrease insulin values in IR humans. The results with our new formula have been impressive. Just recently we had a mule on the test formula from Texas. His initial insulin value was 222 pmol/L and after 30 days, his level had decreased to 102 pmol/L. Normal insulin values are 32-187 pmol/L. He is doing well per his owner and feels great.
The big question in my mind is if we can control the inflammation and reduce insulin values, can these horses resume a normal life being on pasture with little to no limitations? In the case of my horses, they are both on the test formula, maintaining normal insulin values, on full pasture and even fed a small amount of grain with orchard grass in the evening when stalled. Clinically they are doing great with some weight loss noted but still much to go. We are headed in the right direction.
Want more information or have questions? Email me through our website.
All my best,
Tom Schell, D.V.M.
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