Steroids and Insulin: The Hidden Trigger of Catastrophic Laminitis

In this episode Nancy McLean checks into recent equine herpes cases and focuses on new research linking corticosteroid (triamcinolone) joint injections to insulin spikes and severe laminitis. They review the case of Fiona, a competitive mare who developed fatal laminitis after sacroiliac injections, and summarize ongoing studies at NC State funded by the Chromatic Fund. The researchers are comparing single high-dose versus repeated low-dose steroid protocols, finding undiagnosed insulin dysregulation in many sport horses and recommending insulin testing before steroid treatments. The clinical study is expected to conclude by spring 2026.

You can listen to Steroids and Insulin: The Hidden Trigger of Catastrophic Laminitis online on Radio and Podcast. Open the player on this page to stream the available audio.

Steroids and Insulin: The Hidden Trigger of Catastrophic Laminitis is an episode from Conversations in Equine Science by Nancy McLean.

This episode is 15:04 long.

This episode was published on Dec 23, 2025.

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