NTRA's Barbaro fund to support LSU and UGA laminitis projects

Baton Rouge - 11/28/07 - Louisiana State University and University of Georgia researchers will head two equine laminitis-focused projects, with the more than $100,000 total costs to be funded by donations from the National Thoroughbred Racing Association (NTRA) in memory of Kentucky Derby winner Barbaro .

Created after Barbaro contracted laminitis , the NTRA fund is managed by the Grayson-Jockey Club Research Foundation , traditionally the leading source of private funding for equine research. After specifically calling for laminitis-focused research initiatives, the LSU-GSU partnership projects, designed by Susan Eades, LSU School of Veterinary Medicine professor, were selected from a total of nine submissions.

The first project will continue veterinary science's effort to understand the specific route of development of laminitis while testing the hypothesis that the medication doxycycline can prevent onset of the disease and serve as a therapeutic agent for horses that contract it.

The second project will follow up on the recent research indicating serotonin might be a chemical responsible for the development of laminitis and examine whether a medication that breaks down serotonin might help pevent clinical signs of the disease. Both projects are slated for completion in two years.