2012 Veterinary scholarship awarded

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The Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF) announced their annual joint Student Scholarship Award to Alison McKay, a fourth year student at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University, during the American Veterinary Medical Assoc. convention in San Diego. Ms. McKay intends to become board certified in small animal internal medicine and hopes to work in a university teaching hospital or feline clinic. Alison McKay is the secretary for the Shelter Medicine Club at the College of Veterinary Medicine at Oregon State University, and has helped organize several low-cost pet wellness clinics for senior citizens in her community.

Long committed to volunteerism, Ms. McKay has worked with a number of rescue organizations and free clinics for the pets of the homeless including the Feral Cat Coalition of Oregon, Portland Animal Welfare Team, Salem Friends of Felines, and Pro-Bone-O of Eugene, Oregon. She will be traveling to Nicaragua this summer on a veterinary service trip where she will provide surgical and basic wellness care to animals and investigate the prevalence of toxoplasmosis, internal parasites, feline leukemia virus, and feline immunodeficiency virus in cats on Ometepe Island.

She is currently working to organize a run/walk event which will benefit animal welfare in Uzhgorod, Ukraine.

Asked about plans for her continuing studies, Ms. McKay stated “During my clinical year of veterinary school, I will be completing my preceptorships at Corvallis Cat Care and West Vet, an internal medicine and emergency practice near Boise, Idaho. I also plan to spend two weeks at Angell Animal Medical Center in Boston, spending one week on cardiology and one week on internal medicine. I am very interested in feline medicine, therefore my senior project will focus on CT imaging of cats with feline asthma.”

Previous Winn/AVMF scholarship winners include:

• Adam Breiteneicher, Auburn University (2010)
• Jessica Balter, Cornell University (2011)

Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation are pleased to collaborate in this effort to focus attention on care for “Every Cat, Every Day.”

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Improving treatment for feline oral cancer

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Final report, Winn grant W10-043
PET-CT of feline oral squamous cell carcinoma
Investigator: Elissa Randall, Colorado State University
 
Oral squamous cell carcinoma (OSCC) is not only the most common oral tumor in cats, but it accounts for about 10% of all feline tumors. To date, treatments have had limited success and short survival times. This study was designed to evaluate an imaging method used in human medicine for head and neck cancers called positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT). PET imaging provides functional information about biological activity in the tumor and tissues, while CT imaging provides anatomic information. Twelve cats with OSCC had PET-CT performed: 7 cases prior to stereotactic radiotherapy (SRT) with a second PET-CT after therapy, and 5 cases with imaging performed prior to SRT only.

All the tumors were found to be hypermetabolic on PET scans. Metastasis in local and somewhat distant lymph nodes was detected by PET-CT. Meeting these two objectives indicates that PET-CT is a valid potential tool for tumor staging in cats with OSCC. All the tumors were identified and well-visualized with post-treatment PET-CT. However, residual tumor could not be differentiated from reactive tissue when PET-CTs were performed one month after radiation treatment.

There were no major complications noted in any of the cats during the imaging studies and associated biopsies. PET-CT was found to offer a major benefit in cats with OSCC through better detection and delineation of the primary tumor. This allowed for the development of better treatment plans by radiation oncologists in the study. [VT]

See also: Final report, Winn grant W09-032 (Molecular pathology of feline oral squamous cell carcinoma)

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2012 Excellence in Feline Research Award

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Niels Pedersen, DVM, PhD, is the winner of the 2012 Excellence in Feline Research Award from Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation (AVMF). Dr. Pedersen was recognized due in large part to his work as a pioneer in infectious diseases in cats having produced 220 research publications and authored a number of textbooks on feline husbandry and infectious diseases. As a member of the faculty at the School of Veterinary Medicine at University of California at Davis, Pedersen is currently a distinguished professor and director of both the Center for Companion Animal Health and Veterinary Genetics Laboratory.

Winn President, Vicki Thayer, DVM, DABVP, made the announcement and was at the presentation of the $2,500 award, given along with a crystal cat award at the annual convention of the American Veterinary Medical Association held August 7th in San Diego.

Dr. Thayer commented that “Dr. Pedersen is well known for his support for research into feline infectious peritonitis (FIP) and working with volunteers at SOCK FIP (Save Our Cats and Kittens) which currently focuses on FIP research. The Winn Board of Directors is pleased to honor Dr. Pedersen for a lifetime of achievement and as a long time friend of Winn and supporter of our mission. We were also pleased to have him present information on FIP research at Winn’s Annual Symposium in 2011 to excellent reviews.”

Dr. Pedersen, Winn past president Joan Miller, 1981

According to Dr. Pedersen, his most satisfying achievements have involved the creation of the Center for Comparative Medicine, The Center for Companion Animal Health and the Koret Shelter Medicine Program. His single most rewarding experience has been directing the Veterinary Genetics Laboratory (VGL) at UC-Davis  since 1997 and using the resources of the VGL to develop a broad based and internationally recognized veterinary genetics research program.

Pedersen graduated from UC Davis, School of Veterinary Medicine in 1967 and interned in small animal medicine and surgery at Colorado State University. He was awarded a PhD in Experimental Pathology and Immunology from the John Curtin School of Medical Research, Australian National University in 1972. Dr. Pedersen was active in clinics for 17 years, specializing in infectious and immunologic diseases of dogs and cats. He taught infectious diseases, clinical immunology and feline medicine for 22 years.

He holds honorary doctorates from the Universities of Zurich and Utrecht and has received several awards for his research on feline infectious diseases. Although he has worked on many different diseases of cats and dogs, his lifelong interest has been with feline infectious peritonitis, which continues to both excite and frustrate him with its complexities.

Winn Feline Foundation and the American Veterinary Medical Foundation are pleased to collaborate in this effort to focus attention on the importance of feline health studies and the committed researchers who conduct these lifesaving investigations into the prevention and care of feline disease for “Every Cat, Every Day.”

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Investigating new drugs for feline diabetes mellitus

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Final report, Winn grant W10-020
Pharmacokinetics of pioglitazone in lean and obese cats
Investigators: Levent Dirikolu, Margarethe Hoenig, Duncan Ferguson; University of Illinois
 
Diabetes mellitus and hepatic lipidosis (fatty liver disease) are common problems in feline medicine. Both diseases are associated with obesity and may be prevented by maintaining an ideal body weight. However, weight control is difficult in many cats and once these diseases develop, specific treatment is needed. Current treatment for diabetes mellitus in cats is either insulin or drug therapy with glipizide, along with dietary modification. The only treatment available for hepatic lipidosis is aggressive nutritional support, often with a feeding tube. In human medicine, new anti-diabetic drugs called thiazolidinediones such as pioglitazone improve insulin sensitivity and reverse fatty changes in the liver. The purpose of this project was to begin investigation of pioglitazone in cats so that it may be evaluated in clinical trials in the future.

The investigators’ objectives in this study were to evaluate the pharmacokinetics of this drug in lean and obese cats in an effort to provide a foundation for assessment of its effects on insulin sensitivity and lipid metabolism. Pioglitazone was administered intravenously (median dose 0.2 mg/kg) or orally (3 mg/kg) to six healthy lean cats and six obese cats. There were no statistically significant differences in pharmacokinetic parameters between lean and obese cats subsequent to either oral or intravenous administration. No adverse effects were noted with oral dosing in any of the cats. It appears that achieving therapeutic concentrations of pioglitazone, potentially at a dose of 3 mg/kg, appears feasible. [VT]

Clark MH, Hoenig M, Ferguson DC and Dirikolu L. Pharmacokinetics of pioglitazone in lean and obese cats. J Vet Pharmacol Ther. 2012.

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Leptospirosis in cats

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Arbour J, Blais M-C, Carioto L and Sylvestre D. Clinical leptospirosis in three cats (2001–2009). J Am Anim Hosp Assoc. 2012; 48: 256-60.

Leptospira species are an important zoonotic bacterium harbored by some species of wildlife, including rodents. The bacteria are shed in urine from infected animals. Infection of cats with the spirochete bacteria Leptospira occurs but cats have always been thought to be resistant to development of clinical signs following infection. This report describes three confirmed cases of leptospirosis in cats with disease. All three cases were indoor/outdoor cats that were known to hunt.

All three cases presented with kidney disease, but no involvement of the liver as is sometimes seen in dogs. Symptoms included lethargy, anorexia, frequent urination, and excessive drinking. One cat had blood in the urine, and also inflammatory involvement of the right eye. Two of the cats responded well to treatment, but one continued to deteriorate and had to be euthanized.

Interestingly, these cats developed disease several months after the known exposure to rodents, implying a longer incubation period than is seen in dogs, which is usually a few days. The authors conclude that while disease due to Leptospira infection in cats is rare, it must be considered in cases of kidney disease. Further work is needed to determine the ability of cats to carry and shed the bacteria asymptomatically. [MK]

See also: Markovich JE, Ross L and McCobb E. The prevalence of leptospiral antibodies in free roaming cats in Worcester County, Massachusetts. J Vet Intern Med. 2012; 26: 688-9.

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Let's immune system help

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Imatinib potentiates antitumor T cell responses in gastrointestinal stromal tumor through the inhibition of Ido, 
Vinod P Balachandran, et al. Nature Medicine17 (2011) 


I would like to hilight this paper to our readership, as many of your are involved in the design of clinical trials and selection of potential biomarkers. This report is one of a handful of high impact papers that report the coperative role that inflammatory infiltrate and non cell autonomous effectors play in modulating response to established agents. This study demonstrates an interesting immunological mechanism of Imatininb  that contributes to the antitumor effect in a Gastrointestinal Stromal Tumor (GIST) mouse model. Inflammatory infiltrate is a known finding in GIST specimens (including intratumoral CD8+ Tcells, Treg cells and macrophages). Acording to the authors, Imatinib activates CD8+ T cells and induces Treg cells apoptosis within the tumor. Imatinib is therefore able to reduce the expression of 2,3-dioxygenase (Ido) of tumor cells. Ido enzyme is involved in the catayzation of immunosuppressive metabolites from tryptophan and therefore mediates downstream immunological response. Interestingly Imatininb resistant tumors, generally as a result of a second KIT mutation, restore the overexpression of IDO and combination of Imatinib with CTLA-4 blockade (a well established immunotherapeutic strategy) act synergistically. This insight provides some hints on something we have been suspecting for a long time. It is easy to predict consequences for rational design of combination therapies and strategies to overcome resistance in Imatinib resistant tumors.TweetShare

Treatment of feline upper respiratory tract disease

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Litster AL, Wu CC and Constable PD. Comparison of the efficacy of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefovecin, and doxycycline in the treatment of upper respiratory tract disease in cats housed in an animal shelter. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2012; 241: 218-26.
 
Upper respiratory tract disease (URTD) is one of the most common causes of disease in cats and also among the most common causes of euthanasia in animal shelters. The objective of this study was to compare the efficacy of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid, cefovecin, and doxycycline in shelter-housed cats with clinical signs of URTD. Cats were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups of 16 cats each. Conjunctival and nasal swab specimens were obtained for culture and susceptibility testing. Different parameters - oculonasal discharge, sneezing, coughing, dyspnea, demeanor, and food intake - were scored twice daily for 14 days. 

The most common bacterial isolates found were Mycoplasma spp. (n=22) and Bordetella bronchiseptica (n=9). The cats treated with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid or doxycycline had significantly increased body weight by the end of the study. The cats receiving doxycycline had significantly lower oculonasal discharge scores than the ones treated with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid or cefovecin. Those treated with amoxicillin-clavulanic acid or doxycycline had significantly lower sneezing scores than the cats receiving cefovecin. All of the Bordetella isolates in this study were resistant to cefovecin in vitro. Oral administration of amoxicillin-clavulanic acid or doxycycline appeared to be more effective than a single subcutaneous injection of cefovecin in treating shelter cats with signs of URTD. [VT]

See also: Tanaka A, Wagner DC, Kass PH and Hurley KF. Associations among weight loss, stress, and upper respiratory tract infection in shelter cats. J Am Vet Med Assoc. 2012; 240: 570-6.

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