2010 Winn Feline Foundation Grant

New Grant:

10-017: Management of feline acromegaly with a long-acting somatostatin receptor ligand
Katharine F. Lunn, BVMS, MS, PhD, MRCVS, DACVIM; Colorado State University: $7,302
Acromegaly is a hormonal disease of cats in which excessive growth hormone (GH) is
produced from a tumor in the pituitary gland. Although previously considered to be rare, there is now
evidence that acromegaly may be under-diagnosed in cats. One reason for this is that there are
currently few effective therapies for feline acromegaly, and therefore veterinarians may not test for
the disorder. Acromegaly is important in cats because it causes diabetes mellitus with severe insulin
resistance. It also causes weight gain, enlarged organs, thickened bone and soft tissues, and heart and
kidney disease. Cats with acromegaly often die or are euthanized because of heart or kidney disease,
or the complications of uncontrollable diabetes mellitus. Acromegaly is diagnosed by measuring GH,
and a related hormone called insulin-like growth factor-1 (IGF-1). The latter is responsible for tissue
and organ growth in these patients. In this study we propose to evaluate a drug that is commonly
used in human patients with acromegaly. The drug is a long-acting form of octreotide, which acts to
decrease GH production from the pituitary tumor. This medication has not been previously evaluated
in cats. The goals of the study are to determine if the medication safely reduces insulin dose, GH and
IGF-1 levels in cats when given monthly for six months. The appropriate dose of the medication will
also be determined. If effective, this medication will provide a more accessible therapy for cats with
acromegaly and may increase awareness and diagnosis of this serious condition.

All Winn 2010 Grants:

http://www.winnfelinehealth.org/Pages/H ... _Final.pdf

 

Thanks for posting Larry! Dr. Lunn is supposed to send me a little more information, which I'll post as soon as I get. Hopefully, it will have more details of the study (like, how long it will be, how much it will cost, and what it will include).

 

Thanks Larry!
I've copied this to www.catacromegaly.com

 

Woohooo! I'm so glad Dr. Lunn got the grant.

Thanks for letting us know, Larry... and Phoebe thanks for the cross-post, too!

 

Very exciting!!