Oquendo Center Debuts at Western Veterinary ConferenceApril 17, 2009Following four years of development, the Western Veterinary Conference celebrated the grand opening of the Oquendo Center for Clinical Education during its annual conference held Feb. 15-19 in Las Vegas. The facility is dedicated to year-round hands-on training and has been constructed to meet ongoing educational needs. The mission of the center is “to provide the highest quality, clinically relevant, state-of-the-art, hands-on continuing education for veterinary medicine and other professions for the betterment of worldwide animal and public health.” The 66,000-square-foot facility offers laboratory and surgery suites, a 170-seat auditorium with surround-sound digital projection, multi-media instructional areas, small and large animal facilities, a kennel, radiology and imaging suite, a dental suite and more. It also offers educational instruction and participation with live animals, dead animals and animal models. “There’s no practice here, it’s all about education,” said Stephen Crane, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, chief medical officer and director of Oquendo Center Programs. “We’re about continuing education for graduates.” Courses are designed to focus on all organ systems across most animal species, including small animal orthopedics, food animal theriogenology and emergency care. Classes are continuously being developed and are listed online with classes scheduled throughout the year. The average …
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FDA Names Dunham Director To Veterinary CenterApril 17, 2009 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has named Bernadette Dunham, DVM, Ph.D., its new director of the Center for Veterinary Medicine. She succeeds Stephen Sundlof, DVM, Ph.D., who has moved to director of FDA’s Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition. Previously, Dr. Dunham served as deputy director of CVM and worked in coordinating and establishing policy in research, management, scientific evaluation, compliance and surveillance. She was also the director for CVM’s Office of Minor Use and Minor Species Animal Drug Development. Drs. Dunham and Sundlof will report directly to FDA Commissioner Andrew von Eschenbach, M.D. <HOME>
This Is My Brain On GriefApril 17, 2009 I’d written an article for this issue on the femininity of the profession and its highlights and pitfalls, but was thwarted by the impossibility of averting a slew of hate mail and what I like to call the Hillary syndrome as it applies to women in the profession. Instead, I’m taking the coward’s way out and treating you to a similarly timely discourse on the dangers of compassion fatigue. This week I’ve been exposed to six euthanasias, two of them this morning (an otherwise gorgeous Sunday in Miami) and another two in patients under 3 years old. One of the latter patients, a downer Dachshund whose prognosis fared better than middling, was particularly tragic and troubling. I no longer cry when I attend euthanasias—rarely, anyway. I know just what to say and manage not to make it sound canned or trite. I’m now expert at my catheters or butterflies and never foul up the deed, even when flying solo. As one of my colleagues likes to say, “I give good death—every time.” I’m sure most of you in practice for more than 10 years can boast the same fine stats. Nonetheless, surrendering yourself to the emotional …
Insulin Issues In Obese Dogs And Diabetic CatsApril 17, 2009 It is well-documented in humans and cats that obesity results in insulin resistance. Type 2 diabetes manifests when either insulin resistance or inadequate insulin secretion no longer allows blood glucose to be regulated effectively, resulting in hyperglycemia. In many instances dieting and exercise, as well as dietary modification, can reverse this. Experimental work has shown that dogs made obese by feeding high-calorie diets also develop insulin resistance, though they do not tend to develop Type 2 diabetes. Many of these studies are short term with obesity induced within weeks to months and it is uncertain if the same changes occur in pet dogs that may have been obese for years. Insulin Resistance Researchers from the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Queensland, Australia, investigated insulin resistance and insulin production in six spontaneously obese dogs with a body condition score of 8 out of 9.1.1 The control group consisted of six age- and gender-matched lean dogs with a BCS of 4 or 5. A bolus of intravenous glucose (1g/kg) was given and frequent blood samples were collected over a three-hour period. Resting insulin concentration was almost four times higher …
Cat Expert Dr. Richards Dies After AccidentApril 17, 2009 James R. Richards, DVM, director of the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine and a national voice on cat health and care issues, died April 24 from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident two days earlier. He was 58. A past-president of the American Assn. of Feline Practitioners, Dr. Richards led the Vaccine-Associated Feline Sarcoma Task Force in the 1990s, an effort that resulted in prevention and treatment recommendations for veterinarians and cat owners. Richards wrote the “ASPCA Complete Guide to Cats,” served as consulting editor and co-author for “The Cornell Book of Cats,” and was editor-in-chief and columnist for “CatWatch,” a newsletter published by the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine. He was a frequent media guest on various news programs, often lending his voice and energies to public awareness campaigns. Most recently he was involved in the “Know Heartworms” campaign developed to address feline heartworm disease by AAFP and the American Heartworm Society. Born July 19, 1948, Richards received his veterinary degree from Ohio State University in 1979. He joined the Cornell veterinary college in 1991 as assistant director of the Feline Health Center, becoming director in 1997. The accident occurred at …
Kibow, Vetoquinol Expand Azodyl PactApril 17, 2009 Kibow Biotech Inc. of Philadelphia and Vetoquinol S.A. of Paris signed an exclusive world-wide licensing and marketing agreement for Kibow Biotics, marketed as Azodyl. Vetoquinol had acquired U.S. and Canadian marketing rights of the product for veterinary applications, marketed as Azodyl, in June 2006. “This is an outstanding opportunity for us to reinforce our presence in the field of cardio-nephrology, one of our key strategic domains of development,” said Chrisitian Schivrel, group director for business development for Vetoquinol. The microbial, probiotic supplement is formulated for the reduction of azotemia in dogs and cats with renal failure. Kibow reports the product has been shown to reduce the nitrogenous uremic toxin buildup, and thereby may prevent further kidney damage. <HOME>
MWI Reports 14% Revenue Growth For First QuarterApril 17, 2009 MWI Veterinary Supply Inc. of Meridian, Idaho, recently reported net income of $5.9 million on revenue of $231.8 million for its first quarter ended Dec. 31, compared to net income of $4.7 million on revenue of $203.4 million in the year-ago period. “While the environment is more challenging, the MWI team again delivered great operating results in the December quarter,” said Jim Clearly, president and chief executive officer. “We had 14 percent growth in revenue, 26 percent growth in net income, 42 percent growth in Internet sales and we finished the quarter with excellent liquidity and no borrowings on our $70 million credit line.” MWI reaffirms its previous estimates for the fiscal year ending Sept. 30. The company expects revenue will be from $900 million to $950 million, which represents growth of 8 percent to 14 percent compared to revenue in fiscal year 2008. <HOME>
Most Pet Owners Rely On Vets For Heartworm, Flea/Tick Meds, Study FindsApril 17, 2009 Veterinarians have significant swaying power when it comes to pet owners’ decisions on which brand to buy, even if the pet owner is not buying from the veterinarian, according to a new study conducted by Market Directions Inc., a brand performance consultancy, and Brakke Consulting Inc., a management consulting firm. Still, pet owners are more likely to purchase products such as heartworm prevention, flea and tick control and joint health supplements from their veterinarian rather than other sources like pet stores, grocery stores or online, the Pet Owner Channel Use/Buying Preferences Study found. For example, 75 percent of pet owners purchased heartworm prevention from their veterinarian while 9 percent (the second largest percentage) bought it online. About 44 percent purchased flea and tick control from their veterinarian while 19 percent bought it from a mass merchandiser, also the second largest percentage. The exceptions are pet food, which is purchased frequently, and dental health products, which tend to be low-cost products, according to the study. Pet food is most often purchased from a mass merchandiser (35 percent), grocery store (25 percent) or pet super store (24 percent) while dental products are often purchased at pet super …
No Acetaminophen In Pet Food, FDA SaysApril 17, 2009 The U.S. Food and Drug Administration finds no evidence to support an earlier report that acetaminophen contaminated pet food. All pet food samples obtained by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration were negative for acetaminophen, an agency spokesperson told Pet Product News International this morning. Last week a Texas laboratory, ExperTox of Deer Park, said it found the chemical compound commonly used as a pain reliever, in some dog and cat food products it was testing at the request of individuals and manufacturers. ExperTox reported acetaminophen was present in both wet and dry foods, as well as melamine and cyanuric acid in some products. It declined to name the brands involved, and no recalls were issued following its report. The FDA obtained samples from ExperTox to perform its own analysis, and all results for acetaminophen turned up negative, the spokesperson said. This is not the first time during the extensive pet food recall that the FDA has disagreed with another laboratory’s finding. In March, New York state officials and Cornell University researchers reported finding aminopterin, a rat poison and cancer drug, in pet food. The FDA later disputed this finding, naming melamine and …
Dietary Modification And Renal FailureApril 17, 2009 Diets have been a mainstay of chronic renal failure treatment in pets for decades. Considerable research has been done on which dietary factors influence renal disease. Restricting dietary protein, based on the marked exacerbation of signs of uremia associated with feeding high protein diets, has been a cornerstone of renal diets. However, certain species, especially cats, are obligate carnivores and require higher-protein diets. Significant protein restriction can result in protein-calorie malnutrition. There are many other potential positive effects of renal diets, including increased potassium concentrations, decreased phosphate levels, decreased sodium and improved acid-base status. Scientific publications support the positive effects of dietary management of CRF in dogs and cats with spontaneous renal disease. In one study of 50 cats, 29 were fed a veterinary renal diet and 21 were not because of lack of compliance (by cat or owner). The veterinary diet led to lower phosphate, urea and PTH concentrations as well as more than doubling the lifespan of the patients (Elliott J. Rawlings, JM, et al. "Survival of Cats With Naturally Occurring Chronic Renal Failure: Effect of Dietary Management." Journal of Small Animal Practice 41;235-242:2000). Renal Beats Maintenance A retrospective study compared …
