Headlines 2008

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January, 2008

Getting a knee up on arthritis
In coming years, if you have knee surgery and don’t develop arthritis, you can thank a veterinarian and his canine patients. Dr. James Cook, a veterinarian at the University of Missouri-Columbia College of Veterinary Medicine, has helped pioneer a new device that may save people with knee injuries from experiencing painful and debilitating arthritis. As a professor of veterinary medicine and surgery, Dr. Cook helped develop the BioDuct Meniscal Fixation Device, which should allow patients with cartilage injuries to avoid arthritis and have better knee function. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration recently approved the device for human use. Cook and his research team performed surgery on 25 dogs with meniscal tears using the new device. Each dog had complete or partial meniscus healing a few weeks after surgery.

Finding the cancer key
Many have questioned the money and the effort invested in genome sequencing. To what use could that knowledge be put? Maybe finding a cure for cancer? After helping sequence the canine genome, Dr. Matthew Breen is now digging a bit deeper in an effort to unlock the cause of non-Hodgkins lymphoma in humans, one of the deadliest forms of cancer. Dr. Breen, a professor of genomics at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, is on a mission to find cancer-associated genes in dogs. Armed with that information, Breen hopes to translate his work to humans. If Breen and his colleagues can find the affected genes in dogs, they then can start looking for the same genes in people. The National Institutes of Health recently awarded Breen a $1 million grant for his research.

Dealing a blow against dioxin
Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine have determined how the cancer-causing chemical dioxin attacks cells, disrupts their function and promotes tumor growth. Led by Narayah Avadhani, the researchers were able to piece together the process by which TCDD, the most toxic member of the dioxin family and best remembered as the toxic contaminant found in Agent Orange and at Times Beach, Mo., damages cells. The findings, Avadhani says, will help scientists understand why humans who are exposed to dioxin develop breast and other cancers.

Beams of hope in cancer treatment
Veterinarians at Colorado State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences are now among the world’s elite, thanks to the recent addition of new technology at the James L. Voss Veterinary Teaching Hospital. The teaching hospital is the first veterinary facility in the world to have at its disposal an advanced linear accelerator used to deliver radiation therapy while reducing adverse side effects, says Dr. Susan LaRue, a professor in cancer biology and oncology. The high-tech system delivers radiation at higher doses with unparalleled accuracy, Dr. LaRue says, allowing Colorado State to lead the way in improving radiation therapy for both animals and people.

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February, 2008

Too much of a good thing: From contradiction to clarity
So which is it? Cancer researchers have been telling us lately that taking increased doses of the trace mineral selenium can reduce the risk of cancer, particularly prostate cancer in men. Then comes news that too much selenium might increase the risk of diabetes. Turns out these two findings might be more in sync than we thought. Experiments with elderly dogs have helped Dr. David J. Waters, a comparative oncologist at Purdue University and executive director of the Gerald P. Murphy Cancer Foundation, demonstrate that, when it comes to selenium, it is a U-shaped world. Too much is just as harmful as too little. From that research came SeleniumHealthTM, a toenail test that enables men to measure and adjust their selenium intake in order to reduce their prostate cancer risk. To learn more about how to get the SeleniumHealthTM toenail test, go to www.seleniumhealthtest.org.

Tackling neurological disease
Parkinson’s disease and epilepsy don’t play favorites – the neurological disorders are equally debilitating for both humans and dogs. People and their pets have veterinarians on their side, however. University of Missouri researcher, Dr. Dennis O’Brien, is working to find ways to treat these diseases in both species. O’Brien, professor of veterinary medicine and surgery and director of the Comparative Neurology Program in the College of Veterinary Medicine, is investigating the causes and potential treatments for a number of neurological diseases that can be fatal in both humans and animals. Much of the work centers on the genes responsible for the diseases and how they can be isolated and studied.

Exorcising Ebola
In an effort to develop an effective vaccine, a team of researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Madison has figured out a way to genetically disarm the Ebola virus, making it safer to study. Dr. Yoshihiro Kawaoka, a professor at UW-Madison’s School of Veterinary Medicine, was able to alter the Ebola virus so that it cannot grow and can be studied under less-stringent laboratory conditions than those currently required. Kawaoka says increased access to the altered virus makes it more available for study to a broader cross section of scientists, which could lead to a better understanding of its basic biology, vaccine development and screening for antiviral compounds. The virus causes hemorrhagic fever and kills anywhere from 50 to 90 percent of its human victims.

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March, 2008

Looking out for Lucy
There may come a time in the not-too-distant future when we’ll all love Lucy. Lucy, a Border collie mix with a rare type of cancer, is under the care of veterinarians and researchers at the Purdue School of Veterinary Medicine’s Comparative Oncology Program. She is being treated for transitional cell carcinoma, which is similar to invasive bladder cancer in people. Her doctors are using a new technique that targets and kills cancer cells without killing healthy cells, which is often the case with standard chemotherapy. The treatments, according to veterinarian Deborah Knapp, chief of clinical oncology, could help scientists improve the methods used to detect and treat bladder cancer in humans. “What we learn in dogs may help us figure out better ways to deal with this cancer in humans,” Knapp says.

Analyzing the aging process
Veterinarian Diane McFarlane is looking to baboons and horses to help shed some light on what causes nerve cells to deteriorate, and ultimately, what leads to such conditions as Parkinson’s disease in humans. Bolstered by a grant from the National Institutes of Health’s Division of Comparative Medicine, McFarlane and her colleagues at the Oklahoma State University Center for Veterinary Health Sciences are trying to determine what biological changes occur during the aging process that cause some people – but not all – to develop degenerative brain diseases. By investigating the aging process of baboons and neurodegeneration in horses with Cushing’s disease, the scientists are working diligently to determine useful comparisons for unraveling the cause of Parkinson’s disease.

But it will still cause an ‘ouch’
Veterinary researchers are examining a new vaccine method that may increase the success rate of vaccination campaigns in underdeveloped countries. Michael Wannemuehler and his colleagues at the Iowa State University College of Veterinary Medicine are developing a way to produce vaccines that work better, come in smaller doses and require only one trip to a doctor’s office. Their early work focuses on the bacteria that causes plague, a disease that’s rare in the United States but is still found in other parts of the world, including Africa. By simplifying the composition of the vaccine, the researchers hope to create effective vaccine doses that are smaller and safer, and induce fewer side effects. The new vaccines also would be less expensive to ship and store, making them more economically feasible in faraway places where vaccines can be difficult to obtain and doctors are not around to give “booster” shots.

Going to battle against bacteria
Veterinary researchers at the Mississippi State University College of Veterinary Medicine are armed and dangerous. Their target? Diseases and other contaminants that cost the United States agriculture industry billions of dollars each year. From computer algorithms to mass spectrometers and bioluminescent genes that can hunt down disease-causing bacteria, scientists like veterinarian Mark Lawrence are using advancements in technology to unlock many of the mysteries behind the pathogens that sicken cattle and catfish and invade food processing and storage facilities. Their efforts involve digging deeper and deeper into the cellular makeup of many bacteria. The ultimate goal, according to the researchers, is to protect our food supply by rendering the organisms harmless and to develop more effective vaccines.

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April, 2008

Putting together the pieces
The discovery that the genetic changes that occur in dogs with certain types of cancer are virtually identical to genetic abnormalities in humans with the same cancers may help lead to better treatment options for both animals and people. Genome studies by veterinary researchers at the University of Minnesota and North Carolina State University reveal that some bone and blood cancers develop similarly in both dogs and humans. With these similarities in mind, the researchers have set out to identify cancer-associated genes in dogs, which could provide greater insight into human cancer risk, diagnosis and prognosis.

The low ‘Down’ on cancer
The identification of a gene that apparently curbs tumor growth in women with Down syndrome may offer new hope in the fight against breast cancer. The finding by researchers at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences is leading to further study into why women with Down syndrome are 10 to 25 times less likely to develop breast cancer and why the gene is either lost or suppressed in most other human breast tumors. The research team, which is led by Dr. Weston Porter, is also studying why deleting the gene from mice triggers rapid tumor growth.

Wasting no time
Dubbed the “next generation of diagnostic testing,” researchers at the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine have developed a revolutionary way to detect viruses such as influenza and HIV in less than a minute. According to vaccine specialist Dr. Ralph Tripp, the new spectroscopic technique saves valuable time when it comes to diagnosing viruses and could possibly save lives by rapidly detecting disease outbreaks and agents of bioterrorism. The technique is so powerful, researchers say, that it has the potential to detect a single virus particle and can also differentiate between virus subtypes and mutations.

Protecting public health
When it comes to public health, there are few issues that capture our attention more than food safety and zoonotic diseases, because, as American Veterinary Medical Association Executive Vice President Dr. Ron DeHaven recently said, “as goes the health of our nation’s animals, so goes the health of its people.” That unequivocal truth applies not only to veterinarians who treat food animals, but also those who identify, diagnose, treat and control zoonotic diseases such as West Nile virus, Lyme disease, avian influenza and mad cow disease. Highlighting the critical role veterinarians play in relation to public health, both DeHaven and Dr. Gregory Hammer recently testified before Congressional subcommittees on the shortage of veterinarians in the United States. For more information, go to the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association.

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May, 2008

A stimulant stalks multiple sclerosis
They don’t want you to go gaga over java, but researchers at the Cornell University College of Veterinary Medicine say caffeine may one day offer a way to prevent the debilitating symptoms of multiple sclerosis. In the Cornell study, the researchers were able to delay the onset of an MS-like disease in mice by giving them caffeinated water in doses equivalent to a person drinking six to eight cups of coffee a day. When the mice did contract the disease, the symptoms exhibited by the caffeine-treated mice were less severe than those in the untreated mice. Although caffeine won’t provide a cure for MS, it could lead to new ways of protecting against relapses, the researchers said. For more information, contact Sabina Lee at 607-255-3024 or SSL37@cornell.edu.

The hunt for a bird flu vaccine
Researchers are developing a new vaccine that may give long-lasting protection against the deadly bird flu virus and its evolving forms. Led by Dr. Suresh Mittal from the Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine, the research has so far generated a vaccine that protects mice against highly pathogenic avian influenza for a year or longer. And, unlike traditional influenza viruses that are made from eggs and can take months to produce, this new vaccine can be made quickly and stored for long periods in advance of a potential H5N1 pandemic.

A cautionary finding
A surprise finding by researchers at the Center for Comparative Medicine and Translational Research at the College of Veterinary Medicine at North Carolina State University reveals that some drugs being considered as treatment for HIV patients may actually increase the virus’ ability to replicate. Dr. Gregg Dean, a professor of immunopathology, says the discovery sheds new light on how the human immune system responds to HIV and how HIV infected patients are treated. Dean’s findings indicate that stimulating the immune system with experimental compounds to help fight off infections in HIV patients may accidentally increase the amount of virus in an infected person.

Exterminating E. coli
Keeping iron away from disease-causing bacteria like E. coli 0157:H7 is like depriving a human of oxygen, and doing so could go a long way toward preventing E. coli from ever getting into ground beef, according to a researcher at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Dan Thomson, an associate professor of clinical sciences, is studying the effects of a new vaccine technology that prevents the bacterium from consuming iron, which suffocates the E. coli and stops it from growing or replicating. Each of the studies, according to Thomson, has shown positive results, with the vaccine helping decrease not only the number of cattle shedding the bacteria but also the concentration of the bacteria being shed.

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June, 2008

Pigs, poultry and the fight against hepatitis E
Although hepatitis E is a major public health problem in developing countries in Asia and Africa, up until recently, scientists trying to develop a vaccine have been stymied by the lack of a practical animal model that will give them better insight into the hepatitis E virus. Researchers at the Virginia-Maryland Regional College of Veterinary Medicine have announced that they have discovered two HEV-related animal viruses – one in pigs and one in chickens – that allowed them to develop animal models of the disease to study the hepatitis E virus. By doing so, researchers have taken a major step toward their ultimate goal of developing a vaccine to protect both people and animals from hepatitis E.

Horses helping solve the HIV riddle
Research into a virus that, once acquired, forces horse owners to quarantine their animal for life or euthanize it, may one day benefit humans. The study, being conducted at Washington State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, focuses on the equine infectious anemia virus, a blood-borne disease transmitted primarily by horseflies and deerflies. The researchers are hunting for clues as to how the virus escapes detection by the immune system, leading to life-long infection in its host. The equine infectious anemia virus is a lentivirus, just like the human immunodeficiency virus. Understanding the equine virus could one day help in the fight against HIV and similar infections.

Dogs may provide clues to human eye diseases
The discovery of a new eye disease in dogs may eventually lead to better treatment of human eye diseases. Sinisa Grozdanic, an assistant professor of veterinary medicine at Iowa State University, discovered the disease, known as immune-mediated retinopathy (IMR), and was able to draw a distinction between IMR and a previously known eye disease in dogs. Being able to identify the original source of the disease in the body is a critical step in treating the disease appropriately. Grozdanic calls the discovery “a giant leap” in understanding the disease, which may lead to modifications and improvements in treatment for both dog and human patients.

Is tap water safe for our dogs?
With all the concerns about what’s in our food and our water, many of us are paying even more attention these days to what we are giving our pets. You can’t blame pet owners for taking a few precautions. After all, pet food recalls raised concerns about chemical contamination; even treats have been scrutinized. So, should we resort to bottled water for our canine companions? According to a study in the June 1, 2008, Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, that won’t be necessary. Tap water, the study suggests, doesn’t cause bladder cancer in dogs. Long-term consumption of disinfected tap water has been associated with bladder cancer in people. But the study, which was led by Dr. Lorraine Backer of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, says there is no such association in dogs.

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July, 2008

Battling cancer on two fronts
Going after the tumor isn’t always enough when it comes to fighting breast cancer. But a new one-two punch developed by researchers at the University of Missouri’s College of Veterinary Medicine and Dalton Cardiovascular Research Center may prove to be a formidable foe in combating the disease. The new, nontoxic treatment combines a drug and an antibody that, when working together, attack the breast cancer cells and destroy the blood vessels that feed the tumor and allow it to grow. The researchers use mice in their studies, and results show great promise in treating many types of cancer.

The sounds of prevention
A multidisciplinary approach to studying tiny cracks in bones may one day help prevent stress fractures in both horses and humans. Researchers in veterinary medicine, biomedical and electrical engineering, and earth and atmospheric sciences are borrowing from the study of earthquakes and seismology to develop a monitoring system that uses sound waves to check for “microcracks” that form in bones and can lead to stress fractures. The new technology could prove highly valuable in reducing catastrophic injuries in race horses and also could help protect soldiers, athletes and dancers, as well as the elderly, from suffering stress fractures in their feet, legs and hips.

Eating away at stress
A new study out of the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Veterinary Medicine adds to the growing body of literature suggesting that stress causes overeating, particularly of unhealthy foods high in fat and carbohydrates. The study indicates that eating food high in fats and carbs leads to activation of brain reward pathways and a reduction of stress in mice that are genetically engineered to be more sensitive to stress. Such eating behavior, the researchers say, can lead to obesity, and they also believe their research could help treat those people who are most susceptible to stress-induced eating.

Guiding the way toward fewer unwanted pets
Spay and neuter programs for dogs and cats play an important public health role by reducing the free-roaming and stray animal populations. The programs also help reduce the number of unwanted animals that end up in shelters each year, many of which are euthanized. That’s why a task force comprised of 22 veterinarians from around the country recently compiled – for the first time ever – guidelines for spay and neuter clinics. The guidelines, which are published in the July 1, 2008, issue of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, are based on acceptable practices that all spay-neuter programs can attain, says task force member and veterinarian Brenda Griffin. Griffin says that assembling spay-neuter guidelines will go a long way toward increasing public confidence in spay-neuter programs as a legitimate option to euthanasia.

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August, 2008

Back in the running
The future of artificial limbs may very well evolve out of a partnership between the fields of veterinary medicine and engineering. Case in point: a 5-year-old German shepherd mix named Cassidy who will soon be the first large animal to benefit from a new prosthetic procedure being perfected at North Carolina State University’s College of Veterinary Medicine. Cassidy lost a portion of his right hind leg several years ago, and the technique being used by veterinarian Denis Marcellin-Little and engineer Ola Harrysson should have him running on all fours in just a few months. The technique could have huge implications for humans as well, particularly injured veterans coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Overstaying their welcome
A study conducted at the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine reveals that bacteria that causes Lyme disease, the most common tick-borne illness in the United States, can linger in mice long after a full round of antibiotic treatment is completed. While the bacterial remnants that stick around are not a sign of chronic disease, the discovery does set the stage for further investigation into potential treatments for persistent Lyme disease infections, according to study leader Stephen Barthold, director of the school’s Center for Comparative Medicine.

Barking to a new beat
General is one lucky dog. Actually, you could say he is one of only two lucky dogs. The German shepherd puppy is only the second dog with cardiac disease in the United States to receive an internal defibrillator, a life-saving therapy for many people with heart disease who are at risk of dangerously fast and potentially lethal heart rates. General received his defibrillator at the Louisiana State University School of Veterinary Medicine, thanks to the talented efforts of a team coordinated by veterinarian Romain Pariaut, assistant professor of veterinary cardiology. General is now home in Missouri with his owners and is doing fine.

Bringing doctors together
Infected animals, susceptible human hosts and an environment that enables the transmission of disease constitute a powerful troika that threatens public health across the globe. That’s why the American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Medical Association have joined forces to better understand the health issues created when humans, animals and the environment converge. Dubbed “One Health,” the bringing together of veterinary and medical doctors is leading to ground-breaking recommendations and actions that will benefit all living things. The Executive Summary of the AVMA One Health Initiative Task Force, which appears in the July 15, 2008 edition of the Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, helps define “One Health” and highlights the need to expand the concept across all health professions.

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September, 2008

Batman and beyond
Cutting-edge research at the University of Minnesota may lead to advancements in treating brain tumors in both dogs and people. Teaming together to help fight these deadly cancers, researchers from the university’s College of Veterinary Medicine, Medical School and Masonic Cancer Center are using a three-pronged attack in an attempt to save the life of a canine patient named Batman and to further the science of human cancer treatment.

Saddling up
Figuring out how to get thoroughbreds back into racing form after they’ve suffered an injury may ultimately prove to be good news for horses and people alike. Researchers at the College of Veterinary Medicine and Biomedical Sciences at Colorado State University are looking to benefit both species as they develop a new injection therapy for treating horses with cartilage damage. If successful, the treatment could get horses – and people with similar conditions – back in the running.

Every breath you take
From people with sleep apnea to victims of spinal cord injury, the ability to breathe a bit easier may one day be a reality thanks to research being conducted at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. After years of study, university researchers working with rats recently announced a breakthrough that holds promise for individuals whose breathing control is impaired for a variety of reasons.

Keeping our food safe
As concerns about antimicrobial “superbugs” in humans continue to rise, veterinarians are cautioning that wide-scale bans on approved uses of antimicrobials in food animals would hurt animals, do little to improve public health and could, in fact, lead to an unsafe human food supply. The American Veterinary Medical Association recently took this message to Capitol Hill in effort to add more scientific evidence to the debate surrounding the use of antimicrobials in livestock.

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October, 2008

More time for transplants
When it comes to getting kidneys to organ transplant patients, the clock is always ticking. In an effort to buy more precious time, researchers at the School of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have developed an organ transplant storage solution that preserves canine kidneys twice as long as current solutions, for six days as opposed to three. As human trials begin, the researchers, led by veterinarians Jonathan McAnulty and Christopher Murphy, say their efforts could boost the number of kidneys available for transplant in the U.S. and around the world.

Breathing a bit easier
They keep the human heart beating, and now pacemakers may also keep performance horses breathing. They may even be able to help humans who have laryngeal paralysis or difficulty speaking and swallowing due to thyroid surgery. Researchers, including a group from Cornell University’s College of Veterinary Medicine, are developing a pacemaker for the equine larynx that can help stimulate damaged muscles and keep the airway open during strenuous exercise. They are hopeful that the pacemaker, once tried in horses, will eventually be able to help people.

Coming together to fight cancer
Similarities between a form of cancer found in dogs and another found in humans have helped forge a unique partnership between veterinary and medical doctors who are dedicated to fighting the disease in both species. Oregon researchers Stuart Helfand, DVM, and Brian Druker, M.D., are studying a cell line developed by Helfand from a German shepherd dog that died of hemangiosarcoma to see what drugs can be produced to treat the disease. Their research may ultimately lead to treatments for similar cancers found in humans, such as chronic myeloid leukemia.

Weighing in on genetic engineering
Recognizing that genetic engineering has opened many doors and has the potential to provide great benefit to humans, animals and society, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) recently praised the release of federal guidance on the use of genetically engineered animals in research and food production. The AVMA’s comments were issued in response to the announcement by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration that it has released draft guidance on the regulation of genetically engineered animals and is asking for comments from the public.

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