Yawn, Then Pass It OnMay 22, 2012 Even thinking about yawning can provoke the urge. As irrepressible as it is contagious,1-3 yawning benefits the yawner (which includes practically all vertebrates)4 in a variety of neurologic, homeostatic and musculoskeletal ways.5 Yawning prepares an individual for an upcoming event or behavioral transition. It tenses the neck, compresses the carotid body and stimulates the sympathetic nervous system.6 In so doing, it increases facial temperature, lung volume and heart rate. A faster heart rate fuels the brain with faster blood flow to and fro, creating convective cooling.7 This helps explain why migraineurs and those with thermoregulatory disorders yawn more frequently. The urge to yawn shares some brain territory overlap with other events characterized by either an urge or a desire for action.”8 That is, whether one feels impelled to yawn, swallow or urinate, the urge arises in the sensory and motor regions of the limbic system, specifically the insula and mid-cingulate cortex. Developmental neurophysiologists are asking whether it might be possible to predict brain dysfunction of fetuses in utero given that it has become possible to observe complex facial …
SPONSORED CONTENTThe Case for Year-Round Heartworm Prevention and Affordable OptionsVeterinarians are often more than just clinicians - they’re advisors, educators, and, increasingly, financial counselors. In today’s economy, pet owners may hesitate to invest in year-round prevention due to budget constraints; but, skipping even a few months of heartworm protection can have serious consequences. + Learn More
Rabies: Still Deadly, But Antidote More PleasantMay 21, 2012 EDITORS' NOTE: This is a supplement to Veterinary Practice News magazine's June 2012 cover story, America & Rabies. Untreated, rabies virus in humans is most certainly a death sentence. The good news is the virus spreads slowly through the body and modern treatment is very effective with few unpleasant side effects, said Kristy K. Bradley, DVM, MPH, Oklahoma's state epidemiologist. “What I see a lot of times is that people think (rabies testing) is an emergency situation, and it’s not,” she said. “It travels slowly, and gives us the luxury of time so we don’t have to make hasty medical decisions.” Since rabies is strictly neurotropic, it spreads only through the nerves—not blood or lymph, said Bradley, who is president of the American Association of State Public Health Veterinarians. “That’s why there is no test you can do on a live animal. The only reliable test, still today, is euthanasia and testing of brain tissue,” she explained. While the rabies incubation period is three to six weeks, an animal is contagious only if the virus has reached its brain and is transmitted through saliva. “If you have a …
Practical Applications Of ProbioticsMay 21, 2012 Thanks to Dannon Co. and its advertising spokeswoman Jamie Lee Curtis, TV watchers are paying closer attention to probiotics for getting an irregular GI tract back to normal. The trend extends to the veterinary clinic, too. Veterinarians are fielding more client questions about probiotics and about using the beneficial organisms to improve or maintain animal health. The first thing a veterinarian may want to clarify is any confusion between the terms “prebiotic” and “probiotic.” “A prebiotic is a type of soluble dietary fiber that stimulates the growth or activity of beneficial bacteria in the intestines and may improve the host’s health,” says Amy Dicke, DVM, technical services veterinarian for P&G Pet Care. “Probiotics are live bacterial preparations containing beneficial microorganisms similar to those found naturally in people and pets and which provide health benefits,” Dr. Dicke says. “There’s been an expansion of nutrition interest between clinic walls because we’re discovering more ways to use nutrition to improve health. Right now, veterinarians likely mention nutrition when moving a pet to a therapeutic diet, but not before.” Specialists have debunked the idea that bacteria had to come from the same species getting the probiotic. “The …
The Changing World Of Veterinary Anesthesia Guidelines And MonitoringMay 2, 2012 UPDATE: AAHA released its anesthesia guidelines in early November. The American Animal Hospital Association is poised to release the first-of-its-kind small animal anesthesia guidelines. A task force comprising six board-certified veterinary anesthesiologists and a certified technician specializing in anesthesia created the approximately 10-page document in an 11-month timeframe. The AAHA guidelines is an all-inclusive, easily digestible document created for use by the entire veterinary team. With expanding anesthesia capabilities for the profession, Jason Merrihew, associate public relations manager at AAHA, says the association recognized the need to develop guidelines for veterinary professionals. He attributes the multitude of factors to consider when sedating or anesthetizing a healthy dog or cat, as well as the pet with one or more medical conditions a leading incentive. “AAHA’s guidelines include information on pre-anesthesia bloodwork, examination, equipment, staffing recommendations, monitoring from induction through recovery, pain management, drug choices, drug combinations, what drugs to use according to patients’ age, body type and temperament,” says Richard Bednarski, DVM, Dipl. ACVA, associate professor (anesthesia) at The Ohio State University in Columbus and chair for AAHA anesthesia guidelines. “These guidelines differ from the American College of Veterinary Anesthesiologists’ (ACVA) anesthesia monitoring guidelines because their …
The Problematic Deciduous Canine ToothMay 1, 2012 I received a call from a referring veterinarian. He saw on his appointment book that a puppy was scheduled to have its four firmly rooted persistent deciduous canine teeth extracted. His 30-plus years of experience led him to conclude that firmly rooted deciduous canine teeth were among the most challenging extractions to perform. I agreed wholeheartedly. Looking for Answers What causes persistent deciduous teeth? To answer, we need to know what causes deciduous teeth to be normally shed. Resorption of permanent teeth is a pathological condition, but resorption of the deciduous tooth root is considered to be a physiologic process in which osteoclasts, osteoblasts and tooth-resorbing cells called odontoclasts work in concert to allow for resorption of the deciduous tooth root as the permanent tooth root moves into the area the deciduous root once occupied. As a result, the deciduous crown is shed. In cases where no permanent tooth is present, or if the permanent tooth is not in the correct location, the physiologic resorption of the deciduous tooth root does not occur at its regular time, and it may take years for the deciduous tooth root to resorb. Note that I used …
Managing Concurrent Kidney And Heart DiseaseMay 1, 2012 The first step in controlling a patient’s kidney or heart condition is a reliance on the owner’s detection of a clinical problem. Cardiology and kidney specialists suggest preparing clients whose pet has a high risk of disease before symptoms begin–even running blood work or genetic testing if it applies. Information that veterinarians provide to clients will help the owners recognize disease symptoms and increase compliance with veterinary directions when managing the disease. Two-thirds of dogs and more than half of cats suffering from cardiac disease have concurrent diseases. Because a large number of kidney and heart disease patients are of an advanced age, it’s not uncommon for a patient being treated for one disease to develop the other, a situation that takes a vigilant veterinarian and dedicated owner to manage. “Once we have a diagnosis and the client understands the disease and necessity to follow up, the biggest obstacle is the owner’s financial commitment,” says Megan King, VMD, Dipl. ACVIM (cardiology) of the Center for Animal Referral and Emergency Services in Langhorne, Pa. “For much of heart disease there may not be a substantial cost, but as the pet deals with more advanced disease and congestive …
Understanding Science Of Laser TherapyMay 1, 2012 Ronald Riegel, DVM, has long worked to educate colleagues and dispel myths about laser technology, taking on culprits that include an icon of popular culture. The name is Bond. James Bond. Fears have lingered since the days when 007 was trying to avoid being sliced in half by an industrial laser in the 1964 film “Goldfinger,” Dr. Riegel says. “Even these days, practitioners feel that warmth and worry that too much use of a therapeutic laser will damage cells,” says Riegel, who practiced for 22 years. His seven books include manuals on laser use. “Then they learn that what they’re feeling is a photochemical reaction, not a photothermal one, and the light goes on, no pun intended.” Most veterinary practitioners now have at least a cursory knowledge of Class IV laser therapy and its effectiveness in relieving pain, reducing inflammation and accelerating healing, Riegel says. “The goal … is to obtain a device that provides the deepest penetration and the greatest amount of photobiostimulation in a reasonable amount of time,” he writes in his paper “Scientific Facts Concerning Class IV Laser Therapy in Veterinary Medicine.” “The most common reason for treatment failure …
Case Study: Laser Therapy Helps Avert AmputationMay 1, 2012Patient Max, 19-month-old male intact great Dane Problem and History Patient presented to a local emergency veterinary clinic for a strangulation injury of the right rear limb. The dog had been tied outside with a cotton rope and left unattended for over 24 hours. When the owners returned home, the rope was wrapped around the leg several times and the limb distal to the stifle was swollen many times its normal size. At presentation to the emergency clinic, the distal right rear limb was severely swollen, sanguineous fluid was oozing from the dermis between the toes and metatarsal pads, and sloughing had started on parts of the skin and foot pads. Areas of necrotic skin were also present where the rope had been. Other than a BCS of 3/9, the remainder of his physical examination was unremarkable. Radiographs were unremarkable except for severe soft tissue swelling. The two attending veterinarians agreed that skin grafting would likely be needed and that it was possible that Max’s leg would need to be amputated because of the severity of the injuries. Because of financial constraints, the owners relinquished Max to a technician at the clinic. Max …
An Early Adopter Of Class IV Laser TherapyApril 27, 2012Dan Core, DVM, of Airline Animal Health and Surgery Center in Bossier City, La., was an early adopter of Class IV laser therapy. Tell us about yourself, your background and how you became interested in laser therapy. I graduated from the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine in 1981, started my own practice in 1985 and started another practice, my current one, in 2005. Our clinic is state of the art. It is 12,000 square feet, full service and I have two associate veterinarians and a staff of 15. I became interested in CO2 laser surgery and purchased my first unit in 2000. Shortly after I opened my current clinic, the first therapy lasers became available in 2006. It was very interesting to see the research being done in laser therapy. It was being done on cell and tissue cultures, so it made sense to me that to treat, let’s say, a big dog’s hip, that I’d need a higher powered therapy laser. I bought my first therapy laser in March 2006. It quickly became an integral part of our practice. Describe the training supplied for you and your staff. The company provided the training, a four-hour …
Acupuncture Wars: Folklore Vs. ScienceApril 25, 2012 Acupuncture has had its ups and downs. As author Arthur M. Schlesinger Jr. noted, predictable cycles in culture and politics occur about every 30 years.1 Reviewing cycles of the past and gauging their impact on future directions can be crucial. In 1905, philosopher George Santayana wrote, “Progress, far from consisting in change, depends on retentiveness. ... [W]hen experience is not retained, as among savages, infancy is perpetual. Those who cannot remember the past are condemned to repeat it.”2 And so it behooves us to consider the history of Chinese medicine, especially as we see the battles between folklore and science continuing today in veterinary medicine. 1920s: Science and Chinese Medicine Meet After the Republic of China replaced dynastic rule,3,4 the government set higher standards for medicine, following the introduction of Western practices to China by missionaries in the 1800s. Those in charge of education argued, “The curriculum adopted for medical schools ... contains chemistry, anatomy and other scientific subjects. ... The object is not to impose unfair restrictions on the old-style practitioners but to raise the standard of medical education so as to …
