Efficacy of tamoxifen for the treatment of severe equine asthma

Abstract

Background: Tamoxifen, a selective estrogen receptor modulator, decreased airway neutrophilia and improved clinical signs in an experimental model of equine asthma, and induced neutrophilic apoptosis in vitro. Hypothesis/Objectives: Tamoxifen reduces airway neutrophilia and improves lung function in severe asthmatic horses. Animals: Twelve severe asthmatic horses from a research herd. Methods: Randomized controlled blinded study design. The effects of a 12-day oral treatment with tamoxifen (0.22 mg/kg, q24h) or dexamethasone (0.06 mg/kg, q24h) on lung function, endoscopic tracheal mucus score and bronchoalveolar lavage fluid cytology were compared. Results: Tamoxifen significantly improved the pulmonary resistance (RL; mean reduction of 1.15 cm H2O/L/s [CI: 0.29-2.01, P =.007] on day 13), but had no effect on the other variables evaluated. Dexamethasone normalized lung function (mean reduction of RL of 2.48 cm H2O/L/s [CI: 1.54-3.43, P