Notebook: December 2022
News briefs from across the industry and beyond. This month’s articles include: Decoding Canine Cognition; Decline in Spay-Neuter Surgeries During the Pandemic; Early Diagnosis of FIP; and more!
Decoding Canine Cognition
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Scientists at Emory University used functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and machine-learning technology to
decode a dog’s brain activity patterns in order to reconstruct what the dog sees. The technique, used to investigate human
perception, has been applied to only a handful of other species. The Journal of Visualized Experiments published the study that suggests that dogs are more attuned to actions than to who or what is performing the actions.
“We showed that we can monitor the activity in a dog’s brain while it is watching a video and, to at least a limited degree, reconstruct what it is looking at,” said Gregory Berns, Emory professor of psychology and corresponding author of the paper.
Two awake, unrestrained dogs watched 90 minutes of video (in three 30-minute sessions) inside an fMRI scanner while researchers recorded the dogs’ neural data. The researchers then analyzed the patterns in the neural data with a machine-learning algorithm. “While our work is based on just two dogs, it offers proof of concept that these methods work on canines,” said Erin Phillips, first author of the paper and a research specialist in Berns’ Canine Cognitive Neuroscience Lab.
Challenged to create a video that would capture a dog’s attention, the Emory research team shot footage from a dog’s perspective and created scenes related to dogs’ lives: activities with people such as being petted and receiving treats, sniffing, playing, eating, or walking on a leash. They also showed other activities such as cars, bikes, or scooters on a road; a cat walking in a house; a deer crossing a path; and people sitting, hugging, kissing, or eating.
“Dogs appear to be less concerned with who or what they are seeing and more concerned with the action itself,” said Berns.
UC Davis Launches Clinical Trials to Treat Coronavirus Disease in Cats
Scientists from the University of California-Davis School of Veterinary Medicine have launched clinical trials focused on improving treatments for feline infectious peritonitis, or FIP, and are currently enrolling patients at the UC Davis veterinary hospital.
One trial will compare whether cats improve when treated with one of two closely related antiviral drugs. The first drug, remdesivir, is an antiviral drug with emergency use authorization from the Food and Drug Administration to treat COVID-19. If fully licensed, veterinarians could prescribe it to affected cats in the future. The second drug, GS-441524, is closely related to remdesivir.
The other trial, funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Development, will examine if antiviral drugs combined with a new stem cell therapy using mesenchymal stem cells, or MSCs, improve response to treatment for FIP.
The school reports that the trial could help humans as well. It is part of a larger study looking into new treatments for multisystem inflammatory syndrome in children, or MIS-C, a condition that causes organs and other body parts to become inflamed.
QUOTE OF THE MONTH
“Making the lives of others better, doing something of lasting value. That’s the meaning of life; it’s that simple.”
—Temple Grandin
Effects of a Decline in Spay-Neuter Surgeries During the COVID-19 Pandemic
A team of researchers from the University of Florida investigated the impact of a decline in the number of surgical procedures performed by spay-neuter clinics due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the overpopulation control of dogs and cats. Their study, published in Frontiers of Veterinary Science, is based on data from 212 clinics that focus on spay-neuter and preventive healthcare services. Using 2019 as a baseline, researchers found that from January 2020 through December 2021, 190,818 fewer surgeries than expected were performed at the clinics.
Lead author Simone Guerios, DVM, PhD, a clinical assistant professor of shelter medicine at the University of Florida, put the decline in perspective. “The high level of spay-neuter achieved over the past five decades is the single most important driver of reduced pet overpopulation and euthanasia in animal shelters. The rise in subsidized spay-neuter access [reduced] the euthanasia of shelter pets in the United States from an estimated 13.5 million in 1973 to 1.5 million in 2019.”
Sharp declines in spay-neuter surgeries after the initial pandemic lockdown is just one of the impacts of COVID-19. The nationwide shortage of veterinarians is especially acute in shelters and spay-neuter clinics. Other impacts include staffing shortages, overcrowding, and lagging pet adoption rates.
“Currently, shelters are in crisis mode,” Guerios said.
Genetic Discovery Could Lead to Better Treatments for Canine Soft Tissue Sarcoma
Every year, as many as 95,000 dogs in the United States are diagnosed with canine soft tissue sarcoma, and 20% to 30% die from the disease. There are several subtypes of sarcomas, however, and because they present similar characteristics and are difficult to diagnose, they are treated similarly and often unsuccessfully.
Recently, a team of researchers and veterinarians at Washington State University examined the genetic makeup of the three most common subtypes of the tumor and identified several therapeutic targets that might form the basis of new treatments. A study detailing their findings was published in the journal PLoS One.
“The different subtypes of soft tissue sarcomas can look so similar even trained pathologists have trouble distinguishing one from another. Yet it turns out they are not all the same—they are a very diverse group of cancers,” said Eric Shelden, an associate professor in Washington State University’s School of Molecular Biosciences and the study’s corresponding author.
The Washington State University study was the first to examine gene expression patterns in canine soft tissue sarcomas using RNA sequence analysis of tumor samples to differentiate between the tumors, understand the biology that drives their behavior, and identify candidates for drug therapies.
“We looked at thousands of genes and their expression patterns at once, and then we tried to unravel computationally whether there are differences between the different tumor types, and there are,” Shelden said. “While it will probably take some years before the effect of this study is actually felt in a clinical setting, the hope is that this will make people realize that you shouldn’t just treat these tumors similarly, because they are, in fact, biologically different.”
He added that follow-up studies are needed to validate the findings and identify drugs better suited to treat the different tumors.
VHMA Survey: What Do Clients Want?
Surveying clients about your practice is an important way to measure their satisfaction with what the practice offers and to find out what else they might want.
Recently, the Veterinary Hospital Managers Association (VHMA) surveyed veterinary practices asking what they think their clients want. How does the practice find out what clients want? What has the practice learned by asking?
Here are the questions and responses to the VHMA survey:
FDA Update: Fluorouracil Approved for Human Use Can Be Deadly When Ingested by Pets
In response to reports involving fatalities in dogs that ingested fluorouracil (a US Food and Drug Administration [FDA]-approved medication used to treat cancers in people), the FDA has issued a consumer pet safety update warning that fluorouracil ingestion by pets can be deadly in as little as 6 to 12 hours.
Pets can be exposed to fluorouracil, also called “5-FU” or “5-fluorouracil,” by chewing on containers, usually tubes, of topical fluorouracil or by licking the skin where a person applied the medicine. The containers may include the brand names Efudex, Carac, Tolak, and Fluoroplex or state, “fluorouracil.”
The FDA has not yet received any reports of fluorouracil poisoning in cats or other pets but recommends that the drug be kept away from all pets.
The following precautions will protect pets from fluorouracil:
- Store the container in a closed cabinet or on a shelf pets cannot reach.
- Dispose of empty containers in areas inaccessible to pets.
- Ask a healthcare provider about covering skin treated with fluorouracil to prevent pets from licking it.
Signs of fluorouracil poisoning in pets can start within 30 minutes and include vomiting, shaking, seizures, difficulty breathing, and diarrhea. Pet owners whose pets have had contact with fluorouracil should seek immediate veterinary care and bring the container of fluorouracil with them.
FDA to Increase Availability of Novel Treatments for Rare Diseases
The FDA’s Center for Veterinary Medicine announced that, in December 2022, it will increase the availability of novel treatments, also known as “minor use” drugs, for rare diseases and conditions in dogs and cats.
To qualify for minor use status, a new animal drug must be intended to treat a disease or condition:
- in a major species;
- that occurs infrequently or in limited geographic areas;
- and occurs in less than a “threshold number” of animals annually.
The FDA’s increase in the “threshold numbers” that help a medicine qualify as a minor use means that more treatments for dogs and cats are likely to meet the criteria. For dogs, the new threshold is 80,000 cases annually, up from 70,000. For cats, the number increased from 120,000 to 150,000 cases annually.
Medicines that meet the definition of minor use allow patients access to safe medications that are reasonably expected to be effective while full effectiveness data is being collected.
The FDA is taking this step because the overall number of dogs and cats has increased. Before the COVID-19 pandemic, the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA) estimated that 77 million dogs were members of 38% of US households. More than 58 million cats were members of a quarter of US households. During the pandemic, these numbers increased. AVMA now estimates that 45% of US households have at least one dog, which is nearly 84 million dogs, and cats are now in 26% of homes and total at least 60 million.
Early Diagnosis of FIP Is Goal of New Guidelines
Veterinarians now have a resource of essential information for diagnosing feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) in cats: the recently released 2022 AAFP/EveryCat Feline Infectious Peritonitis Diagnosis Guidelines.
FIP is a viral disease that can affect any organ in the body, and it is caused by the feline coronavirus (FCoV). FIP is fatal when untreated and nearly every small animal veterinary practitioner will see FIP cases. FIP can be challenging to diagnose because of the lack of clinical signs or laboratory changes, especially when no physical symptoms are present.
These guidelines, released by the American Association of Feline Practitioners (AAFP) and EveryCat Health Foundation, address the critical problem of obtaining a correct diagnosis of FIP by providing veterinarians with essential information to assist them in recognizing cats presenting with the disease.
“First recognized over 50 years ago, feline infectious peritonitis has been one of the most important infectious diseases and causes of death in cats, especially affecting young cats less than two years old,” said Vicki Thayer, DVM, DABVP (Feline), task force co-chair. “Further, FIP can be challenging to diagnose in some cases and is often considered an enigma by the veterinary profession. [. . .] The 2022 AAFP/EveryCat Feline Infectious Peritonitis Diagnosis Guidelines serve as a critical resource for veterinary practitioners diagnosing FIP in their cat patients.”
Susan Gogolski, DVM, PMP, DABVP (Canine/Feline), task force co-chair commented, “These guidelines were written with the intent of providing the most current knowledge available in one comprehensive format combined with extensive supplemental resources. [. . .] The guidelines will be an invaluable resource to veterinary teams around the world.”
Study Shows Safety of Long-Term Daily Cannabidiol Use in Healthy Dogs
A safety study published in Frontiers in Veterinary Science has demonstrated that a daily oral dose of cannabidiol (CBD) at the studied concentration and duration was well tolerated by a cohort of clinically healthy adult dogs. The study was run by the Waltham Petcare Science Institute, part of Mars Petcare.
The randomized, placebo-controlled, blinded study had two aims:
- To demonstrate tolerance of a once-daily oral dose (4 mg/kg of body weight) well characterized, broad-spectrum THC-free CBD distillate over a six-month period to healthy adult dogs.
- To quantify the level of CBD in the dogs’ fasted plasma, urine, and feces over the same period.
The study participants included 40 healthy dogs—
17 Labrador retrievers; 8 beagles; and 15 Norfolk terriers—randomized and balanced across two parallel treatment groups: CBD and placebo.
Researchers assessed health of participants through various measures, including biochemistry, hematology, and urinalysis, in addition to monthly veterinary examinations, twice daily well-being observations, and a daily quality-of-life survey. CBD concentrations were measured at the same intervals in plasma, feces, and urine.
“I’m heartened to see this study on the safety of CBD for dog health. We continue to receive questions from pet owners on whether it’s safe to give their pets CBD. We hope, with continued research, to be able to provide science-based guidance our clients expect and rely on,” said Jennifer Welser, DVM, DACVO, chief medical officer of Mars Veterinary Health.
Photo credits: smrm1977/iStock via Getty Images Plus; ablokhin/iStock via Getty Images Plus; Lightspruch/iStock via Getty Images Plus; Kong Ding Chek/iStock via Getty Images Plus
