Milk Thistle Shows Promising Applications In Treating Liver Disease, CancerApril 17, 2009 When Pliny the Elder prescribed milk thistle 2,000 years ago, he did so for a variety of health concerns, including serpent bites, melancholy, plague and milk production, in addition to “carrying off bile.”1,2 Now, the popularity of milk thistle is soaring, not only for treating chronic liver problems for which it is best known, but also for its ability to protect other organs from the damaging effects of radiation, chemotherapy, other xenobiotics and chronic disease.3 For example, its antioxidant actions decrease gentamicin-induced nephrotoxicity in dogs;4 milk thistle also promotes kidney function in patients with end-stage diabetic nephropathy.5 What’s in It Milk thistle extract, the first substance extracted from the crushed seeds, contains up to 80 percent silymarin, the main active constituent.6 In contrast, the silymarin content of unprocessed seeds may fall as low as 4 percent silymarin.7 Some manufacturers standardize the silymarin content to ensure equivalence between batches. Silibinin (or silybin), a semi-purified fraction of silymarin, acts as an important marker for research to track pharmacokinetics and ensure adequate plasma and target tissue concentrations.8 Monitoring pharmacokinetics becomes especially important when studying phytomedicinals exhibiting poor or erratic bioavailability, as do the …
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LSU Vet School Dedicates Sculpture To Hurricane VolunteersApril 17, 2009To honor those who support animals in the aftermath of hurricanes, the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine will dedicate a bronze statue titled Connections on Nov. 6 at 3 p.m. in the school's Serenity Garden near the entrance to the Small Animal Clinic. Connections, designed by Kentucky sculptor Meg White, depicts a young girl offering water to a thirsty cat and dog representing both the relationship and responsibility people share with domestic animals, according to the school. "This sculpture illustrates the importance of animals in our lives, which was seen time and time again after the hurricanes as people refused to evacuate without their pets," said Dean Peter Haynes. "This sculpture is dedicated to all of those people who braved high waters and dangerous situations to rescue animals and to the thousands of people who supported and cared for those animals after they were taken from harm's way. It stands as a memorial to their grace, perseverance and dedication." The serenity garden was donated by the Womack family and dedicated in memory of the late Milton J. Womack, Sr. Participating in the dedication ceremony will be Chancellor Mark Martin, President Emeritus William Jenkins, Haynes and Margaret …
Grant Funds Study On Disease Transmission In Fractured HabitatsApril 17, 2009 A $2.3 million grant from the National Science Foundation will allow researchers at Colorado State University to study how fractured habitats influence disease transmission between wild cats (pumas and bobcats) and domestic cats. The research, to be conducted in California, Florida and Colorado, will focus on the similarity of feline immunodeficiency virus strains in the cats. “We suspect that the spectrum of pathogens and the rate of infection changes as habitat fragmentation forces those species to live in closer proximity,” said Sue VandeWoude, DVM, associate professor in the Department of Microbiology, Immunology and Pathology and principal investigator of the study. Preliminary research shows that wild cats in California and Florida share FIV strains in restricted habitats, demonstrating cross-species transmission. <HOME>
University Health Industries Launches Pet Care DivisionApril 17, 2009University Health Industries Inc., a company in Boca Raton, Fla., that develops and markets nutraceutical products to the human health market, has launched a pet health care division. The lead product will be a pet formulated version of the company's Arthroleve product for joint health and arthritis, which will be designed with a dosage and delivery system specific to canines. "UHI's overall strategy has always included pet health care and we are excited about beginning the process of moving this forward," said Dean Peloso, chief executive officer. "This new division complements the company's current offering in both its human health and environmental products." <HOME>
Identifying And Treating Oral PainApril 17, 2009 In the last five years, veterinary medicine has moved strongly toward pain control identification and treatment. Pain control specialists are available for consultation with a plethora of management systems to bring true comfort to our patients. One area of analgesia that is still seriously lacking is managing oral pain in the canine and feline. Two problems exist. First, there is incomplete understanding of oral diagnostics with the resultant lack of identification of oral pathology. Oral radiology is still not common in veterinary hospitals. Periodontal care is not always understood and patients are being given oral care awake, with tranquilization or with short acting intravenous/intramuscular sedation. Until these practices are changed oral pain will continue to be under-diagnosed, misdiagnosed or not diagnosed. Secondly, some veterinarians may not believe that oral pain exists in dogs and cats. Diagnostics Oral radiology must find its way into veterinary hospitals. Without oral radiology, exact diagnosis is impossible. No veterinarian should be performing an extraction without pre- and post-oral X-rays. Similarly, no veterinarian should be extracting teeth in 2008 without informed consent. In certain cases, the option of root canal therapy versus extraction is a viable treatment choice. Oral radiology is the …
West Hollywood Is First In State To Ban DeclawingApril 17, 2009 September 29-October 3, 2003 Fireflies might prove a fatal snack to exotic reptiles, according to a health alert released by the American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals' Animal Poison Control Center (APCC). Veterinarians should alert pet owners and advise them to take steps to prevent both the intentional or accidental ingestion of these common insects, the center reported. Based on a handful of reports from reptile owners, symptoms of poisoning quickly follow a lizard's ingestion of fireflies. These symptoms include head shaking, oral gaping, unsuccessful attempts at regurgitation and a darkening in color. The symptoms usually appear within 30 minutes of ingestion, and death might follow within the hour. Death is thought to be a result of heart malfunction. "A single firefly would have a very high probability of resulting in death," says Dr. Steve Hansen, board-certified veterinary toxicologist and director of the APCC. The warning is being issued to amphibian and bird owners as well. In addition to the lizard cases, fatal poisonings in tree frogs have been documented. In another instance, a bird that ingested a firefly regurgitated it but did not die, says Hansen. …
Herbal Meds: When CE Equals Caveat EmptorApril 17, 2009 From early Imperial times until the Communist era, the teaching of herbal medicine in China took the form of a master teaching an apprentice. About 2,000 years ago, Chinese herbalists turned away from blaming anthropomorphized agents (i.e., demons) for disease and instead began attributing sickness to yin-yang imbalance.1 Primitive, folkloric medical practices of tongue and pulse diagnosis served as mainstay diagnostic tools. With these methods, herbalists determined which potentially effective but possibly injurious plant products to give patients based on the color of the tongue and feel of the pulse. Few asked questions about the pharmacologic actions, adverse effects or interactions of the herb mixtures. Even the exact nature of the ingredients remained a tightly held “family secret.” This sounds quaint and exotic until one realizes that much of this is continuing in veterinary medicine today in North America. Continuing education courses in Chinese herbal prescribing are more popular than ever. Pitfalls Persist While online courses and Internet chats have modernized delivery of the message, certain pitfalls persist, such as apprentices worshipping the master, espousing blind faith in his or her secret formulae. Mystique and metaphors, however, do not substitute for true investigation …
FDA Warns Of Comfortis, Ivermectin InteractionApril 17, 2009The U.S. Food and Drug Administration and Elanco Animal Health are advising veterinarians that dogs receiving extra-label doses of ivermectin should not receive concurrent treatment with Comfortis (spinosad), a monthly chewable tablet used for the prevention and treatment of flea infestation. The FDA Center for Veterinary Medicine recently received reports of adverse reactions which are consistent with ivermectin toxicity. Many veterinarians use high extra-label doses of ivermectin to treat dogs with non-responsive demodectic mange and other conditions. Elanco Animal Health is a division of Indianapolis-based Eli Lilly and Co. Click here for the "Lilly Companion Animal Health Technical Bulletin: Spinosad and the Extra-Label Use of High Dose Ivermectin for the Treatment of Generalized Demodicosis in Dogs." <HOME>
Veterinary Post-Graduate Education Rising Trend, AVMA SaysApril 17, 2009Veterinary Post-Graduate Education Rising Trend, AVMA SaysVeterinary Post-Graduate Education Rising Trend, AVMA Says More veterinarians are pursuing post-graduate education, according to a recent American Veterinary Medical Assn. study published in the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Assn. In fact, almost 40 percent of graduating new veterinarians in 2008 reported that they were going into advanced education—89.2 percent of those into internships and 6 percent into residencies. In 2003, only 26.3 percent of graduates chose advanced educational positions. In 1995, 15 percent opted for more education. One motivating factor driving these new graduates is the promise of additional income in the long term. According to the 2007 AVMA Report on Veterinary Compensation, board-certified veterinary specialists earned a median income of $139,000 in 2005 compared to the median income of $79,000 for private practice veterinarians with no post-graduate education. "Internships have quadrupled and residencies have doubled in the past 20 years," said Michael Garvey, DVM, a Pennsylvania veterinarian who has run the Veterinary Internship and Residency Matching Program for the American Assn. of Veterinary Clinicians for more than two decades. In 1986, there were 179 internships and 130 residencies filled through the matching service, for a total …
California Bill Would Make Adoption Fees Tax-DeductibleApril 17, 2009 A new bill to allow individuals and families to deduct the cost of adopting pets from local government facilities and charitable organizations has been set to be heard before the California Assembly Revenue and Tax Committee on Monday, April 20. California Assembly Bill 233, as introduced, would allow for taxable years beginning on or after Jan. 1, 2010, and before Jan. 1, 2015, a deduction under that law for the adoption fees paid during the taxable year by taxpayers for pet adoption from a qualified animal-rescue organization. A “qualified animal-rescue organization” means any city, county, or city and county animal-control agency or shelter, or an animal-adoption organization that is exempt from taxation under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code, the bill states. This measure seeks to curb the amount spent annually by local governments in dealing with abandoned cats and dogs, which is estimated at $100 million. The deduction allowed may not exceed $300, the bill states. AB 233, introduced by assemblyman Cameron Smyth, R-Santa Clarita, would take effect immediately as a tax levy. <HOME>
