Couëtil L, Paradis M R, Knoll J
Tufts University School of Veterinary Medicine, North Grafton, MA, USA.
J Vet Intern Med. 1996 Jan-Feb;10(1):1-6. doi: 10.1111/j.1939-1676.1996.tb02016.x.
Pituitary adenomas are commonly reported in older horses. The typical clinical signs associated with this condition, also known as equine Cushing's disease (ECD), are related to increased adrenocorticotropin (ACTH) production resulting in hyperadrenocorticism. The primary purpose of this study was to determine whether plasma ACTH concentrations differed between cushingoid and healthy horses. The second objective was to determine the effects of blood sample handling techniques on ACTH concentrations. A commercial human ACTH radioimmunoassay (RIA) was used to quantify equine plasma ACTH. Intra-assay and interassay variations, as well as dilutional parallelism were determined during the RIA validation. Plasma ACTH concentrations were evaluated in a group of healthy equids composed of 18 horses and 9 ponies, and in 22 equids with a clinical diagnosis of hyperadrenocorticism (11 horses and 11 ponies). The mean plasma ACTH concentrations in healthy horses and ponies, (18.68 +/- 6.79 pg/mL (mean +/- SD) and 8.35 +/- 2.92 pg/mL, respectively), were significantly different (P = .009). The mean plasma ACTH concentration in horses and ponies with ECD, (199.18 +/- 182.82 pg/mL and 206.21 +/- 319.56 pg/mL, respectively), were significantly higher than the mean ACTH concentration in the control animals (P < .001). Plasma ACTH concentrations appeared to be a sensitive and specific indicator of ECD in horses and ponies. ACTH concentrations measured in plasma samples kept at room temperature (19 degrees C) as long as 3 hours after blood collection were not statistically different from those of samples kept at 1 degree C.
垂体腺瘤在老龄马中较为常见。与这种情况（也称为马库兴氏病，即ECD）相关的典型临床症状与促肾上腺皮质激素（ACTH）分泌增加导致的肾上腺皮质功能亢进有关。本研究的主要目的是确定患库兴氏病的马与健康马的血浆ACTH浓度是否存在差异。第二个目的是确定血样处理技术对ACTH浓度的影响。使用一种商用人类ACTH放射免疫测定法（RIA）对马血浆ACTH进行定量。在RIA验证过程中确定了批内和批间变异以及稀释平行性。对一组由18匹马和9匹小马组成的健康马属动物以及22例临床诊断为肾上腺皮质功能亢进的马属动物（11匹马和11匹小马）的血浆ACTH浓度进行了评估。健康马和小马的平均血浆ACTH浓度分别为（18.68±6.79 pg/mL（平均值±标准差）和8.35±2.92 pg/mL），差异显著（P = 0.009）。患ECD的马和小马的平均血浆ACTH浓度分别为（199.18±182.82 pg/mL和206.21±319.56 pg/mL），显著高于对照动物的平均ACTH浓度（P < 0.001）。血浆ACTH浓度似乎是马和小马患ECD的敏感且特异的指标。采血后在室温（19摄氏度）下保存长达3小时的血浆样本中测得的ACTH浓度与保存在1摄氏度的样本中的ACTH浓度在统计学上无差异。
