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News You Can Use

Do Lawn Chemicals Cause Canine Cancer?  08.11.04

A study conducted at the Purdue University School of Veterinary Medicine found that Scottish terriers exposed to lawns treated with herbicides and insecticides were significantly more at risk for transitional cell carcinoma (TCC), a common form of bladder cancer in dogs. In particular, the study flagged phenoxy and non-phenoxy herbicides as being of particular concern. Dogs exposed to herbicides had 4 to 7 times greater risk of developing TCC.

Although a specific cause-and-effect relationship hasn't yet been defined, the researchers recommend minimizing dogs' exposure to lawn chemicals, and routine screening of Scotties' urine for TCC.

Source: Glickman, LT et al, JAVMA 224[8]:1290-1297 Apr 15'04

Grape Toxicity

They may look like a sweet, healthy treat, but grapes and raisins have been poisoning cats and dogs around the world. The specific toxin has not yet been identified, but problems can arise after eating as little as 1 gram of raisins per pound of body weight. One dog developed renal failure after eating only 10 grapes.

Poisoned animals usually begin to vomit within 6 hours of eating grape material. They may become depressed and diarrheic. Kidney failure appears within 3 days. In one study, half of the affected dogs died.

What should you do? Avoid giving grapes or raisins to your pet. If large quantities are ingested or if the pet appears ill, induce vomiting and seek treatment. Intravenous fluid therapy may be necessary.

From ASPCA Animal Poison Control Center press release, June 14, 2002.

Does canned food cause feline thyroid disease?

Review of 20 years of medical records for nearly 170,000 cats suggests that aging is not the only factor leading to feline hyperthyroidism. As a rule, the more years cats ate canned food, the greater their risk of developing thyroid disease. Male cats’ increased risk was associated with food packaged in pop-top cans, while females’ risk increased in association with both pop-top and non-pop-top cans.

Why? Researchers speculate that components of can linings may interfere with thyroid hormone activity. These chemicals migrate into high fat foods such as those found in pop-top cans.

This study suggest that cats should be fed foods packaged in containers other than pop-top cans. When selecting a moist, meat-based food for your cat, look for foil pouches, plastic trays, or frozen products.

Edinboro CH et al, 2004. Epidemiologic study of relationships between consumption of commercial canned food and risk of hyperthyroidism in cats. JAVMA Vol 224, No 6, pp 879-886.

BARF Diets & Salmonella

If you’re feeding Bones and Raw Food (BARF) to your dog, consider this: one study found Salmonella in 80% of foods prepared by dog owners (compared to none in commercially prepared foods). Thirty percent of dogs who ate BARF diets shed Salmonella in their feces. Pet owners with small children or with aged or immunocompromised members of the household should consider the public health risks of feeding BARF diets.

From Joffe DJ, Schlesinger DP. Preliminary assessment of the risk of Salmonella infection in dogs fed raw chicken diets. Can Vet J 2002; 43: 441-442.

Cat Cancer Linked to Second-Hand Smoke
9.21.02

A study of 180 cats treated at Tufts Veterinary School indicates that exposure to environmental factors such as second-hand tobacco smoke significantly increases their likelihood of contracting lymphoma. According to Antony S. Moore, VMSc, a cat living in a home where humans smoked a pack or more of cigarettes a day had more than three times the risk of lymphoma than cats in nonsmoking homes. The more smokers who live in the household, the greater the risk to the cat. In addition to inhaling second-hand smoke, cats ingest it when they groom themselves and lick particulate matter off their fur.

Healing Spinal Cords
4.30.01

The Purdue Center for Paralysis Research has just completed two studies using an implantable device called an oscillating field stimulator that bathes injured nerve cells with reversing, weak electrical fields. The fields reportedly promote rapid nerve regeneration in human and animal embryos. According to Debbie Bonnert, senior research supervisor, says, "We found years ago that your nerve cells will grow toward a negative pole, and so because you don't want dieback, the field reverses every 15 minutes to encourage growth on both sides of where the injury occurred." Eighty-five percent of canines tested showed improvement, and a few even regained the ability to walk. The FDA has now cleared the way for trials to begin on people.

Mad Eagle Disease?
4.30.01

Wildlife researchers at the University of Georgia are analyzing a peculiar brain disease that killed 13 bald eagles and several other birds last winter in Georgia. Initial data point to Avian Macular Myelinopathy, a disease that interfers with coordination and the ability of birds to walk, swim or fly. John Fischer, DVM, Ph.D., director of Southeastern Cooperative Wildlife Disease Study, reports, "Under the microscope an affected eagle's brain looks like lace. It looks delicate, but it's devastating."

AVM was first discovered in bald eagles in Arkansas in 1994, and has since been diagnosed in four southern states, yet the cause of the disease has not been determined. Parasites or infectious agents have largely been eliminated; data suggest that "a most likely cause of AVM is a natural or manmade toxin."

PPA Available
4.30.01

The FDA is allowing veterinarians to purchase and supply phenylpropanolamine to their patients, despite a government-proposed ban of the drug. Veterinarians prescribe PPA off-label to treat canine urinary incontinence. In November 2000, FDA officials announced that the human-approved drug found in weight loss aids and nasal decongestants, eventually would be pulled from the market after a Yale study revealed a link between the drug's use adn hermorrhagic stroke in women. Since then, canines with urethral incompetence have had to use estrogens (which can also be difficult to obtain, and carry a different set a potential side effects) or PPA-types of drugs like pseudoephedrine. The regulatory discretion which makes PPA available to veterinarians is temporary while the drug is tested in dogs.