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RegenerativeMedicine
TechniquestoTreatCartilageDisorders.Complaints
aboutachingjointsarenotlimitedtotheathleticcanine.
Couchpotatoescangetinjuredtoo.Infact,80percentofall
dogshaveorthopedicjointdiseaseatsomepoint.Onetype
ofjointdiseaseiscalledosteochondrosis,inwhichthe
joint’scartilagebecomesdamaged.Ifaweakenedflapof
tissuebreaksoff,thepiecemayabsorbmineralsandharden.
Imaginewhatitwouldfeelliketohaveapebblefloating
aroundinyourjoint!Unfortunately,jointsdonotregenerate
healthytissueverywell.Dr.WilliamSaunders,fromTexas
A&M,describedamethodforhealingdegeneratedjointsin
whichaplugoftissueistakenoutofanon-weight-bearing
portionofadog’shealthyjointandgraftedintothesame
dog’sdamagedjoint.Thisautograftcansuccessfullyrestore
functiontotheformerlydamagedjoint.However,thisis
likerobbingPetertopayPaul—thedonorsitenowhasa
weakenedcavity.Dr.Saunders’sgoalistodevelopamethod
tostrengthenthedonorsite.Hisapproachistocreate
replacementplugsmadeofporouspolyethyleneglycol
andseededwithhealthybone-derivedstemcells.Inhis
preliminarystudies,heplacedtheseartificialplugsintothe
donorsites,andthestemcellswithintheplugpopulated
thejoint.Thisisanimportantstepinbringingtheautograft
therapymethodtotheclinic.
ReadmoreaboutDr.Saunders’sprojecthere:
www.akcchf.org/research/funded-research/2078.html
PersonalizedCancerTreatment.Mosttreatment
strategiesforcanceruseastandardapproachinwhichall
individualswithaparticularcanceraretreatedwiththe
samestandarddrugtherapy.Unfortunately,thisapproach
failstotakeintoaccountthemoleculardifferencesbetween
individualcancers.Precisionmedicineisanewapproachin
whichtreatmentsareselectedonlyafteranindividual’s
tumorhasbeenprofiledtofindspecificgenemutationsthat
ledtotheircancer.
Dr.DouglasThammofColoradoStateUniversityis
investigatingToceranib,atherapeuticformast-celltumors
thatisusedwhensurgeryisnotcurative.Toceranib,
marketedasPalladia,istheonlydog-specificanti-cancer
drugthatiscurrentlyapprovedbytheU.S.FoodandDrug
Administration.Itactsbybindingtoaspecificproteinin
tumorcells.Dr.Thammhypothesizesthattreatmentwith
Toceranibwillonlybesuccessfulondogswhosetumors
areduetomutationofthatspecificprotein.Totestthis
hypothesis,Dr.Thammhasdevelopedarapidtestthatcan
beperformedonfine-needleaspirates.Thetestcanrapidly
determinewhetheradog’smast-celltumorhasthemutation
sothatatherapeuticdecisioncanbemadewithindays.This
testisthefirststeptowardpersonalizedmedicineinthe
treatmentofcaninemast-celltumors.
Formoreinformationonthisproject,gototheCHFwebsite:
www.akcchf.org/research/funded-research/1426.html
AtopicDermatitisandtheMycobiome.“You’ll
NeverWalkAlone”isaRodgersandHammersteinsongfrom
themusicalCarousel.Whenhewrotethelyricsin1945,
Hammersteinhadnowayofknowingthatwhenyouwalk
throughastorm,atleast100trillionbacteriawalkwithyou.
Infact,90percentofourbody’scellsarebacteria!Wetruly
neverwalkalone.Fortunately,themicrobesthatcolonizeus
arenon-pathogenicsymbioticbacteriaandfungithatare
criticalforourhealth.Theabundanceofthesefriendly
microbeskeepsthepathogenicorganismsatbay.
Dr.JanSuchodolskifromTexasA&Misstudyingthe
caninemycobiome,whichisthedog’sfungalcommunity.
Hehasdeterminedthat“theskinofdogsisinhabitedby
muchmorerichanddiversemicrobialcommunitiesthan
previouslythought.”Hisrecentpublication[Hoffman,2014]
showedthateachdoghasauniquecommunityof
microorganisms,andeachareaofadog’sskinharborsa
uniqueselectionofmicrobes.Healthydogshavefrom25to
40differentspeciesintheirnostrilsandupto866speciesin
anear!Thecompositionofthemicrobialcommunitydid
notappeartobeinfluencedbydogage,sex,breed,itchiness,
earproblemsorindoor/outdoorenvironment.However,
therewasasignificantdifferencewhenhealthydogswere
comparedtothosewithatopicdermatitis,orallergies.Dogs
withallergieshadfewerspeciesofmicrobesthanhealthy
dogs.Futureworkisneededtodeterminewhetherthe
reduceddiversityoftheskinmycobiomeinallergicdogsis
thecauseof,ortheresultof,theanimal’shypersensitivity
toallergens.Itisnotknowniftheskinmycobiomeshifts
duringallergicepisodes.Finally,thepossibilityexiststhat
restoringthemicrobecommunitytohealthylevelswillhelp
treatatopicdermatitis.
ReadmoreaboutDr.Saunders’sprojecthere:
www.akcchf.org/research/funded-research/2111.html
SeniorCognitionandBrainAging.Areyouslower
togetoutofbedinthemorning?Can’trememberwhothat
personinfrontofyouis?Findingithardertonegotiatea
familiarenvironment?Haveadecreasedattentionspanand
alossofknowledge?Feelinganxiousaboutallofthese
changes?Thesearequestionsthatyoushouldbeaskingyour
seniordog.Fromaboutsixyearsofageon,yourdogwill
begintoexhibitsignsofbrainagingthataresosubtlethat
youmaynotnoticethem.Signsthataresevereenough
foryoutonoticeincludenewfearsorphobias,separation
anxiety,soilinginthehouse,wakingatnight,vocalization
andrepetitiveactions.Manyownersdonotreportthefirst
signsofagingtotheirvetbecausetheythinkthatnothing
canbedone.Butthereisevidencethatearlyintervention
mayhelp.
Dr.GaryLandsbergfromtheNorthTorontoVeterinary
BehaviourSpecialtyClinichasextensiveexperiencein
testingcognitioninseniordogs.Seniordogsget
Alzheimer’s-likebrainchangesandhavemeasurabledeficits
36
www.pbgv.org
Winter2015
ISaberTails
Whenhewrotethelyricsin1945,Hammersteinhadnowayofknowingthat
whenyouwalkthroughastorm,atleast100trillionbacteriawalkwithyou.
Infact,90percentofourbody’scellsarebacteria!Wetrulyneverwalkalone.