StemCell Therapy

Most veterinary nurses finish school and find a clinic to work in for the rest of their lives. Although they may travel for pleasure, their work is relatively stationary, so customers know where to find the high quality vet care they need.

At first, Lucy thought she would be following a similar path, but a school trip abroad changed everything for her. She took an Erasmus trip to Estonia, and volunteered at an animal shelter there. The trip changed her. She took another trip, this time with the focus of conservation in South Africa the following year, and knew what she wanted to do with her life.

Lucy made a bold move after veterinary school, and became a traveling locum nurse. She has since been to Spain, Sardinia, and Morocco for her work. While she is in these locations, she often volunteers with organizations such as Vets Beyond Borders, so she can help make a difference in the lives of animals in need.

A typical volunteer day may involve working closely with vets to examine, anesthetize, and spay or neuter a long string of dogs as quickly as possible. Not only are the animals spayed or neutered, but other procedures that may benefit the animal are done at the same time while they are under. This could mean extractions to remove decaying teeth, or enucleations.

Sometimes the animal is too unhealthy for surgery, at which point they would call and recommend to the shelter or who ever they are currently helping that the animal not undergo surgery. Other complications, such as retained testicles, can also make it harder to do the surgery.

Often, the veterinary team ends up missing lunch or working late into the night, in order to help as many animals as possible. While it is difficult work, they are happy to do it because that means one more animal is getting the help it needs.

Lucy is passionate about her job, and loves every moment of helping animals while she travels the world. While she knows this job is the perfect one for her without a doubt, if she hadnt become a vet she did have other aspirations to follow.

Her original childhood dream was to become a zookeeper, which she might have pursued if veterinary school had not have been an option. Her other choice would be as an entertainer. In fact, she still sometimes plays an Elf at Christmas time in Lapland, Finland!

When shes not an Elf, she still finds the ability to entertain but also educate through a podcast about becoming a traveling veterinary nurse she does with co-host Amber LaRock. In it they talk about traveling veterinary medicine, and the unique aspects of trying to help animals while on the road.

Lucy enjoys every minute of her life as a traveling veterinary nurse. She has helped save thousands of needy dogs through her efforts in far away countries, and has also been an inspiration for veterinary students who dream of helping animals, but also traveling too.

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On the road with the traveling veterinary nurse, Lucy Taylor - Vet Candy

Tuesday, January 26, 2021

Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology and Dolores L. McCall Professor of Comparative Oncology Deborah Knapp recently marked a milestone in her career. As an endowed professor, Purdue University requires Dr. Knapp undergo a review by her department every five years with the latest review completed last month. Dr. Knapp was first named the Dolores L. McCall Professor of Comparative Oncology in 2006 and has held the title ever since. As part of the review, Dr. Knapp was asked to present a seminar highlighting some of her research teams success.

The seminar entitled, Cancer Prevention in Dogs: Strategies That Can Be Implemented Now to Improve Outcomes, was presented virtually December 11, 2020. After an introduction by Dr. Catharine Scott-Moncrieff, head of the PVM Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, Dr. Knapp began her lecture by describing the current state of cancer cases in the United States. Last year, there were 1.7 million new cases of human cancer reported with 600,000 of these resulting in death. As for dogs, approximately 4 million cases were expected in 2020 with the total number of deaths unknown. Dr. Knapps team has tasked themselves with looking at ways to improve the outcome for humans and dogs.

In describing a key to improving the outcome for both, Dr. Knapp explained that certain forms of naturally-occurring cancer in dogs are very closely related to cancers in humans, allowing treatment methods to be studied interchangeably. In addition to defining cancer by the organ in which it originates (i.e. breast cancer), researchers have found that in many cases they can better define the cancer by its mutations and molecular makeup of the cancer. For instance, a subset of bladder cancer in dogs may be more closely related to colon cancer in people.

Dr. Knapp described that one way to improve cancer outcomes in humans and dogs is to improve the use of current drugs such as Cyclooxygenase (Cox) Inhibitors, also known as Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory Drugs. These drugs have anti-cancer properties and are a good example of drugs that can be repurposed. Additionally, new drugs, such as immunotherapies, are currently being studied. The Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine has recently received a research grant to improve knowledge of these methods. Another area that has the potential to make a big difference in cancer outcomes for humans and dogs is individualized care.

The primary focus of improvement described in the lecture is prevention. Cancer prevention comes in three forms. Primary cancer prevention is preventing the entire cancer development, such as not smoking to avoid lung cancer. Secondary cancer prevention is the detection of precancerous symptoms with testing such as mammograms and colonoscopies and treating them before they become aggressive cancers. Tertiary cancer prevention is the treatment of cancer once it is diagnosed to prevent morbidity and mortality.

Dr. Knapp focused on prevention in regard to bladder cancer, which most of the time is known as high grade invasive urothelial carcinoma, transitional cell carcinoma, aggressive bladder cancer, or in humans is called muscle invasive bladder cancer all essentially the same disease. Dr. Knapp said primary cancer prevention for dogs includes limiting risk factors such as the use of lawn care chemicals; obesity; the use of old generation flea, tick, and mange dips; and exposure to second-hand smoke. Emerging data now suggest that exposure to smoking could be important to bladder cancer in dogs. On the other hand, feeding vegetables to dogs can reduce the risk of cancer. There is now evidence to suggest spayed and neutered dogs are more at risk for cancer than dogs that are not spayed or neutered. Dr. Knapp certainly does not recommend ending the practice of spaying and neutering entirely, but said the optimal time for surgery requires further study, and this raises the question of whether waiting until the dog is a year old should be considered. More studies are needed to answer this question.

Secondary cancer prevention of bladder cancer can come in the form of early detection of precancerous lesions such as dysplasia and carcinoma in situ. In this stage, the cancer is less advanced and should be easier for the drugs to treat. Additionally, the immune system should be in a more active state to combat the cancer. This prevention strategy was tested by Dr. Knapp and her team in an early detection, early intervention study in which Scottish Terriers, a high-risk breed for bladder cancer, were studied. The study was completed in collaboration with the Scottish Terrier Club of America, which provided funding. The dogs were examined every six months for three years. Preliminary study results show that bladder cancer can be detected early, and early detection does improve the outlook for the dogs. Further evaluation is currently underway by Dr. Knapp and her study collaborators.

There are several key strategies that can be implemented now to improve cancer outcomes. Avoiding factors that increase the bladder cancer risk is important. Early detection and intervention are emerging as vital to improving the outcome for dogs with bladder cancer.

Dr. Knapp earned her DVM degree at Auburn University and in 1985 came to Purdue where she completed her residency and earned a masters degree in 1988. She then became board certified by the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine (Oncology). She was named a Distinguished Professor of Comparative Oncology by the university in 2020. Dr. Knapp leads the Purdue Comparative Oncology Program and is regarded as the leading expert in the field of naturally occurring bladder cancer in dogs. Her research has established bladder cancer in dogs as the most relevant animal model for invasive bladder cancer in humans. She is the author of more than 100 peer-reviewed journal articles related to the subject.

Writer(s): Jonathan Martz, PVM Communications Intern, and Allison Carey | pvmnews@purdue.edu

Continued here:
Presentation Highlights Oncology Research Success | Purdue University College of Veterinary Medicine - Purdue Veterinary News

So far, so good but researchers and care takers at the Institute for Marine Mammal Studies, as well as workers with Mississippi State Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine have their hands full caring for a young male dolphin they rescued Sunday.

This young dolphin fell into the right hands and has a second lease on life thanks to good Samaritans who called the IMMS Sunday morning to report the young juvenile male dolphin appeared to be struggling in the shallow waters of the Mississippi Sound in Gulfport.

Once here at the Gulfport facility, workers with the IMMS and MSUs College of Veterinary Medicine did blood work and diagnostics to assess the state of his condition. His care spilled over in to Monday. Clinical Instructor and Veterinarian at MSU College of Veterinary Medicine Christa Barrett said, Hes still not strong enough to keep himself up, so we have had people in the water here 24-7, and staff here 24-7 with him, to make sure he is able to breathe. Right now, we have Theresa in the water to make sure he is able to breathe. We gave him a combination of some milk, vitamins and things like that to help keep up with his nutritional status.

His mother was nowhere to be found. He does not appear to yet be weaned, but fortunately for this little guy, hes now in capable hands and its not sink or swim time just yet. Hes still in very critical condition, but were doing everything we can. We also have a great faculty staff at Mississippi State University in case we need any specialists to weigh in on the case as well.

As in this case, the IMMS asks anyone who sees a stranded dolphin or sea turtle to contact them as soon as possible. IMMS Director Dr. Moby Solangi said, Stranding season is coming up. Its very important if people see a sick or injured dolphin to call IMMS at 888-SOS-DOLPHIN.

In the meantime, this dolphin will continue to receive critical and supportive care to get him to swim on his own again and hopefully be released back into the Mississippi Sound.

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IMMS and MSU veterinarians work to save dolphin - WXXV News 25

Fabian Leendertz has spent decades studying how diseases flow between humans and wildlife. Here, he and colleagues hunt for bats in Ivory Coast.

By Kai KupferschmidtJan. 28, 2021 , 12:05 PM

TA NATIONAL PARK IN IVORY COASTThe message arrived as Fabian Leendertz was watching what he calls breakfast TV: a troop of black-and-white colobus monkeys leaping acrobatically through the trees that tower above the remote field camp here near the Liberian border. A colleague had received word that the carcass of a duiker, a kind of antelope, had been spotted in the rainforest some 10 kilometers away.

The notification launched Leendertz, a wildlife veterinarian at the Robert Koch Institute, into a race against time. The jungle is a hungry place, and Leendertz and his team needed to hike to the carcass before it was hauled away by a leopard or consumed by smaller animals. If the researchers beat the scavengers, they could collect tissue and other materialsincluding maggots feeding on the carrionthat could help answer a fundamental question: What do animals in the jungle die of?

Leendertz and his colleagues have been chasing answers here in the Ta forest for the past 20 years, studying hundreds of carcasses and sampling living animals in one of the only long-term studies of its kind. Theyve found that poachers and predators arent the only deadly threat lurking in the rainforestinfectious diseases are a big killer, too.

A discovery that leprosy can infect wild chimpanzees broke new ground.

The findings have implications for both saving endangered animals, especially apes, and protecting human health. Leendertzs work has revealed, for example, that chimpanzees can die from common cold viruses introduced by humans, prompting scientists, conservation groups, and ecotourism firms to impose new requirements on people visiting the apes. His team has also discovered a previously unknown variant of anthrax that appears to pose a major threat to wildlife. And he and colleagues in Guinea-Bissau recently found that wild chimpanzees suffer from leprosy, suggesting apes might be a previously undetected reservoir of that disfiguring disease, which could spill over into human populations. Fabians work has really changed how we view biosafety and biosecurity around great apes in the wild, says disease ecologist Tony Goldberg of the University of Wisconsin, Madison.

Now, the 48-year-old Leendertz, who once investigated the animal origins of an Ebola outbreak in West Africa, has been asked to help to solve one of the great disease mysteries of the early 21st century: the origins of SARS-CoV-2, the coronavirus that originated in bats and has killed more than 2 million people worldwide. In November 2020, the World Health Organization (WHO) named him to a 10-person team that is examining how the COVID-19 pandemic emerged. At the same time, Leendertz is worrying about how the coronavirus might affect great apes if it spreads to those vulnerable species.

Just 30 minutesafter the message arrived, Leendertz and two other veterinarians, Penelope Carlier and Bernard Ngbocho Nguessan, set off to find the carcass. After a kilometre or so, they passed a group of sooty mangabey monkeys lounging on logs. The animals, even a mother hugging a baby to her belly, appeared undisturbed by the hikers. That is because the monkeys had been habituated; researchers followed them for years until they grew used to humans.

In 1979, primatologists Christophe Boesch and Hedwige Boesch-Achermann came to the forest, one of the last large swaths of rainforest in West Africa, to study chimpanzee behavior. Over years, they habituated chimps, mangabeys, and several other kinds of monkeys, and began documenting their lives. But then, in 1994, the chimpanzees started to die. Eight of 43 study animals turned up dead; four more disappeared.

Before necropsying wild animals, Fabian Leendertz and Kouadio Leonce don protective gear.

The researchers hauled one chimps body back to their camps sturdy dining table for dissection. They wore gloves, but no gowns or masks, and 1 week later one woman fell ill. She recovered, but scientists isolated a virus from her blood. It was a new species of Ebola, a group of viruses already known from human outbreaks elsewhere in Africa, and the dead chimp carried it, too. The discovery of what became known as Ta forest Ebola marked the first time an Ebola outbreak had been documented in nature.

The experience was a wake-up call from both a safety and a scientific perspective, says Boesch, who retired as director of the Max Planck Institute for Evolutionary Anthropology in 2019. In retrospect it is clear that we ran a risk; we were not prepared at all, we had no equipment. And it made the researchers realize that infectious diseases could be playing a larger role in wildlife mortality than they realized. We cannot go on like this, Boesch recalls thinking. They needed a trained veterinarian, and in 2001 Leendertz got the job.

It was the kind of position he had long coveted. Growing up in Krefeld, Germany, Leendertz had bred mice and toads and spent a lot of time at the local zoo. (The director was a friend of his parents.) At university, he began to study biology but grew frustrated. It was just way too much biochemistry, he recalls, including countless hours in the laboratory running polymerase chain reactions (PCRs) to amplify snippets of DNA. All these PCRs were so far removed from working with actual animals, he says, so he switched to veterinary medicine.

In 1999, after completing his undergraduate studies and working in Namibia for a few months, Leendertz reached out to Boesch, asking whether he could join the Ta project. The reply was yesif Leendertz found an academic laboratory that would help support his graduate studies.

That wasnt easy. But Beatrice Hahn, a virologist at the University of Pennsylvania, had just published work showing HIV, the virus that causes AIDS in humans, had come from chimpanzees. The discovery ignited scientific interest in zoonoses, diseases that jump from animals to humans. That was kind of the first big aha! moment about zoonotic disease, Goldberg says. It helped Leendertz find a home at the Robert Koch Institute and ensured that, from the start, he would focus on both veterinary and human medicine.

Researchers draw blood from a dog in a village in Ivory Coast as part of their efforts understand how pathogens move among species.

Starting in 2001, Leendertz spent 14 months at Ta, following chimpanzees through the forest, collecting feces, and conducting necropsies. That was the real starting point for my work, he says. The conditions didnt bother him. He was content to be outdoors and largely cut off from the world, able to send and receive emails just once a week though a satellite connection. Leendertz didnt see images of the planes hitting New York Citys twin towers in 2001 until the year after the attack, after he emerged from his sojourn in the forest.

After a long march,the team found what was left of the dead duiker, surrounded by buzzing flies. Leendertz and Carlier suited up: masks, body suits, face shields, layers of gloves. They filled a bucket of bleach to disinfect equipment. Then they began cutting snippets of tissue and collecting blood, even grabbing a few maggots, which would be liquefied and analyzed for any pathogens they carried.

Moving deliberately around the forest in their gleaming white suits, the researchers looked like investigators at a crime scene. They were, in a way, with the added complication that the killer might still be lurking nearby. Leendertz has been following one suspect in particular since his first stint in the Ta forest. He was watching a group of chimpanzees when an alpha male named Leo suddenly vomited. Then, He climbed on this low branch, toppled over, and died, Leendertz recalls. I was stunned.

The killer, Leendertz and his group reported inNaturein 2004, was anthrax. It later became clear, however, that the cause was not the usual anthrax bacterium, but an unusual variant ofBacillus cereus, a soil bacterium that is usually benign. But this variant had acquired two circles of DNA, called plasmids, that had turned it into a formidable killer.

Subsequent work showed the bacterium was attacking other Ta forest mammals, too, including monkeys, mongooses, and porcupines. In 2017, the team published evidencegathered from bones, carcasses, and even fliesthat it appeared to be associated with 38% of 279 deaths the team had investigated from 1996 to 2015. The work was a reminder, Leendertz says, that we understand very little about what animals really die of in an environment like this.

Most worrying, theNaturepaper presented simulations showing anthrax could help wipe out the Ta forests chimpanzees within 150 years. And anthrax is not the only disease threatening the chimps, other work by Leendertzs team has shown. On top of all of the deforestation, the poaching they are just getting bashed by these infectious diseases, says primatologist Kimberley Hockings of the University of Exeter.

Some of those deadly diseases come from humans, Leendertz and colleagues reported in 2008 inCurrent Biology. After investigating five respiratory disease outbreaks that had struck Ta chimpanzees between 1999 and 2006, killing at least 15 individuals, the researchers concluded they were linked to two viruses that commonly cause mild disease in humans: human respiratory syncytial virus and human metapneumovirus. Our results suggest that the close approach of humans to apes, which is central to both research and tourism programs, represents a serious threat to wild apes, they wrote.

In Ivory Coast, veterinarian Fabian Leendertz traps bats to test for Ebola virus.

The idea was not new. Jane Goodall, the prominent primatologist, had described a pneumonia outbreak that killed several chimpanzees; researchers believed it was caused by a human-introduced pathogen. But theCurrent Biologystudy, and a similar viral outbreak documented in Tanzania, highlighted the threat of what Goldberg calls reverse zoonoses. Its a world of viruses that are crossing species in every direction, he says. And whenever that happens, it can cause devastating losses. (Goldberg has shown that the most common human cold virus, rhinovirus C, caused a deadly 2013 outbreak among chimpanzees in Uganda.)

The 2008 study also presented a dilemma for primate researchers such as Boesch, who was one of the co-authors. It suggested that even as they studied and worked to protect apes, they might be killing them, too. So, to reduce the risk of future outbreaks, the Ta researchers imposed new restrictions: Incoming staff must quarantine at the camp for 5 days before going into the forest, and everyone must stay at least 7 meters from study animals as well as wear masks while observing. Leendertz, meanwhile, pushed hard for field sites and tourism firms elsewhere to adopt similar measures, co-authoring safety guidelines published in 2015.

Such efforts really opened peoples eyes [that we needed] to be a lot more careful, Hockings says. But, It was a very controversial thing before COVID, Goldberg adds. People were afraid that tourists would be angry if you tried to make them wear a mask, that the apes would be afraid of the masks and attack tourists that foreign governments would get less money from tourism.

Today, Leendertz says helping catalyze such practical, real-world change is among his proudest accomplishments. And he says the experience only underscored the value of long-term, multifaceted studies of wildlife mortality. The threat that infectious diseases pose to chimpanzees was long underestimated and hardly studied, he says. They were neglected for a long time.

DESPITE HIS LOVE of fieldwork, Leendertz is spending less time in the Ta forest these days, visiting just once or twice a year. When my feet are hurting because Im not used to the long distances anymore, and when I get up in the morning from that moldy mattress, I do think that time is over, he says. Still, he says, When I arrive it really is that feeling of coming home.

At the Robert Koch Institute, meanwhile, Leendertzs lab is busy with samples shipped by colleagues in the forest. Located in a brand-new building that also houses one of the worlds newest biosafety level four high-biosecurity labs, the lab uses state-of-the-art technologies to identify and characterize the pathogens found in the samples. Ironically, Leendertz notes, Im back to doing PCRs. Recently, for example, the samples collected from the dead duiker in 2019 were analyzed. The antelope was, as suspected, infected with anthrax.

A research team heads into Kanankru, Ivory Coast, to search for bats, which have been implicated in outbreaks of Ebola and other deadly diseases.

Such molecular sleuthing isnt just about identifying animal killers. Leendertz notes that, when paired with careful field observations, lab findings can yield important insights into protecting human health. In 2017, for instance, some Ta chimpanzees began to cough and display respiratory distress. Lab work showed the cause was monkeypox, a less deadly relative of smallpox that can move from primates to humans. In humans, monkeypox often announces itself through a skin rash, but Leendertzs work suggests coughing is an unusual symptom that health workers working in communities near primate populations should keep in mind.

More recently, Leendertzs team has discovered that leprosyanother disease with the potential to jump to humansaffects wild chimpanzees too. In 2017, Hockings, who studies chimpanzees in Guinea-Bissaus Cantanhez National Park, observed animals with lesions on their faces and hands. She shared her observations with Leendertz, and soon afterward he noticed similar lesions on Woodstock, a Ta chimpanzee. By analyzing fecal samples, the researchers confirmed the lesions were caused by leprosy, a disease never before seen in wild chimpanzees.

The discovery has highlighted how little is known aboutMycobacterium leprae, the bacterium that causes leprosy, says immunologist John Spencer of Colorado State University, Fort Collins. Researchers cant culture the microbe in the laboratory and, although they have found it circulating in armadillos and red squirrels, it hadnt been seen in apes. The chimp find suggests leprosy has other niches that it has adapted to, Spencer saysand adds one more pathogen to the growing roster of diseases that afflict both humans and other animals.

If Leendertz has builthis career on the dual concerns of human and chimpanzee health, then the emergence of SARS-CoV-2 has brought these two issues together with new urgency. The virus now rampaging through human populations is a potential threat to great apes as well, Leendertz and primatologist Tom Gillespie of Emory University warned in a letter published inNaturein March 2020. To reduce the risks, they asked governments to suspend ecotourism and researchers to reduce field research, and many complied.

Since then, gorillas at the San Diego Zoo have tested positive for SARS-CoV-2. They showed only mild symptoms, but that is not very reassuring, Gillespie says, because captive animals tend to be well fed and be less burdened with other infections. Its really hard to say from captive studies what we would see in the wild, he says.

Looking ahead, Leendertz says, The question is how to get back to a more normal situation for primate scientists. One concrete step could be to vaccinate researchers and people living around field sites like Ta, he suggests.

In the meantime, WHO has asked Leendertz to join its investigation into the origins of SARS-CoV-2. That appointment makes sense scientifically and politically, colleagues say. Leendertzs years of patient, intensive focus on understanding death in a single rainforest have given him a valuable perspective on how to investigate pathogens hopping from one species to another, as SARS-CoV-2 is believed to have done. And he represents the Robert Koch Institute, Germanys equivalent of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. I see the WHO mission as about 50% actual science and 50% building bridges with Chinese colleagues, Goldberg says. I think Fabian will do well on both fronts.

But Leendertz also knows from past experience with virus hunts that definitive answers can be hard to come by. In 2014, he led a team that traveled to Meliandou, Guinea, shortly after the start of an Ebola outbreak that ultimately killed some 1000 people. The researchers interviewed villagers, who told them about a hollow tree where the child who had been the first to get sick had played.

When the team visited the tree, they discovered it had burned (whether by accident or intention wasnt clear). On the blackened stump, they found traces of DNA left behind by bats that had apparently roosted in the tree. Had an encounter between the child and a bat sparked the outbreak? It was a plausible scenario, they concluded, but there would likely never be proof.

The chain of events that led to the COVID-19 pandemic is likely to be far more elusive. And the WHO investigation has gotten off to a bumpy start. When the team first tried to visit China earlier this month, officials barred several members from entering because of pandemic restrictions. Leendertz himself could not join the trip because of a family commitment. So, while his colleagues conducted Zoom meetings from the hotel rooms where they were quarantined after arriving in China, Leendertz joined from his home, where it was 2:30 a.m. It was another kind of breakfast TV, just not the episode he enjoys the most.

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This wildlife vet tracks deadly microbes in the African jungle. Now, he's on the trail of COVID-19 - Science Magazine

BATON ROUGE Former LSU defensive end, Ray Parker, bonded out jail Thursday (September 10) after being arrested on-campus for battery of a dating partner. Records indicate that Parker's bond amount was $4,500.

According to a police report, he was arrested on LSU campus around 2:30 a.m., Wednesday for allegedly abusing his girlfriend and destroying personal items in her apartment, including an iPhone valued at $1,600.

Arrest records obtained by WBRZ say the two had been dating for about a year, but got into an argument shortly before the altercation, which led to Parker becoming enraged and destroying items around her apartment in addition to pushing her into a dresser, leaving a scrape on her hip.

Police say the woman's injuries and the damage to her apartment and belongings were consistent with her story, so Parker was arrested and booked on charges of battery of a dating partner and criminal damage to property.

Hours after the arrest, LSU head football Coach Ed Orgeron announced that Parker was cut from the team for violating its rules.

Later documents were obtained that shed additional light on the events surrounding Parker's arrest.

A police report dated as "filed" on September 17, 2020 says Parker's former girlfriend accused Parker of beating up their puppy, a pit bull named 'Kash.'

According to the report, she accused Parker of breaking one of the puppy's ribs and legs in addition to threatening her via text message, saying that Kash might be dead by the time she arrived at his apartment.

The girlfriend went on to tell detectives that due to a lack of funds necessary to cover Kash's medical expenses, she turned the puppy over to the LSU School of Veterinary Medicine. Police say they followed up with LSU SVM and found that the young pit bull's leg had to be amputated due to multiple breaks and fractures.

A roommate, according to the police report, also confirmed accusations against Parker in connection with the abuse of the puppy, saying they'd seen Parker kick Kash on multiple occasions.

The roommate said they would often hear the puppy crying and would tell Parker to "chill out."

Parker, 20 years old at the time, was in his second year with the Tigers after redshirting as a true freshman in 2019.

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Police report associated with former LSU player's 2020 arrest reveals alleged animal abuse - WBRZ

The pictures arent pretty, and the condition is serious. But what truly stinks about foal diarrhea is that in more than half the cases, veterinarians never identify the underlying cause. Yet, according to Nathan Slovis, DVM, Dipl. ACVIM, CHT, director of the McGee Center at Hagyard Equine Medical Institute, in Lexington, Kentucky, that scenario is changing. Developing technologiesand even the use of certified sniffer dogs that can identify Clostridium difficile in humansare making it faster and easier to diagnose whether the culprit is viral, bacterial, protozoal, or something else.

Twenty percent of foals will get some form of infectious diarrhea, Slovis said during his presentation at the 2020 American Association of Equine Practitioners Convention, held virtually. And because so many possible causes exist, veterinarians often find themselves treating symptoms without really knowing what theyre up against. Pathogens such as rotavirus, clostridium, and salmonella can proliferate in neonates with lethal speed. Fortunately, veterinarians can now use real-time polymerase chain reaction (PCR) testing to swiftly identify viruses, bacteria, and protozoa by amplifying fragments of genetic material in blood and fecal samples. Slovis explained that by recording how many cycles it takes to replicate the DNA to a trillion copies, the test also offers a way to quantify infectious loads.

For too long, veterinarians had to rely on what they could see under the microscope or what they could culture in a petri dish. Cultures are often misleading, because potentially harmful bacteria can be found everywhere, even in perfectly healthy horses. Real-time PCR has been a diagnostic game-changer in both human and veterinary medicine, he said.

Routinely treating foals with antibiotics has become controversial, Slovis acknowledged. Antibiotics are ineffective against viruses, and theres growing concern about antibiotic-resistant bacteria, including multidrug resistant strains of salmonella. Genetically engineered bacteria-eating viruses known as bacteriophages hold future promise for treating some of these antibiotic-resistant infections, but more research is needed.

Antibiotics do change the gastrointestinal (GI) tract microbiome, leaving researchers to wonder whether they simply make diarrhea worse. Nonetheless, Slovis generally favors giving sick foals a broad-spectrum antibiotic even when he suspects and confirms rotavirus.

Neonates are different than adults, he said. Bacteremia (bacteria in the bloodstream) occurs in 50% of foal diarrhea cases. Because endotoxins can be deadly, his strategy is to quell any primary or secondary bacterial infections before the foals body is overwhelmed.

Slovis also made a strong pitch for vaccinating pregnant mares against rotavirus and salmonella. A two-dose vaccine for Salmonella typhimurium and agona (conditional license in Kentucky) can be given to mares at nine and 10 months of gestation or to foals of unvaccinated mares during their first month of life. The rotavirus vaccine requires three doses administered at eight, nine, and 10 months of gestation.

Studies show the rotavirus vaccine:

Unfortunately, the currently available rotavirus vaccine only protects from the G3 strain, not the G14 strain thats becoming more common in Kentucky and elsewhere, Slovis said. He hopes a pharmaceutical company might be persuaded to work on a vaccine offering crossover protection between these two equine strains.

Rotavirus hits young foals hard and fast, with a one- to two-day incubation period. The virus invades the GI tract and impacts the production of lactase, which interferes with milk digestion, leading to diarrhea and painful bloating. Using PCR is the best way to diagnose it. Immunoassay tests can also be helpful, he noted, but they must be validated for horses, because human rotavirus antigen tests can provide false negatives in equines. Therapies include providing fluids, ulcer medication, pain relievers, and lactase to support digestion, reduce bloating, and calm the bowels.

Rotavirus shedding can continue for up to 10 days after the babys manure firms up, and the virus can persist in the environment for up to nine months, he cautioned. Bleach is not an effective disinfectant against the virus, whereas alcohol and hydrogen peroxide formulations are, he said.

Bacteria can also plague young foals, with C. difficile, C. perfringens, and Salmonella common culprits. Slovis warned that types A and C of C. perfringens are associated with fatal foal necrotizing enterocolitis (damage and death of cells in the small intestine and colon), so theres no time to waste. By the time a positive culture comes back from the lab, it could be too late. Again, he said PCR is the new gold standard for identifying bacterial loads, possibly providing results within hours.

Lateral flow enzyme immunoassay tests that screen for both antigens and toxins are also useful. Theyre quick and easy, but sometimes produce ambiguous results, such as indicating positive for antigens but negative for toxins.

We used to believe that if we didnt see that a test was positive for a C. difficile toxin, then it wasnt significant, Slovis said. Yet after studying many antigen-positive/toxin-negative foals (all of which had diarrhea, and all which responded to the antibiotic metronidazole), he found PCR tests confirmed more than three-quarters of them did have C. difficile infections.

Yet PCR isnt the only trending diagnostic development. Slovis noted that canines are being trained and certified to sniff out C. diff and other infections. These special technicians, however, are currently in short supply in human medicine.

Hygiene is hugely important in preventing or reducing foal diarrhea outbreaks. If barns are potentially infected, he suggests foaling mares outdoors until all stall surfaces, tack, and equipment have been thoroughly disinfected. Foaling kits should contain only single-use items and equipment that can be sterilized between uses. Slovis also recommended using disposable udder wipes to cleanse the mares udder and hindquarters before her baby nurses. A bath before or after foaling might also be in order. He also emphasized proper handwashing for those handling mares and foals. Soap and towels (preferably touchless), along with hand sanitizer, should be within easy reach and installed where they wont be contaminated, which means not just sitting on the counter next to the sink.

His recommendations also include:

Not every case of foal diarrhea is preventable. But faster, more accurate diagnostics reduce guesswork regarding treatment, leading to better outcomes for babies.

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Using Dogs and DNA to Diagnose Diarrhea in Foals The Horse - TheHorse.com

New Clients: Get your pets first exam free. Pet Care Center of Apopka is located at 2807 North Rock springs Road, near Rock Springs Elementary. Pictured above are owners Dr. Kent Greer and wife Annie on their Apopka family farm.

More than 40 years ago Dr. Kent Greer, Hospital Director and founder of Pet Care Center of Apopka, graduated from University of Missouri.

Drawing on the example of his fathers practice, he opened his first veterinary hospital in 1985. Dr. Greer, a second-generation veterinarian, decided to build what was to become a new concept in veterinary hospitals for Central Florida. This facility offered in-house diagnostics with the very first IDEXX blood machines in the United States. Annie came on board as an animal behaviorist, and Annie and Dr. Greer married in 1996.

Dr. Greer is the senior doctor and oversees all aspects of his practice. Having over 40 years of surgical experience, including orthopedics and soft tissue and internal surgeries, hes a certified Veterinary Chiro-practitioner and has a profound interest in alternative medicine as a means to support conventional care. As such, he is one of the leaders in Central Florida of alternative therapies.

The skilled team at Pet Care Center of Apopka work to prevent and treat conditions as well as educate pet parents on all aspects of their pets health. To further extend their care, your pets first exam is free. This free first exam is a great time for them to get to know you and your pet, make preventive recommendations, and/or begin the path towards better health for your pet.

Sometimes, all your pet needs is a good look over with nutritional, behavioral, or exercise advice. Frequently, the staff at Pet Care Center of Apopka is referred to for second opinions. When a patient is experiencing ongoing health problems, they identify the cause and, in turn, make treatment recommendations. Your pet may be due for such things as vaccinations, a comprehensive veterinary examination that addresses the entirety of your pets well-being.

In 2003, Dr. Greer and his wife Annie saw a unique opportunity to expand their services. They created an exceptional, first-class pet resort, which is combined with their advanced medical services. They converted a family residence and added a $1.5-million state-ofthe-art boarding facility that retained the integrity of the beautiful six acres of woodland and grasslands on the property. Then they added a 35 x 24 ft swimming pool especially designed for your pet and their safety.

In these times of Covid, all precautions have been taken. With the space granted, the public is still able to wait inside and have face-to-face conversations with the doctor and staff. There is no waiting in the parking lot in your car. Deep cleaning is a given, and all staff and clients have felt safe. We are essential workers, and you, as clients are also deemed essential according to Orange County edict, stated Annie.

We are seeing an influx of new clients (eligible for a free exam) and many second opinions and certainly the case load of surgeries that are non-elective have increased exponentially.

In todays corporate takeover of veterinary medicine, experienced veterinarians capable of handling cruciate ligament surgeries, soft palate reconstruction and other serious conditions are simply not available, and the specialty practices are very often prohibitively expensive. Dr. Greer is valued for his years of surgical experience, and he is always happy to explain in length the procedure your dog may, or may not, need.

Pet Care Center of Apopka is now on Instagram and Face Book for ease of questions and information. Follow them, but most importantly, visit their website at centralfloridavets.com for the latest offers and information.

Pet Care Center of Apopka and Pet Resort of Apopka are conveniently located at 2807 North Rock Springs Rd, near Rock Springs Elementary. Open for business six days a week! Call 407-884-8924 to make an appointment or to get details regarding your free first time exam.

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Pet Care Center of Apopka is your other family doctor that provides exceptional care from head to tail | - Apopka Chief

NOVI. MICH (WXYZ) MSU Tollgate provides non-formal learning for children, families, and adults, offering the unique opportunity to experience agriculture hands-on in an urban environment.

You and yours are invited to spend time exploring the MSU Tollgate barn and pastures virtually as you investigate veterinary science and animal medicine. You'll get to know an array of animals as you experience the care of our livestock up close and personal.

You can also explore the five freedoms, engage in STEM challenges, and learn about veterinary tools & technology. Interactive real time sessions with MSU Extension Animal Science educators, Tollgate Farm staff, and visiting vets complement investigations and activities. This is the next best thing to being on the farm! A list of upcoming events is posted below.

The cost is $40 first youth participant, $25 additional youth in family. To learn more, visit https://www.canr.msu.edu/tollgate/

MSU Tollgate Farm Summer Stewards Teen Leadership Programs ages 13-19 https://events.anr.msu.edu/tollgatestewardsteenleadershipprogram/ [events.anr.msu.edu]The Tollgate Camp Teen Steward (15-19 yrs) and Tollgate Steward-in-Training (13-14 yrs) positions are for teens interested in gaining experience working with campers in outdoor farm setting. This experience offers teens a chance for stewards to enrich, mentor, and lead campers while gaining valuable leadership and life skills. In a positive educational environment, teens experience the responsibilities associated with potential career paths before entering college.

MSU Tollgate Farm Summer Stewards Sustainability Leadership Institute ages 15-19 https://events.anr.msu.edu/2021MSUTollgateSSLI/ [events.anr.msu.edu]Scheduled for June 14-19, 2021, SSLI is a fun, adventurous six-day training and youth development summit incorporating a mentorship model, a multi-day outdoor wilderness team building adventure, leadership roles, career exploration, and a capstone sustainability action project, all with a focus on educating for sustainability. For those interested in reconnecting with nature and exploring career connections to sustainability, this is the leadership experience for you!

Virtual MSU Tollgate Farm HomeGrown Gardening Series for families and individuals, sponsored by Bordines https://events.anr.msu.edu/msutollgatehomegrowngardening/ [events.anr.msu.edu]February September 2021Are you interested in starting a vegetable garden for the first time or are you an experienced veggie gardener looking to explore new ideas? All levels of experience are welcome at this new series designed to encourage and support home vegetable gardeners! $10 per session for one household, $75 for all eight sessions. Preregistration required.

Second Saturdays, 10 amFeb. 13 - Home Vegetable Gardening 101March 13 - Seed-Starting for EveryoneApril 10 - Vegetable Gardening in Small SpacesMay 8 - Growing Fun with KidsJune 12 - Taking Growing to New HeightsJuly 10 - Season Extension for the Home GardenAug. 14 - Companion PlantingSept. 11 - Veggie Harvest and Storage

Virtual MSU Tollgate Farm Interactive Series for School Teachers and Their Students https://events.anr.msu.edu/TollgateGroupVirtualFarmSeries/ [events.anr.msu.edu]

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Exploring MSU Tollgate virtually is the next best thing to being on the farm - WXYZ

For the more adventurous pet owner, there are many advantages to owning goats, including companionship, land management by grazing, and milk production. While companionship and grazing come naturally to these critters, potential owners interested in collecting dairy from their goats need to take into consideration additional factors to encourage lactation and ensure that their goats milk is safe for consumption.

Dr. Evelyn Mackay, a clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, says that the production capacity of a dairy goat depends on their breed, management, and nutrition.

The most common dairy goat breeds are Nigerian dwarf goats, Alpines, Saanens, Nubians, LaManchas, and Toggenburgs; Nigerian dwarves are significantly smaller than the other breeds and may be preferred by hobby farmers who would like a smaller milk yield.

Since goats will only lactate after giving birth to a kid, the relationship between parent and offspring must also be taken into account. Depending on the goat and management conditions, dairy goats can produce milk for many months after giving birth.

If owners are letting the kids nurse, owners will have a smaller milk yield than if they weaned the kids and only milked the goat, Mackay said. Some full-sized, high-producing goats can produce over two gallons per day at some stages of lactation. A home dairy goat would likely produce less than a gallon per day, especially if she is nursing kids.

Regardless of the goats desired milk yield, Mackay recommends that owners allow for a dry period between milking a goat and it giving birth again.

In order to impregnate a dairy goat, owners may keep their own male goats for breeding or can rent one via a stud service.

Its easier to own a male goat, but they are smelly and sometimes poorly behaved, Mackay said. Some people will borrow or lease a male if they only have a few females to breed. Artificial insemination can be done but is expensive and is more labor- and time-intensive than in other species.

Typically, dairy goats should be milked, fed, and cared for twice daily. After a goat is milked, it is important that owners ensure the goat milk is safe for consumption.

Owners should absolutely pasteurize their milk, she said. Raw milk is not safe for human consumption and can transmit dangerous diseases to people, such as Q Fever, brucellosis, listeriosis, salmonellosis, and many others.

Although the benefits of owning a dairy goat are many, potential owners should be aware of the care requirements to keep their goat healthy and fit for milk production.

They require just as much attention as other livestock, and paying close attention to udder health and overall health of dairy goats is very important, Mackay said. They can get mastitis (inflammation or infection of the breast tissue) and other diseases related to pregnancy and lactation. Owners need to learn appropriate milking hygiene procedures and be prepared to seek veterinary attention for their dairy goats if they become ill.

Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Stories can be viewed on the web at vetmed.tamu.edu/news/pet-talk. Suggestions for future topics may be directed to editor@cvm.tamu.edu.

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Pet talk: Got milk? The ins and outs of dairy goat ownership - Marshall News Messenger

Host of Invited guests government officials and fellow veterinarians at the opening ceremony

On Friday, January 29, 2021, Dominica became the only Caribbean country with a medical school that solely focuses on veterinary studies.

This, according to the President of the St Nicholas University School of Veterinary Studies, Golnaz Naderkhani, MD Ph.D., who spoke during the official opening ceremony at the schools current location on the corner of Hillsborough Street and Kings Lane in Roseau.

Dr. Naderkhani made known that unlike the other medical schools in the region that also provide veterinary medicine education as a side branch, her university is 100% percent focused and dedicated to providing training in that discipline.

St Nicholas university is the first and only academic institution of its kind in the Caribbean, she stated. We are an academic institution committed to providing quality education training.

She said the pillars of her university are quality education, student center training, accessibility and affordability, sustainability, being at the heart of the community, personal learning experience, heritage and tradition, and character and morality.

The Canadian doctor who moved to Dominica following the passage of Hurricane Maria, informed the audience that very soon, Dominica will be the first to boast of having a specialized veterinary hospital capable of providing world-class care, equipped with a radiologist, pathologist, internist, orthopedic surgeon, oncologist, as well as an agro medicine and critical care specialist.

Due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic, she explained that students from high-risk countries such as the United States, Canada, and other Caribbean islands were not allowed to begin this semester, but will join in September of this year. Therefore, only ten students -all females- will be part of the very first class of students on February 1.

Dr. Naderkhani emphasized that once the international students are allowed into the university, this will result in new opportunities for many Dominicans.

Minister of Education and Human Resource Development, Hon. Octavia Alfred, who also spoke at the opening ceremony, stated that the opening of the medical school is an important milestone for all stakeholders and this must be celebrated.

For the government and people of Dominica, this presents an avenue to assist our young people who may be seeking advancement in this field to acquire a degree at home while opening up new opportunities for economic activities due to the presence of the university here, she stated.

Alfred stressed that the success or failure of the school will hold important implications for the Government, and pledged their commitment to providing support to growing the institutions reputation so that it may attract a cadre of young professionals eager to increase their skills and knowledge through the acquisition of a sound education in Dominica.

According to her, We need more veterinarians here who can play an essential role in promoting animal welfare.

Adding his voice to the commendations, Former Chief Veterinary Officer Dr. Reginald Thomas noted that there will no longer be a need to import veterinarians into the country from other parts of the world.

He said that the journey to realizing the establishment of the university in Dominica, has not been an easy one and he thanked the President for her steadfastness in achieving this dream and for choosing Dominica.

Continued here:
Dominica opens first university in the region to offer only veterinary studies - Dominica News Online

The use of cannabidiol (CBD), the major non-psychoactive compound in cannabis, is on the rise across the United States. Pregnant women in particular may view CBD as more natural than other remedies for concerns such as nausea and pain, but the consequences of use for the developing fetus are unknown.

In a new study published in the journal Clinical Epigenetics, researchers at the University of Minnesota used a rodent model to investigate the impact of CBD during development and uncovered effects on the brain and behavior. They found that CBD use during pregnancy may affect mood and cognition in offspring long after the exposure has ceased. The study is the first to examine the effects of maternal CBD exposure during pregnancy on adult offspring in mammals.

The research team, made up of scientists at the University of Minnesotas Department of Animal Science and College of Veterinary Medicine, began by using a human-relevant dose that is typical in adults purchasing CBD over the counter for a variety of ailments. Next, the team treated pregnant mice daily throughout pregnancy and lactation until the pups were weaned. The offspring were followed into adulthood without any additional CBD, at which time they were measured for persistent behavioral and molecular impacts of CBD.

Specifically, the team of scientists investigated rodent behavior and DNA methylation, an important mechanism known as an epigenetic mark in both rodents and humans that helps control the when, where, and how much of gene activity. CBDs effects on gene activity markers were examined in two brain regions important for memory, mood, and cognition.

Among the studys key findings:

Chronic maternal CBD treatment increased anxiety and improved memory performance in adult female offspring, while males were unaffected.

The effects of CBD during pregnancy persisted even though the offspring had no direct exposure as adults.

Maternal CBD treatment shifted gene regulatory marks (DNA methylation) at hundreds of genes in the brains of adult female offspring.

Genes affected by CBD were involved in the formation of new neurons and synapses, communication between neurons, and diseases like autism spectrum disorder, epilepsy and substance use disorder.

CBD use has exploded in recent years, yet we still dont have a clear picture of its impact on the brain, especially during development, said study director Christopher Faulk, an assistant professor in the College of Food, Agricultural and Natural Resource Sciences. We show here that use during pregnancy can permanently impact the resulting offspring in adulthood and potentially for the rest of their lives.

The effects we observed on memory and anxiety were in 12-week-old mouse offspring, a time that approximates human young adulthood, and is cause for concern, said study co-author and project lead Nicole Wanner, a post-doctoral fellow in the College of Veterinary Medicine. DNA methylation marks in the brain are largely set during fetal development, and the presence of CBD during that process appears to direct certain permanent changes. We were surprised at the extent that CBD linked gene pathways were associated with neurological disorders, and expect future work will be needed to understand how fetal exposure to CBD impacts long-term brain function and mental health.

According to Faulk and Wanner, gaining more insight into how CBD affects the developing brain will be important for future safety recommendations.

The researchers are continuing to draw the epigenetic map of gestational CBD exposure and its impact on youth and adults. In the future, they hope to expand behavioral studies to include measures of sociability and drug reward, which are important for diseases like autism spectrum disorder and substance use disorder, respectively. They also plan to repeat these measurements in adolescent offspring in order to determine whether abnormalities are already present at an earlier age or whether they develop later.

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Study: CBD use during pregnancy affects the brain, behavior in adulthood - Southernminn.com

With a Covid-19 vaccine use authorization from U.S. drug regulators imminent, CNBC's Jim Cramer said Friday the time is ripe to take on some risk in the market.

"If you want to speculate, this is the time to do it, just speculate wisely," the "Mad Money" host said. "You've got my blessing to buy stocks into weakness as we move closer to the long-awaited vaccine, even if the much-needed stimulus bill is still up in the air."

The comments come after another mixed trading session on the stock market, closing a week when all the major averages posted declines and the Russell 2000 rose higher for the sixth straight week. The Dow Jones inched up 0.16% to 30,046.37. The S&P 500 slipped 0.13%, its third down day, to 3,663.46, and the Nasdaq Composite slid 0.23% to 12,377.87.

The day was marked by volatility as some investors traded on vaccine hopes, while others traded on uncertainty of ever-rising daily coronavirus cases and the stimulus bill standoff in Congress, Cramer said.

The Food and Drug Administration is expected to soon authorize the vaccine from Pfizer and BioNTech.

"The market's ratcheted back its expectations, so if we do actually get a stimulus compromise next week, stocks could come roaring back," Cramer said.

Cramer gave viewers a look at the earnings reports he has circled on his calendar in the week ahead. All projections are based on FactSet estimates:

AbbVie

"If AbbVie can present some good numbers for its newer drugs that could replace Humira, that will take the pressure off that drug and the company, and I think the stock could soar," Cramer said.

Elanco Animal Health

"This is a veterinary medicine play, and if CEO Jeff Simmons has anything newsworthy, the stock could play catch-up," Cramer said.

Lennar

Herman Miller

"We know Toll Brothers reported a very good quarter this week, and its stock just got crushed," Cramer said. "So unless Lennar and Herman Miller sell off hard going into their results, I suggest you take a pass. You're going to hear too much chatter about how these are the last good quarters or maybe the penultimate good quarters. I think that's wrong."

Accenture

"We start with Accenture, the information technology outsource consultant with a stock that tends to get hit on earnings," Cramer said. "Time after time, that's been a terrific entry point."

General Mills

"The market sure didn't like the numbers from Campbell Soup, but I bet General Mills will be better received," he said. "Watch their pet food business ... We know that category is on fire."

Rite Aid

FedEx

"We know that RAD (Rite Aid) will be one of the main distributors of the vaccine, along with CVS and Walgreens. We also know that FedEx will be shipping this thing all over the place. However, it's not much of a needle mover," he said. "That's bad news for Rite Aid, because they're being beaten by CVS and Walgreens ... but it's good news for FedEx, with its thriving e-commerce business."

Jabil

"People will try to extrapolate the success of the iPhone 12 from [supplier] Jabil, but it's a torturous affair because they're not allowed to mention the word Apple by name," Cramer said. "Still, the analysts will figure it out, and they're going to update their [Apple] forecasts on Friday."

Darden Restaurants

"I expect them to say good things, but it might not matter at this point, especially since the stock's already run a great deal from when they slashed the dividend," Cramer said.

Nike

"Nike should report a fabulous number because all of its physical store markets are coming back and its direct-to-consumer business is on fire," he said. "I would be shocked if Nike doesn't crush the estimates."

Disclaimer

Disclosure: Cramer's charitable trust owns shares of AbbVie, Nike, CVS and Apple.

Questions for Cramer?Call Cramer: 1-800-743-CNBC

Want to take a deep dive into Cramer's world? Hit him up!Mad Money Twitter - Jim Cramer Twitter - Facebook - Instagram

Questions, comments, suggestions for the "Mad Money" website? madcap@cnbc.com

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Cramer's week ahead: This is the time to speculate - CNBC

The Southern Pines Town Council unanimously approved a $1.6 million deal to acquire the 157-acre Whitehall Tract during a special called meeting Thursday.

Located on Pee Dee Road, the mostly undeveloped land abuts the towns existing Reservoir Park and nearly doubles the size of this popular recreation destination.

An initial down payment of $250,000 is due next week with closing scheduled on Tuesday, Dec. 15. Two additional payments totaling $575,000 will be paid next year, with a final balloon payment of $822,300 due in spring 2022.

Approximately one-third of the property, which is also known as the Drexel Land, is under a conservation easement and there is an existing 2-mile public walking trail on the tract.

Former property owner Barbara Sherman, a retired veterinarian and professor of North Carolina State Universitys College of Veterinary Medicine, initially approached the town several years ago about the potential land deal. Her goal was to see the open space, biodiversity and natural beauty of the property preserved and protected from future development.

Check out next Wednesdays edition of The Pilot to learn more about the history of Whitehall and how its owners, past and present, have worked to protect this treasured property.

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Southern Pines Adds 175-Acre Site to its Parks & Recreation Facilities - Southern Pines Pilot

In dogs, unlike humans, osteoarthritis actually tends to start at a young age. In cats, osteoarthritis is exceedingly common. Yet, the disease often goes undiagnosed and untreated in pets.

A diagnosis of osteoarthritis in a pet can be unwelcome to the veterinarian as well as the pet owner because the disease is painful and progressive, but experts say earlier diagnosis and treatment are pivotal to managing both the pain and the progression of the disease.

At the AVMA Virtual Convention 2020 in August, professors from two veterinary colleges gave talks about treating canine osteoarthritis effectivelyincluding by using a new staging tooland integrating new types of treatments for pets with osteoarthritis. At the American Association of Feline Practitioners virtual conference in October 2020, the owner of a feline-only practice discussed how to manage feline osteoarthritis cases.

Dr. B. Duncan X. Lascelles, professor of surgery and pain management at North Carolina State University College of Veterinary Medicine, spoke at the AVMA Virtual Convention 2020 on When and How, Treating Canine OA Effectively.

In humans, Dr. Lascelles said, osteoarthritis is an older persons disease. People erroneously superimpose that fact on dogs, but osteoarthritis in dogs mostly results from developmental problems. He said, Osteoarthritis is a young dogs disease.

Then, when does osteoarthritis pain actually start in dogs? Dr. Lascelles said pain starts in younger dogs, but they adapt their posture to continue daily living activities. The pain has deleterious effects such as musculoskeletal deterioration, central sensitization, and cognitive and affective decline. All of these result in increased resistance to treatment.

We dont want to make a diagnosis of OA in young dogs. We see OA as an incurable lifelong disease, and we dont want to have what we think is a depressing conversation about this with owners of younger dogs, Dr. Lascelles said. Actually, I think that we should have that conversation with owners but turn it around and make it more optimistic. Im glad we made this diagnosis because now we have the opportunity to improve your dogs future.

Dr. Lascelles was part of the group that developed the new Canine OsteoArthritis Staging Tool. COAST is available from Elanco at jav.ma/coast or by calling 888-545-5973.

The first step of COAST is to grade the dog through owner assessments, via a clinical metrology instrument and owner observation of the dogs discomfort, and through a veterinarians evaluation of the dogs static posture and motion. The second step of COAST is for the veterinarian to grade the problematic joint on the basis of severity of signs of pain during manipulation, passive range of movement, and radiographic appearance.

The last step of COAST is to assign a numerical stage ranging from 0-4. Stage 0 is clinically normal with no risk factors for osteoarthritis, stage 1 is clinically normal with risk factors for osteoarthritis, stage 2 is mild osteoarthritis, stage 3 is moderate osteoarthritis, and stage 4 is severe osteoarthritis.

Dr. Lascelles said the four pillars of treatment for osteoarthritis in dogs are an effective analgesic such as a nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drug, weight optimization, diet optimization, and exercise. The treatments are interdependent. An effective analgesic decreases pain, which allows for an increase in exercise. Exercise contributes to weight management, and exercise and weight management together decrease pain. Finally, a decrease in pain allows for a decrease in the analgesic requirement.

Dr. Lascelles shared his basic six-month approach to all patients with osteoarthritis pain. For three months, he prescribes an analgesic, a gradual increase in exercise, omega-3 fatty acids in a supplement or special diet, and reduction of food by a third with the addition of green beans, broccoli, or carrots. For the next three months, he reduces the dose or frequency of the analgesic, maintains exercise and diet, and further optimizes or maintains weight.

Dr. Bryan T. Torres, an assistant professor of small animal orthopedic surgery at the University of Missouri College of Veterinary Medicine, spoke at the AVMA Virtual Convention 2020 on Osteoarthritis Management: Integrating New & Emerging Therapies Into Your Current Treatment Plans, during the New Therapeutic Approaches to Chronic Care Symposium.

Dr. Torres considers the fundamentals of osteoarthritis management to be weight management, exercise modification, dietary management, drugs, and surgery. He said surgical options are always available but should be most strongly considered when medical management alone has reached its limits.

One of the emerging areas of osteoarthritis management is monoclonal antibodybased agents that are being developedbut that are not yet commercially availableto target cellular components that affect osteoarthritis pain and inflammation, such as cytokines, chemokines, and neurotrophins. Studies have found that monoclonal antibodies targeting nerve growth factor, a neurotrophic factor, reduce pain in humans, dogs, and cats with osteoarthritis.

Intra-articular treatments historically have included corticosteroids and hyaluronic acid, but other intra-articular treatments currently available include platelet-rich plasma and stem cells. There is some evidence that the latter two can be effective in animals with osteoarthritis, but most studies are of small populations with variability in treatments, joints affected, and disease severity.

Another currently available intra-articular treatment is radiosynovectomy, or the use of radioactive agents to reduce inflammation and chondromalacia in patients with osteoarthritis. Unfortunately, Dr. Torres said, there are no peer-reviewed studies available yet.

Cannabinoids also have potential for treating osteoarthritis in animals. Receptors for cannabinoids are present throughout joints, and the human literature has data supporting use of cannabinoids for pain. The evidence to support the efficacy of cannibidiol is currently limited but growing in veterinary medicine.

Integrating new therapies can be challenging, Dr. Torres said. Just dealing with patients with this common condition can seem challenging. It can seem overwhelming because we have so many options out there, but thats good, as long as we have a grasp of what to do and how to do it.

And I think the keys to remember are that in most cases, were going to start with these foundational therapies, right? Weight management, exercise modification, dietary management, drug therapy, surgical therapy. These are going to work in most of the animals, and this is the way to start.

Dr. Elizabeth Colleran, owner of Chico Hospital for Cats in Chico, California, spoke at the 2020 AAFP virtual conference about Pouncing on Pain: Managing Feline Osteoarthritis Cases.

Dr. Colleran described cats as solitary hunters that have limited social communication and are deliberately inscrutable. They manifest pain through reductions in play, grooming, socializing, and appetite and increases in hiding and sleeping. Dr. Colleran cited a study led by Dr. Lascelles that found 91% of cats between 6 months old and 20 years old have radiographic evidence of osteoarthritis in at least one joint.

To evaluate pain in cats with osteoarthritis, Dr. Colleran uses the Feline Musculoskeletal Pain Index out of North Carolina State University. She said the FMPI is an evaluation of common behaviors and activities that take place in the household and that dont really take place in the examination room. Cat owners also can use a smartphone to record cats at home in slow motion to allow a veterinarian to evaluate gait, play, and jumping.

When cat owners are resistant to the idea of osteoarthritis pain in their cat, Dr. Colleran often will put the cat on an anti-inflammatory medication such as robenacoxib or meloxicam or an analgesic such as buprenorphine and ask the owners to report back in a few days.

Recently, Dr. Colleran could tell that a cat had osteoarthritis just by touching his back, but she couldnt convince the owner. So she put the cat on robenacoxib for three days, and the owner called back to say he hadnt seen what was happening. She said, He was so aghast at the fact that he had missed really significant osteoarthritis pain and was convinced not by my explanation in the exam room but by the experience he had of the change in behavior at home.

Dr. Colleran said the components of a treatment plan for osteoarthritis in cats can include weight loss, pharmaceuticals, environmental enrichment or modification, and a special diet or omega-3 supplements.

Usually, when we have some acute pain, well start with opioids, add in some NSAIDs, and then start thinking about ways in which we can change the experience that the cat is having and improve quality of life, Dr. Colleran said. But in all of these, you need to prioritize the ones that are working for this cat and this client at this time.

See more here:
Getting ahead of osteoarthritis in pets - American Veterinary Medical Association

Event

Virtual meeting, Oct. 15, 2020

AAFSPHV Veterinarian of the YearThis award, given each year in recognition of a veterinarians outstanding accomplishments in the fields of veterinary food safety and public health, was dedicated to veterinarians across the globe in recognition of their extraordinary work to protect and preserve public health before, during, and after the COVID-19 pandemic. During the pandemic, veterinarians are playing a vital role in numerous ways, such as conducting collaborative research to better understand SARS-CoV-2 and developing potential mitigation tools; supporting the diagnostic capacity of human health services by performing high-throughput testing of human COVID-19 samples; donating personal protective equipment and ventilators; developing effective public health interventions and assisting with the tracking and surveillance of human and animal disease; continuing to ensure the safety of our food supply while working to identify solutions and respond to the impacts the pandemic has had on our food production systems; and offering essential care to both companion and food animals while implementing appropriate precautions to protect the health of patients, clients, and veterinary staff members.

The AAFSPHV provided members with an update on the organizations history, membership, continuing education plans, student outreach program, strategic planning, and a new collaborative partnership with the National Association of Federal Veterinarians, United States Animal Health Association, and American College of Veterinary Preventive Medicine.

Drs. Donna DeBonis, Oak Harbor, Washington, president; Angela Demaree, Indianapolis, president-elect; Catherine Alexander, Fort Collins, Colorado, recording secretary; Kelly Vest, Blackwell, Oklahoma, treasurer; Jennifer Koeman, Seattle, immediate past president; Katherine Waters, Denver, executive vice president and AVMA alternate delegate; Kristen Obbink, Ames, Iowa, AVMA delegate; and directorsDrs. Roger Murphy, Raleigh, North Carolina; Van H. Brass II, Phoenix; Renee Funk, Atlanta; Mike Gilsdorf, Sykesville, Maryland; Kristen Obbink, Ames, Iowa; and Pamela Abney, Millsboro, Delaware

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American Association of Food Safety and Public Health Veterinarians - American Veterinary Medical Association

Friday, December 11, 2020

A new approach to cancer immunotherapy has the potential to be a universal treatment for solid tumors, according to researchers at Purdue University, including a Distinguished Professor in Purdue Veterinary Medicines Department of Comparative Pathobiology. The research was led by Dr. Philip Low, Purdues Presidential Scholar for Drug Discovery and Ralph C. Corley Distinguished Professor of Chemistry, and Dr. Timothy Ratliff, Distinguished Professor of Comparative Pathobiology and the Robert Wallace Miller Director of the Purdue University Center for Cancer Research.

The two scientists collaborated to develop and test the new treatment that works not by attacking the cancer cells themselves, but by focusing on immune system cells that, ironically, feed the tumor and block other immune system cells from destroying it. The first details of the approach were published recently in the journal Cancer Research.

Dr. Low said the treatment is totally unique and has been shown to work in six different tumor types. So far, the treatment has been tested in human tumor cells in the laboratory and in human tumors in animal models. The approach targets immune cells that, in cancerous tumors, stop the bodys own defenses from killing the tumor.We can reprogram the immune cells within the tumor to help kill the tumor instead of allowing these cells to help the tumor grow, Dr. Low said.

In this technique, an anti-cancer drug that would normally be too toxic for human use is linked to folate, which is a type of vitamin B. Almost no normal cells have a receptor for the folate, so it passes on through the body, but certain cancer-associated immune cells do.

We use the vitamin folate to target attached drugs specifically to these nonmalignant cells within a tumor mass that, unfortunately, promote tumor growth. These tumor-associated macrophages love folate, Dr. Low said. They have an enormous appetite for it. They take it up right away, and if they dont, the compound passes in the urine within about 30 minutes. So, we re using folate as a kind of Trojan horse to trick the tumor-promoting immune cells into eating a drug that will reprogram them into tumor-fighting immune cells.

Dr. Ratliff explained that this treatment may prove to be more universally effective than current cancer immunotherapies. There are therapeutic antibodies that are used on some types of cancer. And many people have heard of checkpoint immunotherapies, which block certain parts of the immune response, Dr. Ratliff said. When I talk to groups, I always point out that former President Jimmy Carter had metastatic brain cancer, and he went through immunotherapy, and it eliminated the cancer for him.

But the problem is, Dr. Ratliff continued, that only about 20 percent of the patients actually respond. So, we need to take a different approach to modulating the immune response. Dr. Ratliff said the folate-targeted approach is exciting because it is the first research project that has found a way to target the cells that boost tumor growth in the tumor environment.

These are cells that are important to the tumors, but they arent the tumor cells themselves, Dr. Ratliff said. By targeting these myeloid cells within the tumor, we have a universal process because these cells are present in all of the solid tumors.

Dr. Low said the new immunotherapy treatment could be available to patients within a decade.On average, this usually takes ten years, but we have a small team and were aggressive. So, I think theres a reasonable chance this could make it to the public within seven years or something like that, he said. It would probably cost a couple hundred million dollars, at the very least, to develop and test this drug.

So its not going to be cheap, and its not going to be easy. But this drug has enormous potential to save many lives. So, we will do our best.

Click here to view a complete news release about the research.

Writer(s): Steve Tally, Purdue News Service | pvmnews@purdue.edu

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New Cancer Immunotherapy Shows Promise in Early Research Co-led by CPB Distinguished Professor - Purdue Veterinary News

Databridgemarketresearch.com added a new study on Veterinary Medicine Market Research Review 2020 that has been just made available providing an extensive knowledge and perceptions of the industry. A credible Veterinary Medicine Market report has been prepared with the detailed market analysis that is performed by a team of industry experts, skilful analysts, dynamic forecasters and knowledgeable researchers. This report is the best source to accomplish unparalleled insights and acquaintance of the best market opportunities into the relevant markets. The market study of the large scale Veterinary Medicine Market report evaluates the market status, market share, growth rate, future trends, market drivers, opportunities and challenges, risks and entry barriers, sales channels, and distributors. Additionally, businesses can achieve great benefits with this information to come to a decision on their production and marketing strategies.

Veterinary Medicine Market research report enlists the chief competitors and presents the strategic insights and analysis of the key factors influencing the industry. This market report guesstimates the growth rate and the market value based on market dynamics and growth inducing factors. The major areas of this report comprises of market definition, market segmentation, competitive analysis and research methodology. Moreover, as it is important for the businesses to acquire knowhow of consumers demands, preferences, attitudes and their changing tastes about the specific product, this market report bestows with all of this. Veterinary Medicine Market report best suits the requirements of the client.

Veterinary medicine marketis expected to reach a market value of USD 45.6 billion by 2027 whilegrowat a potential rate of 7.15% in the forecast period of 2020 to 2027. Growing number of pet adoption will help in the growth of theveterinarymedicine market.

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Major players

The major players covered in the veterinary medicine market report are Merck & Co., Inc., Ceva, Vetoquinol S.A., Zoetis, BoehringerIngelheim International GmbH, Bayer AG, Elanco.,Nutreco N.V.,Virbac., Kindred Biosciences, Inc., BiogenesisBago, infocusrx., NEOGEN CORPORATION, Hester Biosciences Limited., Cargill, Incorporated., ADM Animal Nutrition,among other domestic and global players. Bone anchored hearing systems market share data is available for global, North America, South America, Europe, Asia-Pacific (APAC) and Middle East and Africa (MEA)separately. DBMR analysts understand competitive strengths and provide competitive analysis for each competitor separately.

Patient Epidemiology Analysis

Veterinary medicine market also provides you with detailed Customization Available: Global Veterinary Medicine Market

market analysis for patient analysis, prognosis and cures. Prevalence, incidence, mortality, adherence rates are some of the data variables that are available in the report. Direct or indirect impact analysis of epidemiology to market growth are analysed to create a more robust and cohort multivariate statistical model for forecasting the market in the growth period.

Increasing prevalence of veterinary professionals, growing demand of pet insurance, increasing initiatives by the government as well as private regarding animal health, rising consumption of meat and mandatory vaccinations, growinglivestockpopulation as well as pet ownership rates will likely to enhance the growth of the veterinary medicine market in the forecast period of 2020-2027. On the other hand, increasing research and development for procedural advancement will further boost various opportunities that will lead to the growth of the veterinary medicine market in the above mentioned forecast period.

Rising number of counterfeit drugs, rising occurrences of various infections will likely to hinder the growth of the veterinary medicine market in the mentioned forecast period.

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Global Veterinary Medicine Market Scope and Market Size

Veterinary medicine market is segmented on the basis ofproduct, animal type, mode of delivery and end-use. The growth among segments helps you analyse niche pockets of growth and strategies to approach the market and determine your core application areas and the difference in your target markets.

Veterinary Medicine Market Country Level Analysis

Veterinary medicine market is analysed and market size information is provided by country by product, animal type, mode of delivery and end use as referenced above.

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North America dominates the veterinary medicine market due to prevalence of favourable government policies along with rising initiatives to improve animal health while the Asia-Pacific region is expected to grow at the highest growth rate in the forecast period of 2020 to 2027 because of expansion of manufacturing facilities and vaccination for livestock animals.

The country section of the report also provides individual market impacting factors and changes in regulation in the market domestically that impacts the current and future trends of the market. Data points such as new sales, replacement sales, country demographics, disease epidemiology and import-export tariffs are some of the major pointers used to forecast the market scenario for individual countries. Also, presence and availability of global brands and their challenges faced due to large or scarce competition from local and domestic brands, impact of sales channels are considered while providing forecast analysis of the country data.

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Veterinary Medicine Market Analysis 2020 With COVID 19 Impact Analysis| Leading Players In-depth Analysis Research Report Foresight to 2027 -...

It is career number 130 and will last eight semesters, in which 449 credits are covered, divided into 58 subjects - 53 compulsory and 5 electives - plus one year of social service.

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December9, 20203 min read

The University Council of UNAM approved the creation of a degree in Human Nutrition Science, which will be offered at the Faculty of Medicine in Ciudad Universitaria. The faculties of Veterinary Medicine and Zootechnics, Psychology and Chemistry are participants. Among the advisory entities we can find the Obesity and Eating Disorders Clinic of the National Institute of Medical Sciences and Nutrition "Salvador Zubirn" and the Child Obesity Clinic of the General Hospital of Mexico "Dr. Eduardo Liceaga .

With this career offered in the highest house of studies, 130 in total would be added. The purpose of the Bachelor of Science in Human Nutrition is to train competent professionals, capable of integrating and applying scientific, clinical and social knowledge, based on clinical - nutritional - community diagnoses through the assessment of nutritional status, surveillance food - food guidance and education that helps solve problems facing the country in health matters.

The initial quota will be 30 students and admission is indirect, so applicants must be accepted in any of the careers in the area of Biological, Chemical and Health Sciences taught by the National Autonomous University of Mexico, then they will participate in an internal selection process.

According to the creation project, the new degree covers the strategic programs of the Institutional Development Plan 2015 - 2019, linked to the study plans, comprehensive research and development and participation of university students and the highest house of studies. All of the above for national progress and with the commitment that the Faculty of Medicine has with the country in health.

The document states, The Science of Human Nutrition must be the basis of food and nutrition policies. These must be designed to identify, create, conserve and protect community, national and global, rational, sustainable and equitable food systems, in order to sustain the health, well-being and integrity of humanity .

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The Faculty of Medicine of the UNAM will teach the Bachelor's Degree in Human Nutrition Science - Entrepreneur

The new research report titles Global Veterinary Medicine market Report 2020 by Key Players, Types, Applications, Countries, Market Size, Forecast to 2026 that studies all the vital factors related to the Global Veterinary Medicine market that are crucial for the growth and development of businesses in the given market parameters. The report highlights the important elements related to the market such as the market size, share, company profiles, profitability, opportunities and threats, technological advancements, key market players, regional segmentation, and many more important elements related to the Global Veterinary Medicine market.

The recent Veterinary Medicine market report contains a detailed analysis of this business domain in accordance to the primary growth catalysts, opportunities, and limitations shaping the industry dynamics. An economy-wide database of the regional markets along with the leading organizations that occupy them is outlined in the document. Furthermore, it studies the impact of COVID-19 pandemic on the growth matrix of this vertical and draws attention to the popular tactics adopted by major players to adapt to the uncertainties in the industry.

Major highlights from COVID-19 impact analysis:

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An overview of the regional analysis:

Additional highlights from the Veterinary Medicine market report:

Some of the key questions answered in this report:

What will the Veterinary Medicine market growth rate, growth momentum or acceleration market carries during the forecast period?

What was the size of the emerging Veterinary Medicine market by value in 2020?

What will be the size of the emerging Veterinary Medicine market in 2026?

Which are the key factors driving the Veterinary Medicine market?

Which region is expected to hold the highest market share in the Veterinary Medicine market?

What trends, challenges and barriers will impact the development and sizing of the Global Veterinary Medicine market?

What are the Veterinary Medicine market opportunities and threats faced by the vendors in the global Veterinary Medicine Industry?

What are sales volume, revenue, and price analysis of top manufacturers of Veterinary Medicine market?

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Veterinary Medicine Industry Growth Forecast Analysis Manufacturers, Regions, T - News by aeresearch

The eye ailment is especially frequent in certain breeds like the cocker spaniel and Pekinese.

Spotting a red bump in the corner of a pets eye is a concerning but not uncommon experience for many dog owners. Colloquially called cherry eye, this bump may be a prolapsed gland of the nictitans, also known as the third eyelid.

Dr. Sean Collins, a clinical assistant professor at the Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, says that ophthalmologists dont entirely understand why the gland of the nictating membrane sometimes protrudes from its original position, but it is believed to be a result of a weakness in the connective tissue responsible for holding the gland in the correct position.

This condition can happen to any breed of dog but is seen most commonly in certain breeds, including the American cocker spaniel, English bulldog, Lhasa apso, and the Pekinese, Collins said.

Pet owners who spot a red swollen mass in the inner corner of their pets eye, large or small, should bring it to their veterinarians attention promptly. In addition to causing irritation to the dog, this condition can have lasting consequences when left untreated.

Without correction, chronic prolapse can lead to conjunctivitis (pink eye) and ocular discharge (liquid coming from the eye), Collins said. It has also been shown that with correction, dogs are less likely to develop low tear production later in life.

Low tear production can result in multiple problems if left untreated. In addition to pain and decreased vision, corneal ulceration may also develop, which can become infected and result in a ruptured eye. This condition responds well to tear stimulant therapy in most cases, but lifelong medication is usually required.

Your veterinarian will be able to confirm whether your pet has cherry eye and can develop a treatment plan that works best to resolve the issue and reduce the potential for ocular issues as your dog ages.

Initial therapy may consist of topical anti-inflammatory therapy if local inflammation may be contributing to prolapse of the gland, he said.If a short course of medical therapy does not work or re-prolapse develops, surgical repositioning is indicated. There are numerous surgical techniques to reposition the gland with overall high success rates.

If surgical treatment is required, Collins stresses that this treatment will benefit your pet in both the short- and long-term.

Surgical repositioning is very important if initial medical therapy fails, as the gland is responsible for about 30-50% of the aqueous tear production in the dog, he said. We commonly see low tear production in the same breeds that develop a prolapsed gland of the nictitans. It has been shown that dogs with surgical repositioning of the gland have a lower chance of developing low tear production later on in life compared to those where the gland has been excised or remains chronically prolapsed.

Unfortunately, there are no known preventative measures to protect against cherry eye, Collins said. This condition can develop in both eyes, usually before the age of two. The best way owners can protect their furry friend is to remain vigilant in monitoring their pets health and to bring concerns to their veterinarian promptly in case an issue does arise.

Pet Talk is a service of the College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences, Texas A&M University. Stories can be found on thePet Talk website. Suggestions for future topics may be directed toeditor@cvm.tamu.edu.

By Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences Staff

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Pet Talk: What To Know About Cherry Eye In Dogs | FCT News - Freestonecountytimesonline