Insulin resistance (pre-diabetes) or metabolic syndrome is a disorder not only common in humans, dogs and cats, but also in horses and for very similar reasons! It is characterized by obesity, regional fat deposition, lethargy, insulin resistance, low thyroid, and laminitis. Similarly in humans and house pets, there is breed predilection, obesity, regional fat deposition, hyperglycemia and insulin resistance. The underlying causes are very similar between species-too much rich food, too little exercise, and physical confinement! The treatment is also very similar-improvement in the diet, markedly increased exercise, plenty of turn out, and hormonal therapy (thyroid).

It is not known if metabolic syndrome in horses is associated with ocular abnormalities as diabetic retinopathy is in man, dogs and cats. CBI offers several meaningful and robust animal models to allow science to study ocular changes in Type I and Type II diabetes as well as metabolic syndrome that have direct applicability to both humans and our pets. These would include STZ-induction of Type I diabetes, Zucker Rats, ObOb mice and NOD mice. At CBI we can assess a battery of metabolic parameters, and also, important, assess the ocular changes via OCT, funduscopy, angiography and histopathology.