Prof Cathy McGowan BVSc, MANZCVSc, DEIM, Dip ECEIM, PhD, CertVBM, FHEA, FRCVS

Since my first appointment in the UK in 1999, where I was shocked at the prevalence of the crippling condition, laminitis, in horses, I have been interested in equine laminitis and its potential to be caused by endocrine diseases. My major breakthrough came in 2007 when I led the research team responsible for discovering a model for endocrine laminitis and discovered its the direct link with high insulin concentrations in the blood. I then went back to look at the epidemiology of laminitis and we discovered that endocrine disease was responsible for over 90% of laminitis that presents as lameness in the UK and Internationally. This has changed the focus of laminitis research from inflammatory causes, laminitis occurring secondary to severe systemic illnesses, which had previously been the focus of research, to endocrine disease as a cause of laminitis.
I have continued work on researching more about the endocrine diseases that cause laminitis especially Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID) and Equine Metabolic Syndrome (EMS) and their management. Most importantly this research has led to much clearer guidelines on the diagnosis of underlying causes of laminitis, treatment strategies, and most importantly prevention of laminitis before it even occurs.