FDA approves generic canine anti-anxiety medicationOctober 30, 2019Veterinarians in need of a generic drug for their anxious canine patients are in luck.
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Stereotactic radiation may offer better outcomes in nine cancersOctober 24, 2019New data suggests a specific advanced radiation treatment protocol is leading to better survival outcomes than other therapy options for at least nine tumor types. That's according to PetCure Oncology, which presented its findings at the recent Veterinary Cancer Society Annual Conference (VCS) in Houston, Tex. The pet cancer care provider says nine of the 11 tumor types it studied showed increased median survival time relative to the current body of peer-reviewed published literature for pets treated with stereotactic radiation/stereotactic radiation therapy (SRS/SRT), an advanced form of radiation therapy used in human medicine. The list of tumor types includes brain, nasal, osteosarcoma (bone tumors), mast cell, and melanoma. "We have now treated more than 3,000 pets on-protocol with radiation therapy, including more than 2,200 with stereotactic radiation," says PetCure's chief medical officer, Neal Mauldin, DVM, DACVIM (internal medicine and oncology), DACVR (radiation oncology). "The good news is that many of them are still alive and thriving, so the data is still maturing. But objective analysis of the preliminary data at this point suggests stereotactic radiation can be considered a standard of care for the treatment of many tumor types, much like it already is in human cancer treatment. This …
LIU to offer DVM program starting next fallOctober 22, 2019Students in the Northeast now have a fourth option to study veterinary medicine. Long Island University's (LIU's) College of Veterinary Medicine says it has received a "Letter of Reasonable Assurance" from the American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Education (AVMA-COE). Starting next fall, the school will begin accepting applications for its DVM program. At full enrollment, the veterinary school will serve 400 students, with 100 in each graduating class. LIU joins the University of Pennsylvania, Cornell University, and Tufts University in offering veterinary programs in the Northeast. "We are extremely proud LIU's new College of Veterinary Medicine has met the high standards of the American Veterinary Medical Association's Council on Education," said the university's president, Kimberly R. Cline, EdD. "The launch of our veterinary school further elevates LIU, as we clearly continue on our path to status as a nationally recognized teaching and research institution." LIU says the college will offer hands-on learning experiences through a distributed education model that features supervised clinical experiences throughout the four years of veterinary education. The college has secured partnerships with more than 50 affiliates, including primary care and specialty clinics, zoos, research laboratories and shelters. This allows students to gain real-world experience in …
Global associations commit to improving access to veterinary medicinesOctober 21, 2019Securing equal access to vital veterinary medicines for companion animal veterinarians around the world is at the center of a new campaign spearheaded by World Small Animal Veterinary Association (WSAVA). Restricted access to veterinary medicines is a long-standing problem and limits the efforts of many veterinarians to provide optimal care to their patients in regions such as Eastern Europe, Africa, and Asia, the association says. The problem extends to even essential medicines, such as those required to properly manage pain. The result is immense and unnecessary suffering. "Difficulty in accessing therapeutics to treat patients is a critical issue for companion animal veterinarians in many parts of the world," says WSAVA past-president, Walt Ingwersen, DVM, DVSc, DACVIM. "It causes huge frustration and means that many, if not most, companion animals globally do not receive optimum care. It's a situation that requires urgent change. Working in partnership with our colleagues across the veterinary sector, we are focused on bringing this about. "While a number of issues impact the supply of veterinary medicines, duplication of the regulatory medicines approval process in various regions of the world is one of the biggest, and the focus of our joint position statement on regulatory convergence. The …
Understanding anesthesia in canine dentistryOctober 17, 2019They also represent a source of fear and concern for pet owners—witness the burgeoning anesthesia-free dental cleaning services that have become popular.
MedVet Chicago opens new emergency and specialty veterinary hospitalAugust 27, 2019MedVet Chicago is on the move, setting up shop in a new 65,000-sf state-of-the-art veterinary hospital. Situated only a mile from its former location, the facility will be staffed by more than 200 team members. "Chicago has been an incredibly supportive community and we're excited to be expanding our presence in this market," says MedVet CEO Linda Lehmkuhl, DVM, MS, Diplomate ACVIM (cardiology). "The additional space will allow for continued growth of our emergency and specialty services and enable us to support the needs of more Chicagoland pets and their owners in partnership with their family veterinarians." In addition to emergency services, MedVet Chicago offers specialty services in anesthesia and pain management, cardiology, critical care, dentistry and oral surgery, dermatology, internal medicine, medical oncology, neurology and neurosurgery, ophthalmology, radiation oncology, radiology, rehabilitation, sports medicine, and soft tissue and orthopedic surgery. "We offer state-of-the-art emergency and specialty care to cats and dogs in partnership with referring family veterinarians. The emergency room is open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year to serve clients and patients as an extension of the family veterinarian's practice when their family veterinarian is not available," says MedVet Chicago medical director Michael Buss, DVM, MS, DACVIM …
Managing gastric ulcersAugust 27, 2019In the late 1980s, a rash of publications stated horses were prone to gastric ulcers. It was a bit curious, actually. Prior to that time, gastric ulceration was essentially unknown. Then, almost suddenly, gastric ulcers were being blamed for a whole host of problems, such as colic, loss of appetite, poor performance, anxiety, poor hair coat… you name it. It was perhaps also curious that, before all the published reports, no one had really noticed some mystery syndrome wreaking havoc on horses. Nevertheless, there it was in print: horses get ulcers. After the initial studies, there was further published research showing an alarming number of adult horses—the majority of them, actually—had gastric ulcers, especially racehorses and various show horses. Of course, adult horses do get gastric ulcers, as do foals, although the presentation can be somewhat different. This article focuses on gastric ulcers in adult horses. Gastric ulcer causes There are many possible reasons why horses develop gastric ulcers. Most of them are related to how people manage their horses. Here are a few: Diet: Those that are high in grain tend to give horses ulcers. While horses were meant to eat forage, many performance horses are fed diets …
VCA launches 35 cancer centers across North AmericaAugust 26, 2019Pets diagnosed with cancer will now have greater access to advanced, collaborative pet cancer care. VCA Animal Hospitals says it is launching 35 VCA Pet CancerCare Centers across North America, which will be staffed by multidisciplinary oncology teams that will design individualized treatment plans using the latest in medical health-care technology. Canadian centers are also slated for Laval and Brossard near Montreal, Quebec; Ottawa, Newmarket, Oakville, and Scarborough in Ontario; Victoria in British Columbia; and Calgary, Alberta. "At VCA Pet CancerCare Centers, we are leading cancer care into a hopeful new era with longer lifespans and improved quality of life," says Zack Wright, DVM, DACVIM/Oncology, director of oncology at VCA Animal Diagnostic Clinic in Dallas, Texas. "Our dedicated oncologists across the network are committed to working with primary care veterinarians to make advanced cancer care accessible to pet owners, with the goal always being extended, high quality of life for our patients." By introducing these cancer centers, VCA hopes to provide greater accessibility of world-class treatment to help improve the quality of life for pets, as well as to cultivate open lines of communication and collaboration between oncologists, primary care veterinarians, and pet owners. According to a VCA survey, 58 …
Canine parvovirus treatment may be in the worksAugust 19, 2019Veterinarians may soon have access to an antibody effective in the treatment of canine parvovirus (CPV).
A conclusion on cannabis?July 30, 2019Cannabis is a “hot topic” right now, and the combination of loosening legal restrictions and great enthusiasm among its proponents and pet owners is driving research. As such, the evidence landscape is changing rapidly.
