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The bladder-brain connection
Its cause is unknown. No tests exist to diagnosis the condition. There is no cure. At least not yet. Thanks to the efforts of researchers in both veterinary and human medicine, there's a bit more hope that doctors may one day be able to diagnose, treat – and even prevent – the painful bladder disease known as interstitial cystitis (IC). The recent discovery of a biomarker in both cats and humans who have IC suggests that the disease is not just a malfunction of the bladder, but might instead have origins in the central nervous system, according to Dr. Tony Buffington, senior author of the study and a professor of veterinary clinical sciences at Ohio State University's College of Veterinary Medicine. For more information, contact Kristine McComis at 614-688-3517 or mccomis.2@osu.edu.
Going to bat for the Boxer
The discovery of a mutant gene that causes heart disease in Boxers may help breeders of the dog avoid the disease and also provides insight into the study of human heart diseases that can be fatal to even the fittest of human athletes. Dr. Kathryn Meurs, a professor of small animal medicine and research at the Washington State University College of Veterinary Medicine, found the gene that causes Boxer cardiomyopathy, which is similar to a condition in people known as arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. The disease can be fatal in Boxers, and it is the same type of heart disease that can cause the sudden death of humans, including young athletes. For more information, contact Charlie Powell at 509-335-7073 or cpowell@vetmed.wsu.edu.
On the prowl
Dr. Paul Hess is on a mission, searching for rogue T cells that cause juvenile diabetes. With funding from the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation, the assistant professor at North Carolina State University's College of Veterinary Medicine is developing a synthetic molecule that kills off the T cells that cause the disease. These defenders are designed to bind to the outlaw T cells and release a toxin that kills them, helping the body defend itself. For more information, contact Dave Green at 919-513-6662 or david_green@ncsu.edu.
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Unlocking a tragic secret
PCBs, or polychlorinated biphenyls, are known to be so toxic that they cause a plethora of neurodevelopmental disorders, including ADHD, learning disabilities, sensory deficits, developmental delays and mental retardation. Now, decades after their production was banned in the 1970s, we might finally be able to explain the associations between exposure of the developing nervous system to PCBs and behavioral deficits in children. Three new studies conducted by researchers at the University of California Davis School of Veterinary Medicine have been published since March, and each one sheds new light on the harmful effects of PCBs on human neurological development. For more information, contact Phyllis Brown at 916-734-9023 or phyllis.brown@ucdmc.ucdavis.edu.
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American Veterinary Medical Association Annual Convention, July 11, 2009 – July 14, 2009: Thousands of veterinary leaders in food safety, public health, comparative medicine, research and companion animal medicine will convene in Seattle for the AVMA's 146th annual convention. A Global Health Summit featuring national and international experts in avian and novel H1N1 influenzas will join colleagues in exploring numerous topics regarding the human-animal interface and what it means to global health. For more information, go the AVMA Convention Web page.
Annual Conference of the Association of Avian Veterinarians, Aug. 9, 2009 – Aug. 13, 2009: Avian veterinarians, along with the Association of Exotic Mammal Veterinarians and the Association of Reptilian and Amphibian Veterinarians, gather in Milwaukee, Wis., to explore the latest medical and behavioral developments in everything feathered, furry, scaly and slimy. To learn more, visit www.conferenceoffice.com/aav.
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