Triglyceride, insulin, and cortisol responses of ponies to fasting and dexamethasone administration

Ponies were evaluated for their response to feed withholding and exogenous administration of corticosteroids (dexamethasone 0.04 mg/kg intramuscular [IM]) in an attempt to reproduce the hyperlipemia syndrome. Because insulin resistance has been associated with hyperlipemia, all ponies were initially evaluated for insulin response to an oral glucose load and normal dexamethasone suppression of serum cortisol. Four ponies were identified as hyperinsulinemic reflecting insulin resistance. All ponies had suppressed cortisol concentrations following dexamethasone administration. Feed withdrawal resulted in hypertriglyceridemia by 48 hours in all ponies. Very low density lipoprotein-triglyceride (VLDL) fraction was primarily elevated. The administration of dexamethasone failed to increase the degree of triglyceridemia. Although insulin resistance has been proposed as the likely cause of the hypertriglyceridemia in ponies, in this study four of eight ponies were considered to have normal insulin responses and yet still developed hypertriglyceridemia.