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Prascend® is a prescription only medicine.

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Prascend 2 boxes

Prascend 1 mg tablets for horses are indicated for the symptomatic treatment of clinical signs associated with PPID (Equine Cushing's disease).

Recommended dose:

The starting dose is 2ug pergolide/kg body weight once dail, and should then be titrated according to the individual response determined by monitoring. Daily starting doses are recommended as follows:

Horse body weight Number of tablets Starting dose Dosage range
200-400kg 0.5 0.5mg 1.3-2.5ug/kg
401-600kg 1 1.0mg 1.7-2.5ug/kg
601-850kg 1.5 1.5mg 1.8-2.5ug/kg
851-1000kg 2 2.0mg 2.0-2.4ug/kg

If clinical signs or the diagnostic testing have not yet improved at the first 4 to 6 week interval, the total daily dose may be increased by 0.5 mg. In case clinical signs have improved but are not yet normalised, the veterinarian may decide to titrate or not to titrate the dose, considering the individual’s response/tolerance to the dose.

In case clinical signs are not adequately controlled (clinical evaluation and/or diagnostic testing) it is recommended to increase the total daily dose by 0.5 mg increments every 4 to 6 weeks until stabilisation occurs and if the drug is tolerated at that dose. If signs of dose intolerance develop, treatment should be stopped for 2-3 days and reinstated at one-half of the previous dose. The total daily dose may then be titrated back up to the desired clinical effect by 0.5 mg increments every 2-4 weeks. If a dose is missed, the next scheduled dose should be administered as prescribed.

Administering Prascend:

The product should be administered once daily, by mouth. To facilitate administration, the required daily dose should be placed in a small amount of water and/or mixed with molasses or other sweetener and agitated until diossolved. In this case the dissolved tablets should be administered with a syringe. The whole amount should be administered immediately. Tablets should not be crushed.

Ongoing treatment and monitoring:

Lifelong treatment is anticipated for this disease. Following initial diagnosis, repeat endocrinologic testing for dose titration and monitoring of treatment at intervals of 4 to 6 weeks until stabilisation or improvement of clinical signs and/or diagnostic testing occurs.

Response to treatment:

Clinical improvement with pergolide is expected within 6-12 weeks.  Most horses respond to therapy and are stabilised at an average dose of 2ug pergolide/kg bodyweight. Horses may respond clinically at lower or varying doses; it is therefore recommended to titrate to the lowest effective dose per individual based on response to therapy, whether it is effectiveness or signs of intolerance. Some horses may require doses as high as 10 µg pergolide/kg body weight per day. In these rare situations, appropriate additional monitoring is advised.

Following stabilisation, regular clinical assessment and diagnostic testing should be performed every 6 months to monitor treatment and dose. Where there is no apparent response to treatment, the diagnosis should be re-evaluated.