Can allogenic stem cells treat canine atopic dermatitis?November 7, 2017 VetCell Therapeutics, a pet-focused cell therapy division of PrimeGen Biotech, announced it will partner in a collaborative clinical study with Western University of Health Sciences, College of Veterinary Medicine to study the feasibility of treating canine atopic dermatitis (AD) with mesenchymal stem cells (MSC). The project's goal is to determine if allogeneic MSCs can serve as a safe, effective, and more extended treatment alternative to corticosteroids and other medical strategies for treating canine AD. The project will be led by the principal investigators Jijun Hao, Ph.D., assistant professor, and Gagandeep Kaur, DVM, Ph.D., a veterinarian and assistant professor, both at Western University of Health Sciences. VetCell Therapeutics will supply allogeneic MSCs for the study. Recently, cell therapies using MSCs have emerged as a novel approach to treating various chronic and degenerative diseases due to the cells' ability to modulate the immune system and control inflammation, according to VetCell Therapteutics. The company said it believes this can aid in relieving symptoms associated with AD. In addition, MSCs boast properties of low immunogenicity making them a promising, low-risk cell-based therapy, the company added. According to VetCell Therapeutics, it produces its MSCs …
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Veterinary researcher earns grant to improve traumatic burn, wound healingNovember 7, 2017Holly Sparks, DVM, a large animal surgeon and Ph.D. candidate in regenerative medicine at the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM), is researching stem cell-based therapies to improve skin grafts and improve skin wound and burn healing in humans and horses. "Humans and horses are obviously different species, but when it comes to wound healing they are more alike than one might realize," said Dr. Sparks. "Like people, horses that suffer severe burns or large wounds on their lower limbs have similar difficulty with optimal healing. Instead, horses commonly develop chronic, non-healing wounds which are reminiscent of the scarring and sub-optimal healing seen in human burn survivors as well as those with diabetic leg ulcers." AIHS Clinician Fellowship Award Sparks is investigating the use of dermal stem cells and novel bioengineered "scaffolds" to place new, healthy cells on top of wounds to regenerate and promote healing. Sparks has been awarded an Alberta Innovates: Health Solutions (AIHS) Clinician Fellowship Award to fund her work for the next three years. "These are highly competitive and typically awarded to physicians in human medicine, so it's a real accomplishment for a veterinarian to be granted this award," …
Kansas State University expands joint DVM training program with ChinaNovember 3, 2017A program initiated by Kansas State University that helps students from China earn veterinary medical degrees in the U.S. is increasing the number of students it serves. A memorandum-of-understanding signing ceremony was conducted Oct. 19 in Beijing, China, expanding the U.S.-China Joint Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Scholarship Program, which was initiated in 2012 by the U.S.-China Center for Animal Health at Kansas State University, along with the China Agricultural University and Chinese Veterinary Medical Association. The joint program has been sponsored by China Scholarship Council, Kansas State University, Zoetis and the International Veterinary Collaboration for China. Zoetis originally provided funding to the program for 30 students' pre-veterinary tuition and related activities. The China Scholarship Council has provided full-ride scholarships for four years of DVM tuition and five years for living stipends. Kansas State University has sponsored the program by providing program management service and additional scholarships. Under the new agreement, Zoetis will continue to support the program by providing pre-veterinary tuition funding for an additional 15 students with Kansas State University and the Chinese Veterinary Medical Association. The U.S.-China Joint Doctor of Veterinary Medicine Program is a five-year training program with …
Animal cruelty charges against St. Catharines vet droppedNovember 3, 2017Animal cruelty charges have been dropped against Dr. Mahavir Rekhi, the veterinarian of Skyway Animal Hospital in St. Catharines, Ontario, Canada, who made national headlines for animal abuse and was charged with 16 counts of animal cruelty. Dr. Rekhi faced eight counts of causing unnecessary pain or suffering to an animal and eight counts of failing to provide suitable and adequate care for an animal. Rekhi was charged by the Ontario Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (OSPCA) after a group of his former employees approached CTV News Toronto in 2016 with video showing Rekhi choking and hitting animals in his care. The charges were dropped by the state because the OSPCA investigation proceeded without first obtaining a formal complaint. Canada's Crown said that Rekhi already was disciplined from the College of Veterinarians of Ontario; college found him guilty of professional misconduct and suspended him for 10 months. He returned to work at the clinic in February after submitting to retraining and unannounced inspections. Rekhi continues to practice at Skyway Animal Hospital. In videos provided to CTV News Toronto, Rekhi can be seen hitting a dog over its snout with nail clippers …
Purdue CVM receives Higher Education Excellence in Diversity AwardNovember 3, 2017The Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine recently was awarded the 2017 Health Professions Higher Education Excellence in Diversity (HEED) Award from INSIGHT Into Diversity magazine, the oldest and largest diversity-focused publication in higher education. The award is a national honor recognizing U.S. veterinary medical, medical, dental, pharmacy, osteopathic, nursing, and allied health schools that demonstrate an outstanding commitment to diversity and inclusion. "This recognition spotlights the tremendous effort that our faculty, staff and students have put forward in creating a climate and educational setting that truly supports all aspects of diversity and inclusion," said Dr. Kauline Cipriani, Purdue Veterinary Medicine director for diversity and inclusion. "It is no small achievement to be one of the first veterinary colleges nationally to receive the Health Professions HEED Award." The award is open to all colleges and universities across the US. Applications cover all aspects of campus diversity and inclusion. One of the goals of the application process is to help institutions of higher education assess their diversity efforts in order to build on their success and improve where necessary. "This award makes an important statement about the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine being …
National Equine Health Plan aims to protect horse populationNovember 3, 2017The American Horse Council, in conjunction with the American Association of Equine Practitioners, USDA, and state animal health officials, have announced that the National Equine Health Plan (NEHP) is now available at equinediseasecc.org/national-equine-health-plan. "Horses are transported with more frequency than other livestock," said Julie Broadway, AHC president. "We have seen firsthand how disease outbreaks cost the industry millions of dollars for the care of sick horses, implementation of biosecurity, and lost revenue in the form of cancelled or restricted commercial equine activities such as horse shows." In 2013, the industry decided to address the issue of handling disease outbreaks and sharing information regarding the same, which led to the creation of the NEHP, she added. The organization's goals are to protect the health and welfare of the U.S. horse population, facilitate the continued interstate and international movement of horses and their products, ensure regulatory service availability, and protect the economic continuity of equine industry businesses. The NEHP also aims to help horse owners, industry organizations, veterinarians, and state and federal animal health officials to prevent, recognize, control, and respond to diseases and environmental disasters. The plan facilitates horse industry preparedness, …
AAVSB announces new blueprint for Veterinary Technician National ExamNovember 2, 2017The American Association of Veterinary State Boards (AAVSB) has announced a new blueprint for the Veterinary Technician National Exam (VTNE) based on a yearlong comprehensive job analysis project. The first exam with the new blueprint will be administered July/August 2018. The VTNE Committee reviewed the validation survey results and recommended a new VTNE blueprint, which is closely aligned with the survey data in keeping with credentialing best practices. The results from the job analysis verified the current structure of nine domains. The veterinary technician tasks and knowledge areas were updated and validated by survey participants. The new blueprint will be available on the AAVSB website for VTNE candidates to review after the March 15 - April 15 exam administration ends. Program directors are asked not to present information to their students about the new blueprint until that time. The AAVSB re-evaluates the exam approximately every five years to ensure that the questions are current and accurately reflect the responsibilities and competencies of entry-level veterinary technicians.
Heska announces 7-Year agreement with PetVet Care CentersNovember 2, 2017 Heska Corp. in Loveland, Colo., announced an agreement to supply more than 100 PetVet Care Centers veterinary hospitals with in-house laboratory diagnostic equipment and supplies through 2024, with the option for the agreement to be extended. Under the agreement, Heska's in-house blood diagnostics analyzers will be placed into PetVet Care's general, specialty referral, and emergency hospitals throughout the US. Included in the program are Heska's Element DC Chemistry, Element HT5 Hematology, Element POC Blood Gas & Electrolyte, and Element I Immunodiagnostics analyzers, along with the company's newly released Element COAG analyzer, which performs coagulation, fibrinogen, and blood typing tests. Upgrades to Heska solutions have begun in select PetVet Care hospitals and will be broadly released throughout 2018 as requested by each PetVet Care local leadership team.
Penn Vet to host inaugural Cancer Center SymposiumNovember 2, 2017The Penn Vet Cancer Center is scheduled to host a two-day, inaugural Cancer Center Symposium that will kick off with a presentation by Cheryl London, DVM, Ph.D.: "Of mice, dogs and men: Transforming cancer outcomes through comparative oncology." Dr. London is a research professor at both the Tufts School of Veterinary Medicine and the Molecular Research Institute at Tufts Medical Center, and also is an associated faculty professor at The Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine (OSUCVM). She is director of the Clinical Trials Office at the OSUCVM and director of Translational Therapeutics at the Center for Clinical and Translational Sciences at OSU's College of Medicine. Her research interests center primarily on targeted therapeutics and translational/comparative oncology. The keynote presentation takes place Thursday, Nov. 30, 2017, from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at Penn Vet's Hill Pavilion. Admission is free, but registration is recommended here. Symposium Day 2 Presentations for the scientific community will take place on Friday, Dec. 1, 2017, at the Hill Pavilion. Registration is available here. Speakers include: Steven Dow, DVM, Ph.D., director, Laboratory for Immune and Regenerative Medicine, Colorado State University Andrew Ewald, Ph.D., associate professor, Department …
Heska announces new Element COAG Veterinary AnalyzerNovember 1, 2017Heska Corp., a provider of veterinary diagnostic and specialty products, has announced the release of its new Element COAG Veterinary Analyzer. The compact bench-top analyzer delivers coagulation and blood typing parameters to complement the company's chemistry, hematology, immunodiagnostics blood gas, and electrolyte analyzers. Within minutes and with only 100uL of sample, Element COAG delivers accurate PT/aPTT (coagulation), canine fibrinogen, equine fibrinogen, canine DEA 1.1 blood typing, and feline A/B blood typing. The analyzer is available for purchase or under Heska's six-year Reset program.
