FDA Approves Equine Lameness DrugDecember 22, 2014Ceva Animal Health has brought to the United States a drug that earned wide support around the world for the treatment of navicular syndrome in horses. Tildren (tiludronate disodium) went on sale on U.S. soil this month after winning approval from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. More than 250,000 doses of the intravenous solution have been administered worldwide over the past 12 years, Ceva announced today. Ceva earlier this year launched a U.S. equine division, promising drugs such as Tildren, the estrus suppressant Altresyn (altrenogest) and the stress reducer ConfidenceEQ. Some U.S. equine veterinarians knew about Tildren but couldn’t obtain it without a special import agreement, Ceva noted. “The approval of Tildren by the FDA provides veterinarians and horse owners an excellent new tool for managing navicular syndrome,” said Steve Hoffman, vice president of Ceva’s equine business unit. Navicular syndrome is the most common cause of chronic forelimb lameness in horses, the company noted. Tildren is formulated to regulate osteoclasts in areas of excessive activity. “In navicular syndrome, excessive mechanical stress results in bone resorption outpacing bone formation,” Ceva added. “Tildren works at areas of active bone resorption, restoring balance to the process of bone remodeling.” Kyle Creech, DVM, Ceva’s equine …
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Why You Can Benefit From Using the “EyePhone” on the JobOctober 28, 2014Smart phones are becoming the modern Swiss army knife for veterinarians, with apps aimed at making the devices everything from mobile formularies to digital medical record-keepers. As the cameras embedded in smart phones evolve, experts say that digital photography is good for more than just gathering evidence of gruesome wounds. Imaging the equine eye has evolved in the past few years, and veterinarians have lots of options as to how best to evaluate a problem. “It depends quite a lot on what and where the problem is,” said Dr. Caryn Plummer, assistant professor at the Department of Small Animal Clinical Services at the University of Florida. If clinicians suspect the issue lies behind or around the eye, rather than inside the eye, an MRI or a CT scan can be the best options to get a closer look. Both those types of imaging are also sometimes useful for looking at the inside of the eye. Plummer advises that MRI is best at analyzing the soft tissues in and around the eye, including the retrobulbar optic nerve and the extraocular muscles. CT is best at checking for fractures or tumors present around or inside the eye. The method of choice for …
Hunkering Down: How To Prepare Horses For WinterOctober 22, 2014As the days get shorter and the leaves start to change color, your clients are (hopefully) calling you for a round of fall vaccines for their horses or health papers for upcoming shows or trail rides. These pre-winter visits are a great time to prepare them for changes to their horse’s feeding programs to compensate for the cooler temperatures. Some people may know that their horse’s nutrition needs change in the winter, but they may not know exactly what to change and what to keep consistent. How to Talk About Nutrition The best way to start a talk about nutrition may be to teach clients how to use the Henneke body condition scoring system. Depending on the horse’s breed, some people might think that the 1 to 9 grading scale reflects a horse’s relative fatness or thinness based on their barrel size. It’s important to show clients where fat tends to deposit or recede (crest, behind the shoulder, along the spine, tail head) so they can keep track of any changes through the winter. A score around a 5 reflects a horse with a moderate body condition, in which you can easily feel ribs beneath the coat, but they are …
Therapy Lasers for Horses: Another Tool in the Toolbox?October 8, 2014When Randall Brandon, DVM, was using laser therapy to treat a sore back in steeplechase racing champ Sunshine Numbers in 2011, he decided to also work the laser on the horse’s neck. After a while, Dr. Brandon moved the laser back to the horse’s back. The horse immediately let him know what he wanted. “He backed up and stuck his neck right in my face,” said Brandon, owner of Equine Diagnostics in Sumter, South Carolina. Sunshine Numbers, the son of Polish Numbers, went on to win the Carolina Cup that year. Brandon uses laser therapy on a variety of horses, but especially on athletes. “They get really sore in their necks,” Brandon said. “This is unbelievable for them.” Depending on size of an affected area, Brandon could use as few as 2,500 joules of output, or for an area as large as 2-feet by 1-foot he might use up to 20,000 joules and take 40 minutes or longer to work the area. It’s the ability to generate such focused power that has made lasers more useful and the clinical results more apparent in the last few years, and it was the lack of power that helped perpetuate a healthy skepticism …
Straight from the Horse's Mouth: Antibiotics, Antifungals, AntiviralsSeptember 23, 2014 When it comes to antibiotics, antifungals and antivirals, there are lots of do's, don’ts, misinformation and misunderstanding, veterinary experts say. “Veterinarians should be aware that just because a pharmacokinetic study of a new drug has been performed in horses doesn’t mean that enough information now exists to use that drug,” said Virginia R. Fajt, DVM, Ph.D., a clinical associate professor of Veterinary Physiology and Pharmacology at Texas A&M University. While pharmacokinetic data are important for understanding how horses dispose of a drug, the data must either already exist or be generated to understand how concentrations of drugs in horses relate to effects of the drug, Dr. Fajt cautioned. “This is particularly important when it comes to antimicrobial and antifungal drugs, because their efficacy will depend on how much drug it takes to inhibit the growth of these pathogens, and the inhibitory concentrations may be different for horse pathogens than pathogens from other species of animals,” Fajt said. Consider This An added consideration to take into account when prescribing drugs is what the practitioner wants from drugs, said Jennifer L. Davis, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVIM, Dipl. ACVCP. “Horse owners want a drug that is …
EMS: Another Case for Diet and Exercise in EquinesSeptember 11, 2014 Veterinary experts say it’s best to avoid any temptations to take an easy road to a cure when dealing with equine metabolic syndrome. “Dietary restriction and exercise are certainly the preferred and ideal treatments for EMS, and the use of pharmaceutical agents to avoid these hard management changes is not recommended,” said Rose Nolen-Walston, DVM, assistant professor of Large-Animal Internal Medicine at Penn Vet’s New Bolton Center in Kennett Square, Pa. Dr. Nolen-Walston stressed the importance of exercise in dealing with EMS. “Exercise can be as simple as pasture turnout if grass consumption can be limited, especially in a herd of horses including some youngsters who keep the herd active,” Nolen-Walston said. “Additionally, gradual increases of ridden, driven or longeing work should be added as appropriate for the horse if no laminitis signs are present. Swimming is ideal but not available to most owners, and so the goal of slow, steady exercise is usually the best way to go when trying to reduce weight and improve insulin sensitivity.” Describing the disease and the number of ways it can affect patients is a starting point for Nicholas Frank, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVIM. “EMS is …
Virus Hits Livestock Hard in Colorado, TexasAugust 15, 2014 Vesicular stomatitis, a contagious but rarely fatal livestock disease, has been diagnosed at nearly 190 locations across Colorado and Texas since the viral outbreak began in late May. The U.S. Department of Agriculture reported Wednesday that 76 new premises, or locations, have been identified since Aug. 6. The new cases involved 105 horses, five head of cattle and three previously disease-free counties. Two of the newly infected counties, Broomfield and Jefferson, are in Colorado, while the other is Williamson County, Texas. “Veterinarians have been very observant and diligent to report horses and other livestock that are suspicious of being infected,” said the Colorado state veterinarian, Keith Roehr, DVM. Livestock owners outside of Colorado and Texas should take precautions, said Elizabeth Davis, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVIM, a director of equine medicine and surgery at Kansas State University. “It’s an interesting disease because it does have pretty significant clinical signs,” Dr. Davis said. “Most commonly, it causes painful oral blisters in horses that can affect the mouth, muzzle and tongue. Additional signs may include lesions on the udder and/or around the top of the hoof where it meets the hairline. “Vesicular stomatitis also …
Pre-Veterinary Program Launches At Centenary CollegeJuly 30, 2014 Follow Veterinary Practice News on Twitter at @vetpetnews. Beginning fall of 2015, Centenary College in Hackettstown, New Jersey will offer a pre-veterinary track degree: Bachelor of Science in Equine Science. “This is a wonderful opportunity for those who are interested in the field of veterinary medicine, as well as the science-associated careers within the industry,” Michael Fugaro, VDM, Dipl. ACVS and Professor of Equine Studies said, according to NJ.com. Designed for highly motivated students by the Equine Studies and Mathematics & Natural Sciences departments, the four-year program will consist of 20-credit course loads per semester. The program is for academically-minded students pursuing careers in veterinary medicine and other animal science fields. Those fields include physiology, biomedical research, nutrition, pharmaceuticals and technology. Students in this program will receive career development advisement from experts in the field, and will also be encouraged to participate in experiential learning and internships. They will receive skills training in the areas of pro-activeness, professional networking, handling stress and time management through the pre-professionals organization. The organization will also help students with graduate school options and applications. To learn more about Centenary College’s pre-veterinary degree, …
Ceva Animal Health Gallops Into Equine MarketJuly 21, 2014 Ceva Animal Health, fresh off its takeover of veterinary drug maker Sogeval, has launched an equine division with four veterinarians in key sales roles. The company’s equine product catalog includes Altresyn (altrenogest), an oral solution formulated to suppress estrus in mares; ConfidenceEQ, a nostril gel designed to reduce stress; and Tildren (tiludronate disodium), which is used in the treatment of bone- and cartilage-related lameness. A wide selection of treatments for pain and mobility, reproduction and behavior issues is scheduled to be introduced later this year, the Lenexa, Kan., company reported July 16. “When Ceva decided to enter the U.S. animal health market, we knew the equine segment would be a strategic opportunity for growth based on the uniqueness of products like Tildren,” said Craig Wallace, Ceva Animal Health’s CEO and North American zone director. “Many members of our team have worked for years to ensure our successful entry into the equine market. We’re glad that day is finally here.” Four equine veterinarians will serve as technical sales representatives. They are Simon Towl, DVM, who will oversee the Northeast region; Ashley Phelps, DVM (Southeast); Matt Klotz, DVM (Central); and Alina Vale, DVM (West). “We …
Drug Makers, Compounders at Odds Over FDA OversightJuly 17, 2014 The Animal Health Institute, a trade group representing pharmaceutical manufacturers, is demanding that the Food and Drug Administration crack down on the illegal compounding of veterinary drugs, saying the practice puts animals at risk and jeopardizes the development of new medications. The appeal was made during a media conference call Wednesday and at a recent meeting in Washington, D.C., involving stakeholders and organizations such as the American Veterinary Medical Association, the American Association of Equine Practitioners and the American Animal Hospital Association. The Animal Health Institute is not asking for the elimination of all drug compounding. The group supports a pharmacist’s manipulation of FDA-approved drugs to meet individual patients’ needs and the occasional compounding of bulk, active ingredients under FDA’s discretionary powers. “The third type of compounded drugs … is dangerous and illegal,” said Richard Carnevale, VMD, the Animal Health Institute’s vice president for regulatory, scientific and international affairs. “These are dangerous drugs crafted by pharmacies acting as manufacturers and often promoted to veterinarians as a way to increase profits. “They are not looking to help Mrs. Jones’ cat,” Dr. Carnevale said of such companies. “They even offer disclaimers that they are not responsible for …
