Tildren

Tildren is designed to normalize bone metabolism, thereby alleviating clinical signs associated with osteitis (bone inflammation) and osteoarthritis (joint inflammation).

Healthy bone undergoes continual metabolic readjustment in response to stress/ exercise. Bone is constantly being broken down (via osteoclastic activity) and rebuilt (via osteoblastic activity). Normally, there is a balance between bone loss and bone redevelopment. Some pathologic conditions (disease processes), however, can result in excessive bone loss (known as "osteolysis") and/or abnormal bone remodeling (cell turnover). Horses with chronic navicular inflammation, for example, often experience abnormal bone remodeling as well as development of osteolytic lesions (areas of bone loss) within the navicular bone. These lesions are visible radiographically and may represent an imbalance in bone metabolism (i.e. increased bone resorption relative to bone redevelopment.

"Tildren" (or tiludronate) inhibits excessive bone resorption and promotes rebalancing of bone metabolism. A recent study was designed to assess tiludronate's effectiveness specifically for horses with navicular inflammation.

Fifty horses with moderate to severe navicular inflammation were evaluated. Radiographic and videotaped lameness examinations were performed prior to treatment. Horses were randomly assigned to receive one of the following:

• 1 mg/kg tiludronate intravenously (IV) daily for 10 days, then 0.5 mg/kg IV daily for five days, then five days of placebo

• 10 days of IV placebo.

Lameness examinations were performed (and videotaped) one, two, and six months pursuant treatment. Radiographic examination was repeated six months after treatment. Independent examiners reviewed all radiographic and lameness evaluation evidence.

The results of the study suggested the following:

1) Horses responded best (based on improvement of lameness and ability to return to work) to the regimen of 1 mg/kg tiludronate IV daily for 10 days.

2) Acute (more recent) cases of navicular disease (<6 months duration, 33 horses) responded better than chronic (long-term) cases (<6 monthsduration, 17 horses). Of recent-case horses, 67% showed a positive response to treatment, and 75% returned to normal activity by six months.

At The Atlanta Equine Clinic, the use of Tildren has proved beneficial in multiple cases of navicular inflammation as well as nonadaptive bone remodeling in joints.

For more information on Tildren, click HERE. It should be noted that Tildren is not approved in the United States for use in horses, so any clinical use would be considered off-label.

Learn more about Tildren and other JOINT THERAPIES in our CLIENT EDUCATION LIBRARY.