3 Breed Groups Fund Canine Cancer StudyJanuary 12, 2016Researchers led by University of Minnesota Professor Jaime Modiano are launching a study of hemangiosarcoma, an aggressive cancer in dogs. The disease is prevalent in golden retrievers, Portuguese water dogs and boxers. Three breed groups— the Golden Retriever Foundation, the Portuguese Water Dog Foundation and the American Boxer Charitable Foundation—pledged $432,000 to support the research project. “Hemangiosarcoma is the cause of death for an estimated one out of every five golden retrievers in the United States,” said Dr. Modiano, VMD, Ph.D., of Minnesota’s College of Veterinary Medicine. “Portuguese water dogs and boxers also have an especially high risk for this disease, which is devastating for all dogs.” The research team wants to learn more about hemangiosarcoma and possibly find ways to prevent it. “Hemangiosarcoma is incurable partly because the cancer is detected at a very advanced stage when it is resistant to conventional therapies,” Modiano said. “Thus, an unconventional approach to improve outcomes for hemangiosarcoma patients will involve effective methods for early detection and for disease prevention.” The American Kennel Club’s Canine Health Foundation announced the $432,000 grant Jan. 6 and will oversee the funds and the scientific progress. “The collaboration between these three breed club foundations and …
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Cougar Hunter Makes Startling DiscoveryJanuary 12, 2016A mountain lion hunted down in the Idaho wilderness was found to be sprouting teeth from its forehead, a weird find that left wildlife biologists with a couple of theories. The young cougar was legally tracked and killed in late December after it attacked a dog near the southeastern town of Preston, the state Department of Fish and Game reported. The hunter reported his kill, as he was required to do, and a state conservation officer showed up to confirm the hunter’s license and pull a tooth from the animal for age analysis, the department stated. The defect was easy to see. “The mountain lion had an unusual deformity,” the agency noted. “Fully formed teeth and what appears to be small whiskers were growing out of hard fur-covered tissue on the left side of the animal’s forehead.” Wildlife experts had two possible explanations for the abnormality: The teeth may be the remnants of a conjoined twin that died in the womb and was absorbed into the other fetus. The deformity may be a rare teratoma tumor—“tissue from which teeth, hair and even fingers and toes can develop,” Fish …
5 CE Speakers Who Command AttentionJanuary 12, 2016They’re back! NAVC’s 2015 Speakers of the Year, that is. Returning in 2016 are five veterinarian presenters who conference attendees last year voted the best of the best. They will join more than 300 other lecturers who collectively will deliver over 1,200 credit hours of continuing education on topics ranging from surgery, gastroenterology and dentistry to veterinary forensics, practice management and hospital design. The reigning NAVC Speakers of the Year and their 2016 schedules are: Equine Speaker of the Year: Chris Sanchez, DVM, Ph.D., Dipl. ACVIM, associate professor at the University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine. She has five classes set for Monday, Jan. 18: “Top 10 Equine Medicine Papers of 2015,” “Pain Management in Horses—Anything New?” and three “Equine Pain Management” case studies. Exotics Speaker of the Year: Doug Mader, DVM, MS, Dipl. ABVP, of Marathon Veterinary Hospital in Marathon, Fla. He will present classes on Sunday, Jan. 17 (“Evaluating the Urinary System in Reptiles”) and Wednesday, Jan. 20 (“Reptilian Reproductive Disorders,” “Greatest Hits—Most Memorable Cases Over the Last 30 Years” and “22 Years of Saving the Sea Turtle)”. Food Animal Speaker of the Year: Arlen Wilbers, …
NAVC by the NumbersJanuary 12, 20160: Cost to see comedian Brian Regan on Saturday night, Jan. 16 and singer Sheryl Crow on Monday night, Jan. 18 1: Credit hours earned at a 50-minute continuing education session 2: Exhibition halls (Gaylord Palms Resort and Orlando World Center Marriott Resort) 3: NAVC conference’s Diamond Partners (Elanco Animal Health, Merial Ltd. and Merck Animal Health) 4: Exhibition hall days (Sunday, Jan. 17 to Wednesday, Jan. 20) 5: CE programming days (Saturday, Jan. 16 to Wednesday, Jan. 20) 7: Free shuttle bus routes 10: Restaurants and bars at Gaylord Palms 41.5: Maximum CE credit hours an attendee may receive 50: States represented by veterinary professionals at 2015 NAVC conference 60 to 70: Countries represented each year at NAVC conference 75: Price, in dollars, of a guest badge, which allows access to exhibition halls, evening entertainment and shuttle buses 130: Price, in dollars, of “Just for Kids Conservation Day Camp” at Disney’s Animal Kingdom 200: Price, in dollars, of daylong “Manatee Encounter” excursion to Homosassa Springs State Wildlife Park 650: Exhibiting companies 1,200: Minimum CE credit hours offered at 2016 conference 1,581: Veterinary technicians in attendance at 2015 conference 6,447: Veterinarians in attendance at 2015 conference 16,383: Total attendance at …
Bioengineer Joins UGA’s Vet CollegeJanuary 12, 2016Karen J. L. Burg, Ph.D., has joined the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine as its Harbor Lights Chair in Small Animal Studies. Dr. Burg is one of five professors to be hired under UGA President Jere W. Morehead’s Presidential Extraordinary Research Faculty Hiring Initiative, which launched in 2014 to help bring internationally recognized scholars to UGA. “Dr. Burg brings an extraordinary record of accomplishment to the University of Georgia, and she will play a significant role in expanding this institution’s capacity to inquire and innovate to improve human health,” said Pamela Whitten, Ph.D., senior vice president for academic affairs and provost. Burg is a bioengineer whose work focuses on absorbable polymers, biofabrication and tissue engineering. Seven of her inventions have been patented, according to the UGA. “Dr. Burg will collaborate with our faculty working in regenerative medicine who are focused on treating conditions in animals and humans that will benefit from cells and tissues grown in the laboratory,” said Sheila W. Allen, DVM, Dipl. ACVS, dean of the College of Veterinary Medicine.
AVMA Breathes Life Into Insurance NetworkJanuary 11, 2016Hurry. What does GHLIT stand for? Nearly half of AVMA members surveyed could not correctly identify the acronym as the Group Health and Life Insurance Trust, so the American Veterinary Medical Association’s affiliated insurance network did something about the name. Seeking clarity and the opportunity to offer products besides insurance, AVMA GHLIT is now known as AVMA LIFE. The new title comes with the tagline “Veterinarian Inspired Coverage.” “These changes will not affect the coverage that current participants already have with AVMA GHLIT, such as disability or life insurance,” AVMA announced Sunday in a blog post. The rebranding and website, www.avmalife.org, followed a yearlong study. While 46 percent of AVMA members were baffled by “GHLIT,” about the same number, 43 percent, stated that the name did not reflect the products and services provided. “What we heard from these discussions was a resounding preference for a program that is designed especially for, and by, veterinarians,” according to AVMA LIFE’s introductory website, www.myavmalife.com. Why was AVMA LIFE chosen? It was the most popular out of six new names presented in the survey. “Members said the new name …
N.C. Vet School Recruiting Dogs with SARDSJanuary 7, 2016The North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine has begun enrolling dogs for a study on Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome (SARDS), an ocular disease that damages the rods and cones within the retina of an affected dog’s eye. The retina then degenerates and the result is complete blindness, as visual input no longer is transported to the brain via the optic nerve, according to the college. Freya Mowat, BVSc, Ph.D., Dipl. ECVO, an assistant professor of ophthalmology at the vet college, has set out to find out why this happens and how to prevent it in her study, “Defining the effect of immune-mediated damage to the pineal gland in the etiopathogenesis of Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome in dogs.” The two-year research study is funded by a $30,000 grant from the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists Vision for Animals Foundation. “Veterinarians have diagnosed Sudden Acquired Retinal Degeneration Syndrome for more than three decades but we still don’t understand it well enough to try to develop effective treatments,” Dr. Mowat said. “Several theories have been advanced but without definitive results. How can we treat SARDS if we don’t understand …
OSU Names DeMars Clinical Associate ProfessorJanuary 5, 2016Paul DeMars, DVM, an adjunct associate professor and receiving clinician at Oklahoma State University’s Veterinary Medical Hospital, has been promoted to clinical associate professor in the Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences at the hospital. “There really won’t be any change in my job,” said Dr. DeMars, who served the previous position for more than 15 years. “I have always been treated like a full faculty member of the department. While we may be a small group of faculty, staff and students and the challenges seem huge at times, I appreciate everyone I work and interact with. I love my job and this just makes it official.”
Veterinarians Study Cat Coat Patterns, Discover Attitude in Certain CatsJanuary 5, 2016If any of your clients ever asks why their calico or tortoiseshell cat gives them attitude, you can now tell them that it’s a typical personality trait in cats with those coat patterns. Veterinarians at the University of California, Davis recently conducted research in which coat patterns of cats were studied, based on a survey of over 1,200 cat owners. The online survey did not inform cat owners of the focus of the study, but did ask them questions about their cats as well as requested the cat owners choose what color category their cat best fits in as well as a written description of their pet. This limited the study in some ways since the researchers did not observe the cats themselves; however, the researchers found the insights revealing. The study, led by Elizabeth Stelow, DVM, Dipl. ACVB and published in the Journal of Applied Animal Welfare Science, revealed that “cats with calico and tortoiseshell coat patterns tend to challenge their human companions more often” than cats with other coat patterns, according to Seattle …
UC Davis Seeks Appaloosa, Friesian Horses for Clinical TrialsJanuary 4, 2016The University of California, Davis School of Veterinary Medicine recently posted two new clinical trials currently accepting equine patients: “Genomic investigation of Equine Recurrent Uveitis in Appaloosa horses” and “Chronic Progressive Lymphedema in Friesian Horses.” The purpose of the first study, according to UC Davis, is to determine the genetic factors contributing to equine recurrent uveitis (ERU) in Appaloosa horses. ERU is the leading cause of blindness in horses, marked by repeated episodes of inflammation of the uveal tract of the eye. Appaloosa horses are eight times more likely than any other breed to develop this disease and four times more likely to go blind, suggesting genetics plays a major contributing role, according to the school. The clinical trial is seeking Appaloosas with known pedigrees. The results of this work may help to lower the incidence of this ocular disease in Appaloosas and other affected breeds, help breeders to make informed mating decisions and be used by veterinarians to predict risk of developing disease for earlier diagnosis and treatment, according to UC Davis. The purpose of the second study is to identify the region of the horse genome associated with Chronic Progressive Lymphedema (CPL), a …
