Since hitting the commercial equine market four years ago, bisphosphonates have been used primarily to manage horses with navicular disease. | Photo: iStock

Since hitting the commercial equine market four years ago, bisphosphonates have been used primarily to manage horses with navicular disease. But what effect do they really have on navicular region pain and lameness?

Niklas Drumm, DrMedVet, Dipl. ACVS-LA, ECVS, a shareholder and practitioner at Tierklinik Lusche, in Germany, reviewed the existing research on this topic during the 2018 British Equine Veterinary Association Congress, held Sept. 12-15, in Birmingham, U.K.

Bisphosphonates are believed to be the most potent inhibitors of bone resorption, said Drumm; they counter bone loss by killing osteoclasts (cells that absorb bone tissue during growth and healing). Studies in humans and animals also suggest they might also be anti-inflammatory, chondroprotective (protect joints), pain-relieving, and anti-angiogenic (prevent new blood vessel growth)