Feline Diabetes: New Ways Of Looking At An Old EnemyApril 17, 2009Veterinarians today see many diabetic cats. In fact, evidence exists that the number of diabetic cats is growing; at least, more of them are presented to practitioners for treatment than ever before. Feline diabetes has been a very discouraging disease to manage. Patients are often brittle and unpredictable in their response to insulin and other measures to control hyperglycemia. For most of us, these cats have been unsatisfying to treat, with decline and death all but a certainty. Human adult onset (Type 2) diabetes is also on the rise, according to most sources of human health statistics. Physicians attribute this to poor-quality, high-carbohydrate diets, inadequate exercise and other lifestyle factors that conspire to develop this life-threatening condition. The only good news in this epidemic of human diabetes is the strides being made in helping diabetics to better manage and live with the disease. These include: • Human-specific insulin, made possible by recombinant protein technology. • The medical profession's insistence that patients home-test their blood glucose several times daily before injecting any insulin. • Better dietary recommendations. These three measures, implemented faithfully by the diabetic human, give the patient longevity and quality of life. Even Type 1, or juvenile, diabetes is amenable …
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Digital Revolution Goes ExoticApril 17, 2009The baby turtle with pneumonia was so small that its entire body fit onto a single dental X-ray plate. "We treated the animal for several weeks, and were able to follow the changes in the patient's lungs every few days," says Douglas R. Mader, DVM, fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine, of Marathon Veterinary Hospital in Marathon, Fla. Mader's creative use of his digital dental radiography machine made monitoring the baby turtle's lungs easier. "Since it is a dental unit, we can use it on very small animals (mice, small birds) or small parts of larger animals (feet, heads, etc.)," he says. The digital revolution of radiographic technology has infiltrated all sectors of veterinary practice and is gradually moving into exotics and zoo animal medicine, too. Gregory J. Fleming, DVM, Dip. ACZM, of Disney's Animal Kingdom in Lake Buena Vista, Fla., sees patients ranging from elephants to dolphins. His practice's new computed radiography machine has also been helpful for smaller exotic patients. "We use this system on everything from frogs to elephants," Dr. Fleming says. "In the case of small animals like frogs, we use the CR cassettes in our mammography unit. This took some practice but we have …
Food Drive Program Gives Homeless Pets A Paw-UpApril 17, 2009Walking along the busy city streets of Carson City, Nev., during wintertime, it's hard for Genevieve Frederick not to notice the many homeless people along the sidewalks, clinging tightly to their tattered jackets and worn-down blankets for warmth. It's even more difficult for Frederick, an animal enthusiast, to ignore the homeless pets that lie loyally by their owners' sides, as hungry for affection as they are for food. Between 5 percent and 10 percent of homeless people living outdoors have dogs and/or cats, according to research conducted by the National Coalition for the Homeless in 2004. "The tragic part is, the pets of the homeless do not choose their owners," Frederick says. Since Frederick couldn't rescue every homeless pet from the streets—without turning her home into a zoo—she decided to give them something they needed just as much as a roof over their heads: food. Through her public relations work for Sierra Veterinary Hospital in Carson City, Frederick discovered the need for a plan that would not only help pet owners facing financial difficulties, but also help veterinarians publicize their practices. "Working with [veterinarians] and their staff, I soon realized that vets are not trained to promote and market their …
Vets Reflect On Disaster To Prepare For Next TimeApril 17, 2009 “I’m so sorry, but all of the 27 animals you have entrusted in my care have died,” read the note posted outside of a small-animal hospital in Waveland, Miss. It was a note that Trey Wofford, DVM, owner of Palmetto Vet Calls mobile clinic, found after Hurricane Katrina stormed through their small town in 2005, and one he prayed he would never have to write. “I put myself in the place of those veterinarians, and if the animals had been in my care, I would have felt horrible,” he says. While the storm left behind a trail of ripped roof shingles and shattered windows, many veterinarians were left with similar feelings of chaos and brokenness. As June marks the beginning of another hurricane season and the Humane Society of the United States’ national animal preparedness month, others are still plagued by the question of what they could have done differently to better prepare. That was certainly the question Gregory Rich, DVM, asked himself after he found his exotics practice, the West Esplanade Veterinary Clinic in Metairie, La., in shambles. “Without a roof, it looked like a mixer [had come through] the inside of the …
Immunotherapy Moves Beyond The BasicsApril 17, 2009 With about 150 diplomates of veterinary dermatology, and fewer than 20 of them researching allergen immunotherapy treatments, the profession has relied on the same basic testing and treatment methods for decades until recently, specialists say. Treatment administration methods are of high interest to veterinary allergen immunotherapists. Sublingual Immunotherapy Sublingual immunotherapy, or SLIT, is an alternative to allergy shots. With SLIT, a compound is placed under the animal’s tongue as opposed to being injected, which is seen as a good alternative for pet owners leery of administering routine shots. “We want to find molecules that increase immunity to the allergens without having to inject the allergen,” says Thierry Olivry, DrVet, Ph.D., Dipl. ECVD and ACVD, a professor at North Carolina State University. “With SLIT, animals and owners could be less anxious about treatment.” Research on SLIT is being conducted for human use and is not approved by the Food and Drug Administration. But veterinary immunologists predict the treatment will soon be useful in canine cases. “Testing in dogs for sublingual immunotherapy treatment will begin at NCSU in conjunction with the Japanese RIKEN Center for Allergy and Immunology, a center researching immunotherapy alternatives. Testing is expected …
Giving Clinic Fixtures A Face-liftApril 17, 2009Years ago, it wasn't unusual to walk into a veterinary office to discover a dim, fluorescent-lighted waiting room, checkered tile halls that could have only been designed in the 80s and chain-link kennel runs that made its inhabitants look more like captive prisoners than beloved family pets. But, throughout the years, as new equipment and fixtures are introduced to the market, clients' image of the "standard" veterinary practice has changed. With clients' expectations growing, veterinary practices must decide between stepping up to the plate or getting left in the competition's dust. And one of the best ways to set a clinic apart from the rest is by keeping up-to-date on the products and fixtures used in the practice, says John Eppes, national sales manager of LGL Animal Care Products Inc. in Bryan, Texas. "When a practice is first starting out, they don't have a lot of money to spend on equipment so they buy what they can [afford]," he says. But the products within their price range may not always be of the best quality. "You get what you pay for," Eppes says. "A chain-link [kennel] run is still going to hold a dog, but could wear over time. …
Animal Forensic Lab Solves Human CasesApril 17, 2009During the investigation of a man who fled after attempting to sexually assault a woman working in her front yard in Iowa in 1999, it was a dog’s urine sample—not the man’s face—that identified him as the attacker. Despite that the victim was unable to identify her attacker in a police line-up, she did remember the vehicle he drove—and the fact that her dog had urinated on one of his car tires. A urine sample, taken from what was suspected to be the perpetrator’s car, was sent to Elizabeth Wictum, director of the forensic division of the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory at the University of California, Davis, who confirmed the sample had come from the victim’s dog. It was all the evidence needed to get a guilty plea from the attacker, and put him behind bars for two years. No stranger to strange cases, Wictum has seen animal DNA provide enough evidence to put many criminals behind bars. And after working in the forensic lab since its opening in 1999, she’s seen just about everything. “You never know what’s going to come through the door,” Wictum says. “You have to think outside the box.” Each year, the service laboratory tests about …
Planning For RetirementApril 17, 2009 In the November issue of Veterinary Practice News, Mark Crootof, DMV, discusses how practice owners can plan for retirement. In this Web exclusive, he finishes up with the question of what to do with yourself once it's all said and done. The last question to ask while planning for retirement seems obvious, but it's one which most veterinarians rarely consider: What are you going to do after you retire? Retirement may not be the extended holiday you anticipate. You’ve spent your life working hard and mostly enjoying it, so it’s unreasonable to think that abruptly you’re going to be happy sitting around for the next 30 years. Sure, a week with your feet up is great, but soon you might find you’re itching for something to do. Because most vets work incessantly in their professional careers, the majority have not cultivated the hobbies that might otherwise fill the empty hours. To avoid post-retirement depression, you should start thinking now of how you would like to spend your time. That trip to the French Riviera is appealing, but what are you going to do when you return? Maybe volunteer for a library, work …
Vaccination Facts Vs. FictionApril 17, 2009 The latest iterations of both the canine and feline vaccine guidelines have been available since the end of 2006. Clearly these guidelines have affected how veterinarians select and use vaccines, but questions and controversies remain. The guidelines are available at www.aahanet.org and www.aafponline.org. Why Vaccine Guidelines? One of the most significant reasons for publishing vaccine guidelines is the fact that an unprecedented number of vaccines are available to veterinarians today. There are approximately 23 vaccine antigen types for the dog and 18 types for the cat. Combined, there are over 180 proprietary (trade name) vaccines used in companion animal practices throughout the U.S. But it’s not just the number of vaccines that drives the need for vaccine guidelines. With so many vaccines to choose from, veterinarians continue to express concern over the frequency of vaccination, the duration of immunity of the various vaccines in use, the important changes in vaccine technology (recombinant and DNA), vaccine safety, medical, legal, and ethical responsibilities associated with implementing a rational vaccination program, and much more. Core Vaccines Neither the American Animal Hospital Assn. Canine Vaccine Guidelines nor the American Assn. of …
Prosthetics Advance With OsseointegrationApril 17, 2009 Animal limbs damaged beyond repair are typically amputated, but specialists say the recent success of osseointegration may change the veterinary standard of care. Veterinary oncologists and surgeons performing frequent amputations due to disease or accident are especially interested in finding alternatives to removing an entire limb when only a portion is adversely affected. “Osseointegration is the connection of living tissue and bone with an artificial implant and has seen success through numerous surgeries,” says Denis Marcellin-Little, DEVD, associate professor of orthopedics at North Carolina State University. “The procedure is similar to that used in dentistry with artificial teeth and allows the patient to retain the integrity of the limb.” Infection and implant longevity have stymied vertical evolution of the procedure until now. Dr. Marcellin-Little recently performed osseointegration on a German shepherd missing a portion of its rear leg, while Erick Egger, DVM, associate professor of small-animal orthopedic surgery at Colorado State University, used osseointegration to replace the foot of a Saluki. Both animals are bearing weight on their new limbs. These procedures serve as markers for the future of animal prosthetics. The implant allows the prosthetic limb to attach without chafing or irritation, and gives …
