title: Relationship between plasma insulin and triglyceride concentrations in hypertriglyceridaemic donkeys.
abstract: Hyperinsulinaemia is a commonly-observed characteristic of insulin resistance, and a reduction in insulin sensitivity is thought to be either a causative and/or symptomatic feature of equine hyperlipaemia. A positive correlation (r = 0.545, P = 0.0015) existed between plasma insulin and triglyceride concentrations determined in 31 donkeys with naturally occurring hyperlipidaemia/hyperlipaemia. Greater insulin values tended to occur in the animals with an overweight body score. Inter-animal variation in insulin concentrations, however, prevented the identification of any differences either within hypertriglyceridaemic donkeys (when classified by clinical condition, date of arrival to a sanctuary and eventual outcome after treatment) or between groups of normotriglyceridaemic (n = 6) and experimentally fasted hypertriglyceridaemic (n = 5) donkeys. Determination of basal plasma insulin concentrations may not provide an accurate assessment of underlying insulin sensitivity. Alternatively, hyperinsulinaemia may be evident only in animals with established insulin resistance.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Clinical Science and Animal Husbandry, University of Liverpool, Leahurst, Neston, South Wirral.
authors.forename: A J
authors.initials: AJ
authors.lastname: Forhead
authors.forename: J
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: French
authors.forename: P
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Ikin
authors.forename: J N
authors.initials: JN
authors.lastname: Fowler
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Dobson
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005215:Fasting; D006734:Horse Diseases; D006736:Horses; D006949:Hyperlipidemias / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary; D015228:Hypertriglyceridemia / Q000097:blood / Q000662:veterinary*; D007328:Insulin / Q000097:blood*; D012044:Regression Analysis; D014280:Triglycerides / Q000097:blood*
chemical_list: D007328:Insulin; D014280:Triglycerides