Medical Updates from ACVIM

ACVIM stands for the American College of Veterinary Internal Medicine, and their annual medical meeting is the nation's best. Specialists in all areas of veterinary medicine attend the ACVIM meeting, to teach and learn from world experts in each specialty area of veterinary practice. Here were some of the hot topics that Dr. Mitchell learned about at this year’s meeting in June:

Feline diabetes: Considerable proof now exists that feeding commercial cat food diets – all of which are very high in cereal grains – greatly contributes to the development of diabetes. Cats are obligate carnivores (meaning that they require very large amounts of meat in their diets on a regular basis). They deal with cereal grains by utilizing them in a process that is detrimental to their pancreas, the body organ that produces insulin. When the body has enough insulin, blood sugar levels remain normal – but when insulin levels drop, sugar levels rise and diabetes can develop. All of the major pet food manufacturers are aware of this, and Hill’s is taking steps to reformulate their foods to reduce this health hazard. (Eukanuba already has done so).

Doggie incontinence: Dr. Lane at the University of Tennessee has done considerable research looking into new options for treating dogs that leak urine when they rest or sleep. She feels that Proin (which we use here at the hospital) is the best choice for most dogs, but says that it may need to be taken up to 3 times a day to completely resolve the leakage. For stubborn cases, she gets good results by adding a small weekly dose of estrogen. She also finds that many dogs "grow out" of their incontinence issues.

New cancer treatments on the horizon: Dr. Argyle, a Scottish researcher now working in the USA, is doing work using "suicide gene therapy". Just as a suicide bomber kills not only himself but also many onlookers when his bomb goes off, the defensive cells of the body can be programmed to self-destruct when – and only when – they are in the presence of a large population of cancer cells. The toxic substance these cells produce when they die is only toxic to cancer cells; other body cells are not bothered at all. The defensive cells can also be armed with a "homing device" protein, which actually directs the defensive cells to seek out the cancer cells to destroy them faster. Dr. Argyle has developed a line of cells with "programmed genes" that may one day be used in place of traditional chemotherapy. In this way, the unpleasant side effects we usually associate with chemotherapy could be avoided.

Pain management doesn’t mean waiting till your pet is painful to treat: Dr. Hansen, Director of Critical Care at the North Carolina State vet school, had documented that "pretreating" with a pain reliever actually reduces the total amount of pain reliever used and helps the animal to recover much faster. What this means is that if you know that a certain activity or event is going to cause discomfort to your pet – such as going for a long weekend walk, or knowing that a dramatic weather shift that commonly flares up arthritis symptoms is going to happen – it is best to give the pain reliever before it happens. By "damping down" the pain cells in the body before the event, the overall feelings of pain are much less and they last for a much shorter period of time. (Weekend exercise maniacs, take note – it works for people, too!).

Why there won’t ever be portable cardiac shock units for pets: Researchers at the University of Georgia’s vet school have looked at how dogs and cats respond to cardiac resuscitation using cardiac shock units. While these devices - which deliver a strong electrical shock to the heart to stimulate it to "re-start" when it has stopped - work extremely well in people, they don’t work worth beans in most carnivores. Over 98% of people treated in this manner will have their normal heart rhythm restored, but less that 10% of dogs and cats respond. Researchers feel that this is probably related to the early changes that occur in the lungs of dogs and cats when their hearts stop.

Here’s the latest scoop on poop: Parasitologists at several of the west coast vet schools have finally completed a large study looking at which pets are most likely to harbor parasitic worms in their intestines. Surprisingly, it’s not neglected pets – it’s the pets whose owners allow them to roam in lush green suburban yards that also draw raccoons, possums, and stray cats. And those pets whose owners take them to play in forest preserves and dog parks. And those pets whose kind-hearted owners take in stray cats and dogs. If any of these kind owners sound like YOU, make sure to bring in a stool sample so we can check it for worm eggs. Worms cause a number of health problems, from poor digestion to immune system problems, so don’t delay!