Notebook: March 2021

Vet Volunteers Unlock History

A team of UK veterinary professionals has transcribed 256 letters from the profession’s earliest days; the letters are available to view online for free. They were written in 1840 to support a petition calling for the reformation of teaching and examination of students at the Royal Veterinary College in London. The support from more than 200 veterinary surgeons across the country paved the way for the formation of the Royal College of Veterinary Surgeons.

Many of the project’s contributors were placed on furlough during the 2020 COVID lockdown period, providing time to devote to the project. The collection of letters is a snapshot of the early days of a now well-established profession, when it was still fighting for recognition. According to Alison Skipper, a veterinarian and PhD student researching the history of health and disease in pedigree dog breeding, “There is a sense of fraternity and cooperation in these letters—a wide variety of veterinarians, scattered right across the country, coming together to support an important cause—which also reflects the best of our sense of community today.”

Browse the letters and their transcriptions at the Vet History Digital Collections site.

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Cat Friendship Benefits Children with Autism Spectrum Disorder

According to a new exploratory study funded by the Human Animal Bond Research Institute and the Winn Feline Foundation, feline friendship might have a positive effect on children with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) and their families. The research, which was led by a team from the University of Missouri, explored the emotional, behavioral, and social benefits of shelter cats on families of children with ASD. Findings were published in the Journal of Pediatric Nursing.

“Previous research has focused on interactions of dogs with children who have ASD, but dogs may not provide the best fit for all children and their families, especially given the hypersensitivities to sound that are common among children with ASD,” said Gretchen Carlisle, PhD, MEd, RN, research scientist at the University of Missouri Research Center for Human-Animal Interaction.

The study found that, following the introduction of a shelter cat, children with ASD experienced “significant increases” in empathy, while also demonstrating a decrease in some behaviors (e.g., bullying, hyperactivity, and inattention) and less separation anxiety. Additionally, children and parents reported feeling strong bonds with their new cat almost immediately, and, despite the responsibilities involved in care for a cat, these bonds did not decrease over time. This, researchers say, suggests shelter cats may be beneficial for some children with ASD while not necessarily creating a burden for their parents.

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Canine Study Challenges Assumptions About Joint Disease

A study by an interdisciplinary team of researchers at Cornell University, including the school’s College of Veterinary Medicine, is challenging conventional assumptions about the lubricin protein and mammalian joint disease.

The paper, published in Scientific Reports, is the first that investigates the role of a protein, known as lubricin, in ACL-type injuries in dogs. The university reports that it may also have larger implications for similar injuries in humans as well as the potential for treatments and therapeutics.

“Lubricin is crucial for normal joint function and the lubrication of cartilage,” said Heidi Reesink, PhD, the Harry M. Zweig Assistant Professor in Equine Health at the Cornell College of Veterinary Medicine and senior author on the paper. “We know that if a person or animal doesn’t make that protein, they will develop devastating joint disease, affecting all the major weight-bearing joints.”

Lubricin is universal to mammals, including humans, though there is conflicting data regarding its role in joint injuries. Reesink’s study found that, in dog patients who had suffered a ligament tear in the knee, lubricin increased within the joint. This challenges conventional assumptions in medicine. “The dogma in this field has been that lubricin decreases in joint disease,” said Reesink.

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Study Examines Human Cancer Treatment in Dogs

Washington State University (WSU) veterinarians are investigating whether a drug used to treat breast cancer in humans could be used to treat one of the most common forms of cancer in dogs. In the study at the WSU College of Veterinary Medicine, veterinary oncologists are examining whether the drug capecitabine, brand name Xeloda, can safely slow the growth of cancerous epithelial tumors in dogs. The study will also measure the drug’s concentration in the blood to determine potential dosing regimens and document any adverse events, as a next step toward using the drug as a safe treatment.

The study will determine capecitabine’s efficacy by treating up to 10 dogs with carcinomas. The investigation uses client-owned dogs volunteered by their owners. Currently, the first patient enrolled is Rollie the Collie, an 80-pound rough collie with a carcinoma on the lining of his bladder.

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Alison McIntyre Named Executive Director of Veterinary Virtual Care Association

Alison McIntyre has been named the first executive director of the Veterinary Virtual Care Association (VVCA), a recently formed nonprofit organization focused on developing best-practice and quality standards for practicing virtual veterinary care.

As executive director, McIntyre “will be responsible for bringing the vision of the VVCA to advocate best virtual care practices, provide educational resources, and create a space for a wide alliance of professionals to congregate and accelerate the adoption of virtual care within veterinary medicine,” according to a press release. McIntyre is a junior partner at the Animal Policy Group.

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Blood Test Streamlines Canine Cancer Detection

Texas A&M University College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVMBS) has introduced a cost-effective oncology test that veterinarians across North America can use for early cancer detection in canine patients. Developed by Belgium-based epigenetics company Volition, the proprietary Nu.Q Vet Cancer Screening Test uses a blood test to measure early markers of cancer, representing a streamlined diagnostic process.

“Unlike in humans, where routine cancer screening is relatively commonplace, there are few tests for animals,” said CVMBS professor Heather Wilson-Robles, DVM, DACVIM (Oncology), who helped develop the screening. “We are changing this today.”

“This simple, low-cost blood test can help streamline the diagnostic process and shorten the path to diagnosis, thereby allowing treatment (be that chemotherapy, radiation therapy, or surgery) to be initiated earlier, even before symptoms appear, increasing the chance of the dog’s survival and its quality of life.”

Cancer is the most common cause of death for dogs older than 2 in the US, according to Texas A&M. Further, as many as 50% of all dogs over the age of 10 will develop cancer in their lifetime. The new test, which is available through CVMBS’s Gastrointestinal Laboratory, can be used during wellness checks of older dogs where there is a suspicion of cancer, as well as in younger high-risk breeds. At 100% specificity, the test has been shown to detect 74% of lymphomas and 89% of hemangiosarcomas, which are two of the most common cancers in dogs, representing approximately one-third of canine cancers, Texas A&M says.

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AAVMC Announces 2021 Professional Excellence Award Honorees

The Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges (AAVMC) has announced the recipients of five awards that recognize professional excellence, achievement, and service in academic veterinary medicine. The professional awards, as well as a student scholarship award, will be presented during the AAVMC’s 2021 Annual Conference and Iverson Bell Symposium, which will be held virtually March 3–5, 2021.

The award winners are:

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Ending Pet Obesity Drives Academic, Corporate Collaboration

Improving the health of animals by eliminating pet obesity is the primary focus of a renovation at the Kansas State University College of Veterinary Medicine teaching hospital. The college has partnered with Hill’s Pet Nutrition on an expansion at its Veterinary Health Center, which will provide new resources and facilities to enhance medical and nutritional care for pets, the university says. The Hill’s Pet Health and Nutrition Center will provide primary care and nutritional assessment, as well as urgent care and triage.

“An important long-term goal of the Veterinary Health Center Obesity Clinic, a vital service of the center, is to end pet obesity,” said the Veterinary Health Center’s interim director, Elizabeth Davis, DVM, PhD, DACVIM.

Davis says the pet food company’s involvement in the center will provide a home for nutrition consultation, a designated Hill’s primary care intern, and direct consultation with board-certified veterinary nutritionists. The goal, she adds, is for each patient to receive a customized nutrition plan to obtain optimal results.

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Veterinarians Invited to Administer COVID-19 Vaccines

The state of Connecticut and the Canadian province of Manitoba took steps to enlist licensed veterinary professionals along with other healthcare workers to administer COVID-19 vaccines.

The Connecticut Department of Public Health issued an order in December 2020 authorizing podiatrists, dentists, dental hygienists, emergency medical technicians, paramedics, and veterinarians who have received proper training to administer the COVID-19 vaccine. Some Connecticut veterinarians learned about the order through an email from public health officials asking recipients to answer a survey “to assist in determining how many individuals are interested in becoming eligible to administer COVID-19 vaccinations during mass vaccination events.”

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Texas Veterinarian Wins Appeal Limiting Telemedicine

On December 2, 2020, the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals recognized that restricting the online pet advice of Brownsville, Texas, Ron Hines, DVM, violated his First Amendment rights, reversing a lower-court ruling that occupational speech is not protected by the First Amendment. Hines now has the opportunity to go back down to the trial court and prove the First Amendment violation.

Hines gave online advice to pet owners from 2002 to 2012, until the Texas State Board of Veterinary Medical Examiners said his advice was illegal—not because it harmed an animal or was inaccurate, but because Texas prohibits veterinarians from sharing their expertise with pet owners without first examining their pets in person. Hines teamed up with the Institute for Justice in 2013 to challenge that restriction, but the Fifth US Circuit Court of Appeals ruled in 2015 that his advice was regulated by occupational licensure and hence not protected by the First Amendment. After a 2018 Supreme Court decision (NIFLA v. Becerra) rejected the so-called professional speech doctrine, which excluded occupational speech from the First Amendment, he again partnered with the Institute for Justice in 2018 to vindicate his right to free speech.

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Neogen Launches DNA Screening Tool

Neogen recently launched Igenity Canine Wellness, a preventive care DNA screening tool for veterinarians. During a veterinary exam, a staff member will use a cytology swab from an Igenity Canine Wellness kit to get cheek cells from the patient’s mouth. The kit box is sent to Neogen for processing once the veterinary hospital prepares the samples. Following this, a genetic risk report is received that can allow the client to build a wellness journey to best fit their canine’s health requirements.

The company says that the Igenity Canine Wellness results will enable doctors and staff to provide better care for animals and aid owners in anticipating and preventing future health challenges.

Photo credits: JDawnInk/DigitalVision Vectors via Getty Images, RuslanDashinsky/E+ via Getty Images, GlobalP/iStock via Getty Images Plus, Photo courtesy of Washington State University, photo courtesy of Alison McIntyre, photo courtesy of Texas A&M, Photos courtesy of AAVMC, cmannphoto/E+ via Getty Images, Courtney Hale/E+ via Getty Images, Nikelser/iStock via Getty Images Plus, Photology1971/iStock via Getty Images Plus