Musculoskeletal MiraclesMay 6, 2009 A year and a half ago, Mel and Helen King noticed their very fast poodle Josephine slowing as she ran the agility courses on which she had become a champion. A few weeks later, she became lame. The Kings, of Silver Creek, Wash., took her to an orthopedic surgeon who diagnosed a partial tear in her cruciate ligament and recommended surgery. “That would have ended her career and I didn’t want to do it,” Helen King says. “She lives for agility.” After researching options, the Kings opted for stem cell therapy, part of the rapidly emerging field of regenerative veterinary medicine. A photomicrograph of a cluster of equine adipose-derived regenerative cells. The techniques are being used in horses and dogs to treat tendon and ligament injuries, osteoarthritis and, to a limited degree, fractures. Stem cells are being used in other countries to treat humans with musculoskeletal problems, but the procedure is still in clinical trials in the U.S. Vet-Stem Inc., a Poway, Calif., company founded in 2002, has used its patented process to treat more than 3,200 horses and 1,500 dogs. Some 1,179 veterinarians have completed the firm’s free online training. …
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Palliative Options In Cancer CareMay 6, 2009 While we have increasingly advanced therapies for treating canine and feline cancer, sometimes the most appropriate treatment is palliation. Palliative therapy is defined as reducing or removing the symptoms of a disease or a disorder, not curing it. By this definition, the majority of veterinary cancer care falls under the umbrella of palliation. While achieving a cure in most of our patients would be desirable, doing so at the expense of an animal’s quality of life contradicts the most basic principle of veterinary oncology. The most common comment I hear during oncology consultations is that clients do not want to extend an animal’s life at the expense of their quality of life. I always tell my clients that while I don’t believe animals understand the concept of time, I think they understand quality of life and how they feel as they live in the present. Though palliative treatment is often focused on relieving the pain of a tumor or cancer, or relieving the suffering caused by a tumor, pain isn’t necessarily the only reason for providing palliative care. Owners may not recognize that besides pain, there may be many other components to an animal’s suffering, …
Startup Aims To Broaden Oncology MarketApril 17, 2009smlanimal Oncura Partners, a startup that expects to enable general practices establish oncology practices, may be up and running when it formally introduces itself at the North American Veterinary Conference in Orlando in January 2002. Among services offered: chemotherapy agents packed in patient-specific, single-dose syringes; online case protocol development, including radiation therapy planning, with board-certified oncologists (including Drs. Neil Mauldin and Phil Bergman); logistical support in developing radiation facilities; nutritional counseling; and related training services. The company exhibited at the Veterinary Cancer Society meeting in October, where president and chief executive officer Brian Huber, DVM, Dipl. ACVP, described the company's visions to veterinary oncologists and listened to their concerns. Below is the complete interview. (Excerpts and photos appear in the December 2001 issue of Veterinary Practice News. VPN: Tell us what you're doing? Huber: Oncura Partners is a company that's dedicated to veterinary cancer care. We approach it from all angles. From the specialty consult to the veterinarians, the distribution, we set the protocols and distribute the drugs from our partner pharmacy. What is interesting about it is that we're going to be able sell the exact dose that's needed for that patient for …
Avid Is Granted Injunction But Chip War RagesApril 17, 2009 Although members of the veterinary and animal welfare communities have been calling on pet microchip manufacturers and distributors to find a way to cooperate, the industry continues to be enmeshed in an increasing number of legal battles. Avid Identification Systems, the plaintiff in several of these cases, reports that at least one of its lawsuits has been resolved and that it has been granted a preliminary injunction against the defendant in another. The company cites both these developments as validations of Avid’s technological and intellectual property investments. “Avid believes that the U.S. pet microchipping and recovery systems were jeopardized recently by several reckless attempts to introduce an incompatible 134.2 kHz-based microchip technology,” said Avid founder Hannis Stoddard III, DVM. “We anticipate this ruling [in regard to the settled case] will help validate the 125 kHz-based microchip technology.” Regardless of the lawsuits, members of the Coalition for Reuniting Pets and Families, supported by the American Animal Hospital Association, the American Veterinary Medical Association and various animal welfare organizations, are still asking microchipping companies to permit the use of a “global” scanner that can read all chips on the U.S. market. Avid officials …
Diagnosis For Chesapeake Bay RetrieverApril 17, 2009 Signalment: Tango is a 7-year-old male castrated Chesapeake Bay retriever. History: Tango recently has become lethargic and has been coughing. This became noticeable in the last three days. The owner has also noticed some weight loss. Physical Examination: T: 98.9 P: 240 R: 48 Tango has lost some muscle mass giving him a body condition score of four out of nine. A gallop rhythm is heard as well as a 2/6 systolic murmur with point of maximal intensity over the mitral valve. The rhythm sounds very irregular. Some fluid is appreciated in the abdomen. Pulses are rapid and irregular. An ECG is obtained. 1. What is the rate and rhythm on this ECG tracing? 2. What are some proposed causes of this ECG change and what effects does it have on the patient’s cardiovascular status? 3. What treatment is recommended for this rhythm? 4. What other diagnostics are appropriate for Tango? 5. What is the prognostic significance of this rhythm? Answers: 1. The rate on this tracing is around 260 BPM, given the marked variation in the R-to-R interval it would be important to determine the heart rate …
Some Herbs Beat Conventional Med For GI ProblemsApril 17, 2009​A common misconception about herbs is that they offer minimal efficacy if they are effective at all, nothing like conventional medications. It may be surprising, then, that research shows that some herbs may be comparable, even superior, to conventional medications in their benefit-to-risk ratio in side-by-side comparisons. Herbs are popular remedies for digestive disorders. A 1999 study reported in the Canadian Journal of Gastroenterology revealed that 46 percent of human patients with inflammatory bowel disease had used complementary therapies within the previous two years; 34 percent of them were using it at the time of the survey. Their most commonly cited reasons for using complementary therapies were the side effects and lack of effectiveness they found with standard therapies. A 2004 study in the American Journal of Gastroenterology found that 60 percent of patients with inflammatory bowel disease used alternative and complementary therapies, mainly for pain or diarrhea. The two most common approaches were diet (45 percent) and herbs (17 percent). The comparative frequency of complementary and alternative medicine usage in various populations of veterinary patients is currently unknown but warrants investigation. It is important to know when veterinary clients are giving herbs to their animals because they may augment …
Technology Transfer Boosts OncologyApril 17, 2009The trickle-down theory has become a mainstay in veterinary medicine. Techniques, instruments and equipment from human medicine are regularly adopted for use with animals, improving outcomes for thousands of patients. But now some new oncological methodologies in the veterinary world promise to return the favor. At the University of California, Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine, a team of 19 veterinary oncologists and other scientists have formed a partnership with researchers from more than a dozen scientific disciplines to investigate new cancer therapies for both animals and humans. In an article published in the 2004 Spring/Summer issue of Synthesis, a publication of the UC Davis Cancer Center, Cheryl London, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVIM, assistant professor of surgical and radiological sciences, said that the benefits of the center's research can flow both ways, aiding humans and animals alike. One clinical study used the multi-targeted kinase inhibitor SU11654 to slow the growth of, or even cure, certain types of tumors. Fifty-seven dogs were studied in the trial, each with advanced end-stage cancers. Of those, the disease was completely halted in 16 cases and 11 experienced shrinkage of the tumor. In six cases, complete remission was achieved. In the article, Dr. London said that …
Emergency And Critical Care Medicine Grows Rapidly: Filling The Demand For Specialists Proves Difficult.April 17, 2009 With just a couple hours of sleep, Dr. Boyce will spend all day at her practice before she goes home for a good night’s sleep. At least that’s what she hopes will happen. She’s on call again tonight, and one emergency call could mean another day of working 24 hours straight. Boyce said she loves being a veterinarian, but providing emergency care has taken its toll. Working in the only veterinary practice in the entire county of Crawford and wanting to ensure 24-hour emergency care for animals, she and her two co-workers, also veterinarians, have little choice but to alternate being on call every third week. Quality of Life “Emergency duty probably has the most negative impact on my quality of life as a vet,” Boyce said. Veterinarians who work alone or in small practices burn out quickly when they try to provide around-the-clock emergency care, said James Ross, DVM, Dipl. ACVECC, executive secretary of the American College of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care and professor at Tufts University in North Grafton, Mass. “The difficulty working in such a demanding job with so little sleep and so many hours of work is one of …
Plaque Control Is Key To Controlling Feline GingivostomatitisApril 17, 2009 Feline gingivostomatitis, also known as lymphocytic plasmacytic stomatitis, is one of the most frustrating oral diseases seen in veterinary practice. Affected cats exhibit a variety of clinical signs including partial to complete anorexia (with a predilection for canned vs. dry food), ptyalism, halitosis, weight loss, abnormal swallowing movements and oral pain. Orofacial examination reveals gingivitis, stomatitis and possibly palatitis, glossitis, cheilitis, pharyngitis and mandibular lymphadenopathy. Oral inflammation is often extensive and affected tissues are typically ulcerated, edematous, hyperemic, and proliferative (Figure 1). All breeds can be affected at any age. Etiology The oral lesions associated with feline gingivostomatitis are often mistaken for an oral infection; however, inflammation, rather than infection, is the problem, with infiltrates of plasma cells and lymphocytes. The inflammatory lesions associated with feline gingivostomatitis are thought to be the result of a highly reactive immune system. The specific antigen(s) causing the aberrant immune response are unknown.1,2 Since a specific antigen has not been identified, the etiology may be be multifactorial. Bartonella has received recognition as a possible etiologic agent, but Bartonella positive PCR status does not appear to be correlated with the …
Complementary Medicine: Test Your Organic Pet Food SavvyApril 17, 2009 With the variety of organic pet foods on the rise, veterinary health professionals need to know the facts about the good and the not-so-good aspects of organic food for animals. Take the following true-or-false quiz to assess your organic food know-how. 1. Organic food is a passing fad, like pet rocks. True or False False. Organic food is here to stay. Annual trends in retail sales reported in a 2000 United States Department of Agriculture news release [No. 042500] show that the number of organic farmers is increasing by about 12 percent each year and that organic farming is “one of the fastest growing segments of U.S. agriculture.” Certified-organic cropland more than doubled between 1992 and 1997, and the production of egg and dairy products grew even faster. The total organic food and beverages market in 2001 was $21 billion and is expected to be $80 billion by 2008, with a growth rate of 20 percent per year. 2. The rules governing labeling and organic certification are the same for both human and pet foods. True or False False, and confusing. In 2002, USDA Undersecretary Bill Hawks sent this notification …
