The future of canine glaucoma therapy

Canine glaucoma is a group of disorders that are generally associated with increased intraocular pressure (IOP) resulting in a characteristic optic neuropathy. Glaucoma is a leading cause of irreversible vision loss in dogs and may be either primary or secondary. Despite the growing spectrum of medical and surgical therapies, there is no cure, and many affected dogs go blind. Often eyes are enucleated because of painfully high, uncontrollable IOP. While progressive vision loss due to primary glaucoma is considered preventable in some humans, this is mostly not true for dogs. There is an urgent need for more effective, affordable treatment options. Because newly developed glaucoma medications are emerging at a very slow rate and may not be effective in dogs, work toward improving surgical options may be the most rewarding approach in the near term. This Viewpoint Article summarizes the discussions and recommended research strategies of both a Think Tank and a Consortium focused on the development of more effective therapies for canine glaucoma; both were organized and funded by the American College of Veterinary Ophthalmologists Vision for Animals Foundation (ACVO‐VAF). The recommendations consist of (a) better understanding of disease mechanisms, (b) early glaucoma diagnosis and disease staging, (c) optimization of IOP‐lowering medical treatment, (d) new surgical therapies to control IOP, and (e) novel treatment strategies, such as gene and stem cell therapies, neuroprotection, and neuroregeneration. In order to address these needs, increases in research funding specifically focused on canine glaucoma are necessary.     

Gene therapy: future therapies in osteoarthritis.

The field of equine veterinary practice is in an ever-evolving state, requiring current technologies to be constantly evaluated for new applications. The specific use of gene therapy in the horse is a novel application. The authors want to help familiarize the equine practitioner with the concept of gene therapy, and introduce its use and potential future benefits for the equine industry in the treatment of osteoarthritis.     

国外研究蜂毒抗炎抗痛作用的情况简介

蜂毒在民间一直被用于减轻疼痛和消除炎症,特别是用于如RA（类风湿性关节炎）一类的慢性风湿性疾病。我们查阅了相关的外文资料,其中有许多实验报道,现简介如下。     

Spinal cord injury in small animals 2. Current and future options for therapy.

Although there can be substantial spontaneous improvements in functional status after a spinal cord injury, therapeutic intervention is desirable in many patients to improve the degree of recovery. At present only decompressive surgery and the neuroprotective drug methylprednisolone sodium succinate are effective and in widespread clinical use. There are limitations to the efficacy of these therapies in some clinical cases and they cannot restore satisfactory functional status to all patients. Many drugs have been investigated experimentally to assess their potential to preserve injured tissue and promote functional recovery in clinically relevant settings, and several of them would be suitable for assessment in future veterinary clinical trials. In addition, experimental techniques designed to mould the response of the CNS to injury, by the promotion of axonal regeneration across the lesion and the encouragement of local sprouting of undamaged axons, have recently been successful, suggesting that effective therapy for even very severe spinal cord injury may soon be available.     

The internet and the future of equine practice.

The Internet is a fast-growing technology that allows information (text as well as images) to be shared across the world in an instant. As computer systems, software, and Internet services become less expensive options, the world becomes more experienced and comfortable with these technologies. In the foreseeable future, equine veterinarians are likely to be better educated about diseases and treatments, better connected with specialists for consultations on difficult cases, able to respond to client communications more efficiently, able to accurately educate clients, and able to communicate with colleagues from across the country and the world. Additionally, there is likely to be a time when using the Internet and computers is profitable in all these ways as well as economically. Improving doctor-client relationships and patient care are goals for all veterinarians, and the Internet holds the technology to render these now and in the future.     

迎春花水提物抗炎活性研究

迎春花（JasminumnudiflorunlLindl．）为木犀科茉莉花属植物，有黄梅、清明花等之称，分布于我国陕西、山东、河南、江苏、浙江、贵州等地，分野生和栽培两种，其叶、花、茎均可入药。《本草纲目》有迎春花“气味苦涩、平，无毒；主治肿毒恶疮，阴干研末，酒服三钱，出汗便瘥”的记载；《贵州民间药物》有“解热剂，治头痛发热、小便热痛”之述；《陕西中草药》载有“活血散毒，消肿止痛。治跌打损伤，刀伤出血，无名肿毒”。《中草药手册》有“治劳肷疮，花调麻油擦”之作用。除以上功效外，《全国中草药汇编》中记载其有“治口腔炎、痈疮肿毒、外阴瘙痒”等功效。近年来，国内学者开展了迎春花的化学成分研究，并取得了一定成果，体外抗菌实验研究证明迎春花具有较强的体外抗菌活性，体内抗感染研究亦证实其具有一定的抗菌活性。据古籍记载及临床试验观察，迎春花水提物对仔猪白痢等疾病均有较好疗效。笔者等主要考察其抗炎活性，并取得了比较满意的效果，为临床应用提供了科学依据。     

Toxicology of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) constitute a class of pharmacologically active agents with similar therapeutic actions and side effects, despite diverse chemical structures. NSAIDs inhibit the enzyme cyclo-oxygenase and, thus, decrease inflammation mediated by prostaglandins. Toxicoses due to NSAIDs are manifested primarily by gastrointestinal upset and hemorrhage and by renal damage. Management consists of detoxification measures, in addition to supportive and symptomatic care. The article outlines the incidence, clinical toxicity, mode of action, and pharmacokinetics of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs. The toxic effects of NSAIDs on individual organ systems are described, and general management recommendations for the treatment of NSAID toxicoses are presented.     

Biologic response modifiers: the future of cancer therapy?

The major shift today has been away from nonspecific compounds acting on immune mechanisms to using biologics which have specific, defined roles in acting on the immune response. The field of biologic response modification is progressing very rapidly. New peptides are being identified, as are receptors for these peptides, autocrines, lymphokines, cytokines, growth factors, differentiation factors, hormones, and so on-all of which will control body function, cell populations, and cell to cell interactions. This rapidly advancing area of research in cancer biology and cancer therapy may hold the key to the future of successful therapy.     

The profession's future

Extract

This is a time of unprecedented change likely to affect us all.     

The moral basis of animal-assisted therapy.

Is nonhuman animal-assisted therapy (AAT) a form of exploitation? After exploring possible moral vindications of AAT and after establishing a distinction between "use" and "exploitation," the essay distinguishes between forms of animal-assisted therapy that are morally unobjectionable and those modes of it that ought to be abolished.     

Nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs: a review

The increasing use of nonsteroidal antiinflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) in small animals has resulted in the development of new and innovative additions to this class of drugs. Examples of NSAIDs now available for use in small animals include aspirin, etodolac, carprofen, ketoprofen, meloxicam, deracoxib, and tepoxalin. The purposes of this article are to review the pathophysiology of prostaglandin synthesis and inhibition, the mechanisms of action, pharmacokinetics, pharmacological effects, and potential adverse reactions of aspirin and the newly released NSAIDs.