Prascend

Prascend 1 mg tablets for horses

The content on this page is provided for owners of horses who have been prescribed Prascend®

Why has my horse been prescribed this medication?

Your horse will have been prescribed Prascend® if your veterinary surgeon has diagnosed Equine Cushing’s disease (also known as PPID, or Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction).

As shown in the diagram below, horses with Equine Cushing’s disease have a hormone imbalance which you will need to manage for the rest of their life in order to minimise the occurrence of symptoms. This may initially sound daunting, but in the majority of cases this condition is simple to manage.

If you would like to learn more about the signs and symptoms of Equine Cushing’s disease, please visit the ‘How to spot it’ section of our website.

What is Prascend®?

Prascend® is a medicine licensed to treat the clinical signs associated with Equine Cushing’s disease in horses. It contains the active ingredient pergolide.

Prascend® works by mimicking the action of dopamine and therefore regulating the production of hormones from the pituitary gland.

How should I give Prascend® to my horse?

Prascend® tablets should be given once daily by mouth at the dose prescribed by your veterinary surgeon. The simplest way to do this is to place the required daily dose in a small amount of water, molasses, or another sweetener and then gently agitate the mixture until the Prascend® is fully dissolved. The liquid containing the dissolved tablets should be immediately administered directly into the mouth using a dosing syringe which can be obtained from your vet.

When will I see a response to treatment?

Clinical improvement is usually expected within 6-12 weeks of starting Prascend® treatment, however the length of time between initiation of treatment to being able to see a response can vary from one horse or pony to another.

An improvement in demeanour is often the first clinical sign to improve and anecdotal reports suggest that this can occur in just a few days. Resolution of signs such as abnormal hair growth or loss of topline muscle however can take much longer, and changes to the severity and frequency of laminitis episodes can be challenging to assess in the first few weeks of treatment as other factors such as diet, weight control and corrective farriery also need to be factored in.

Why do I need to repeat my horse’s ACTH blood test 4-6 weeks after starting treatment?

It is recommended that your horse’s response to Prascend® treatment is assessed by your veterinary surgeon 4-6 weeks after initiation of treatment using information gathered from a follow-up clinical examination, a review of the clinical signs that your horse is/was showing, and a repeat of the basal ACTH blood test.

This assessment will allow your veterinary surgeon to determine whether your horse is receiving an appropriate dose of Prascend®, and ensure that any required dose adjustments can be made quickly  thus controlling the disease as quickly as possible and minimising the risk of recurrence of clinical signs.

Why do horse’s treated with Prascend® need lifelong monitoring and what does this mean?

Equine Cushing’s disease is a progressive condition. This means that whilst we can treat and manage the symptoms, the underlying abnormality in the pituitary gland will continue to progress even when horses and ponies are medicated appropriately. As the disease progresses, the dose of medication needed to control the disease may change.

Lifelong monitoring allows the level of disease control to be regularly re-assessed and appropriate adjustments to the dose of medication to be made, in order to minimise the risk of symptom recurrence.

Life long monitoring is carried out using a combination of clinical observations and blood testing. You can make clinical observations on an ongoing basis and discuss these with your vet, who will examine your horse on a regular basis. In addition to this, a monitoring blood test is currently recommended every 6 months to check the levels of ACTH in the treated horse’s bloodstream1.

All horses registered with Care About Cushing's who are treated with Prascend® are provided with one free* monitoring ACTH test per year.

You can simply ask your vet to generate a free* voucher for you, or alternatively you can register on our website and provide the following information in order to receive a voucher via email†:

• Your permission for us to email you
• Your horse’s last ACTH test result
• Your horse’s current Prascend® dose

*Free ACTH laboratory test fees only. Veterinary practices may apply visit, blood sampling and interpretation fees.

†Free* monitoring ACTH test vouchers are emailed 6 months after the start date of Prascend® treatment and 12 months thereafter 

If you have any questions regarding the testing and treatment of your horse please speak to your veterinary surgeon.

References:

1. Prascend SPC