About 95% of a dog’s body is covered with hair. Besides making the dog soft and huggable, this coat helps protect the skin and keep it healthy. In both dogs and people, the skin is the largest and one of the most complex organs of the body. It’s a natural barrier that prevents dehydration and provides protection from the...
Injuries sustained by active dogs that play, run or work in winter conditions can be diagnostically challenging. A thorough exam is essential in dealing with these cases.
For clients with active dogs, the change of season from summer to winter only means a change in the type of activity, not a change in its quantity. Winter means recreational activities...
In addition to its very important functions of digestion and absorption, the gastrointestinal tract is also the largest organ of the immune system in the body. The percentage of lymphocytes residing in the GI tract are estimated to range between 60% to 80%. When we eat, we want the digestive system to absorb all the good stuff while keeping...
Nutrigenomics is an emerging science that studies the molecular relationships between nutrition and the response of our genes, to determine how even subtle genetic changes can affect human and animal health. The basic concept is that chemical nutrients affect gene expressions in a specifi c mode by switching from health to a pathophysiological condition, or vice versa. Nutrigenomics designs...
A new report released by the Advisory Committee on the Microbiological Safety of Food in the UK recommends more research while confirming information about a disease the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention consider a “major neglected parasitic infection”. According to the CDC, toxoplasma gondii, a parasite that infects cats and causes toxoplasmosis, has infected 22.5% of the...
There’s a significant link between hind limb lameness and saddle slip, according to a new study from the Centre for Equine Studies at the Animal Health Trust in the UK. The research shows consistent saddle slip in some horses with hind limb lameness, even when the lameness is fairly subtle and difficult to detect. Saddle slip in sports horses...
Equine science education, research and outreach will soon have a new home, thanks to the Texas A&M Equine Complex. Dr. Eleanor Green, Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences’ Carl B. King Dean of Veterinary Medicine, says the initiative will bring together students, faculty and equine industry leaders, and provide a foundation for research discoveries and outreach...
The Global Alliance for Rabies Control (GARC) has revealed details of their latest initiatives against the disease. The Communities Against Rabies Exposure (CARE) program, led by GARC in collaboration with local governments, universities and research institutes, has received a multi-million dollar grant from the Optimus Foundation in order to expand their successful trial of community-led rabies elimination in Bohol,...
The developer of a breakthrough mobile electrocardiogram (ECG) recorder that attaches to an iPhone or iPod Touch has made its mobile ECG device available to veterinary professionals. The AliveCor Veterinary Heart Monitor snaps onto an iPhone 4, 4S or iPod touch, and when used with the free AliveECG Vet app, enables veterinarians and technicians to obtain clinical quality, singlechannel...
Specialists from the Veterinary Specialty Center of the Hudson Valley in New York are conducting a pilot study with a cancer vaccine that may prolong survival in dogs with osteosarcoma (bone cancer) and cats with mammary (breast) cancer. The study will test whether an adenovirus-based vaccine followed by a DNA plasmid administered via electrogenetransfer can elicit anti-tumor immunity and...
