Equine endocrine disorders–namely pituitary pars intermedia dysfunction (PPID, or equine Cushing’s disease) and equine metabolic syndrome— represent an area of horse health that researchers are still working to fully understand. The collective understanding of these conditions was aided recently by the first-ever Equine Endocrinology Summit, held March 4-5 in Charleston, S.C.

Nicholas Frank, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, associate professor of large animal internal medicine at the University of Tennessee, organized the summit, which was sponsored by pharmaceutical company Boehringer Ingelheim, after the idea was presented in 2010.

"We discussed the need for clinicians, universities, and practitioners that are dealing with endocrine problems in horses to get together in discussions that would improve the science involved in the research that we’re doing in this area," he said.

Frank explained that the focus of the inaugural summit was on PPID, and the veterinarians in attendance audited two keynote lectures on the topic: Pathophysiology of PPID in 2011, presented by Dianne McFarlane, DVM, PhD, Dipl. ACVIM, from Oklahoma State University’s Center for Veterinary Health Sciences; and Diagnosis of PPID in 2011, presented by Jill Beech, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, of the University of Pennsylvania. Following each lecture was a series of round-table discussions on related topics