Pergolide,
Prasend
Medication Facts
- Performance enhancing
- Conditionally - Cushings
- Total hours to clear
- Not recorded
- Frequently used
- Most Prescribed
- ESC ID
- PERGOL-0695
- Trade names
- Permax
- Drug type
- Dopamine receptor agonist
- Plasma half-life · hours
- Not Published
- Equine dosing
- 2 mcg/kg PO daily for treatment of Cushings -typically very small amounts. ***Avoid use with Acepromozine or any other sedatives/tranquilizers***
- Cmax · peak plasma concentration
- .01 to .03 ng/mL
- Tmax · time to peak plasma concentration
- 1 to 2 hrs
- ESC concentration guidance
- .01 to .03 ng/ml
- Primary withdrawal · hours
- 0
- Washout withdrawal · hours
- 0
- ESC control type
- A1 - Generally Controlled - Therapeutic
- Medication report required
- Generally not required, however understand exceptions.
Uses & side effects
Inhibits ACTH hormone production & slows progression of Cushings
Drug interactions
Prascend (pergolide mesylate) has very few documented drug interactions, but it should never be given alongside dopamine antagonists (such as acepromazine). Because Prascend is a dopamine agonist used to treat Pituitary Pars Intermedia Dysfunction (PPID / Equine Cushing's Disease), medications that block dopamine receptors will directly counteract and neutralize its therapeutic effects.When managing a horse on Prascend, pay close attention to the following classes of medications and clinical risks:1. Dopamine Antagonists (Direct Contradiction)Do not administer Prascend concurrently with drugs that block dopamine pathways. These combinations diminish or completely eliminate the effectiveness of the pergolide treatment:Phenothiazine Sedatives: Acepromazine, a very common tranquilizer used in equine medicine.Gastrointestinal Motility Agents: Domperidone (often used for fescue toxicosis) and metoclopramide.2. Highly Protein-Bound DrugsPrascend is approximately 90% bound to plasma proteins. Use caution when co-administering it with other highly protein-bound medications, as they can compete for binding sites and alter circulating drug concentrations:Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs): Common equine NSAIDs like phenylbutazone ("bute") or flunixin meglumine (Banamine).While these are frequently prescribed together in older arthritic horses with PPID, your veterinarian should monitor the horse closely for heightened drug sensitivities or side effects.3. Reproductive and Hormonal RisksPergolide acts on the pituitary gland and suppresses the hormone prolactin. While not a strict drug-to-drug interaction, it heavily interferes with necessary maternal hormones:Lactating and Pregnant Mares: Prascend can stop colostrum and milk production. It should only be used in breeding animals if explicitly directed by a vet after weighing the risks.4. Ergot DerivativesPrascend is contraindicated in any horse with a known hypersensitivity to ergot derivatives. Avoid pairing it with other ergot-alkaloid contaminated feedstuffs (like fescue grass infected with endophyte fungus), as this can compound vasoconstrictive or hormonal side effects.
Contraindications
Acepromozine