Dietary supplements in the management of canine osteoarthritis
Fanny Comblain and others, University of Liege, Belgium
Pain control in dogs with osteoarthritis will usually rely on non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs that are often associated with adverse gastrointestinal effects. So the prevention of further cartilage degradation should be another important therapeutic goal in such patients.
The authors review the use of dietary supplements in managing this condition. They looked at the published data on the effects of chondroitin sulphate, glucosamine, undenatured type II collagen, avocado-soya bean unsaponifiables, curcumin and polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Their findings suggest that most dietary supplements with claimed benefits in OA patients do indeed have anti-catabolic and anti inflammatory effects. However, there is little reliable data on their pharmacokinetics and the available information suggests that this approach may be handicapped by the low bioavailability of the active agents. Further research would be necessary on enhancing the gastrointestinal absorption of such products. Journal of Veterinary Pharmacology and Therapeutics 39 (1): 1-15.
Liposomal hydromorphone analgesia in canine limb amputation cases
Lisa Krugner-Higby and others, University of Wisconsin
Post-operative pain control can be challenging in veterinary patients since self-administered analgesia is not a feasible option in animals. The authors developed a liposomal formulation of hydromorphone that releases the agent over a four-day period. They tested this product in client-owned dogs undergoing limb amputation.
Dogs in the test group received 3mg/kg liposomal hydromorphone and this was shown to produce equivalent analgesia to that in control animals receiving an initial subcutaneous dose of hydromorphone, together with a continuous rate infusion of fentanyl.
Journal of the American Animal Hospital Association 52 (1): 13-21.
Palliative radiation therapy for dogs with solid tumours
Melissa Tollett and others, University of Pennsylvania
Palliative radiation therapy has long been a mainstay of treatment for human patients with advanced malignancies and is becoming increasingly used also in veterinary patients. The authors evaluate the clinical response, adverse effects and outcomes in 103 dogs with advanced solid tissue tumours receiving palliative radiotherapy.
Their results indicate that dogs with various forms of malignancy had objective beneficial responses and an improvement in quality of life that was positively associated with survival time.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association 248 (1): 72-82.
Physiological and biochemical effects of electro-acupuncture in goats
Zahir Shah and others, Huazhong Agricultural University, Wuhan, China
Electro-acupuncture is a technique developed in the 1960s involving electrical stimulation of inserted needles and has been used to provide analgesia for human and animal surgical patients. The authors examined the use of this method in combination with intramuscular dexmedetomidine at doses of 5 or 20ug/kg in goats.
Their findings suggest that electro-acupuncture plus low-dose dexmedetomidine had similar effects in raising the threshold for detecting painful stimuli to that of the same sedative-analgesic agent delivered at the higher dose.
American Journal of Veterinary Research 77 (3): 252-259.
Efficacy of a single-formula acupuncture treatment in navicular disease
Katherine Robinson and Stephen Manning, University of Saskatchewan
Palmar heel pain, or navicular disease, is estimated to cause around one-third of all cases of forelimb lameness in horses. Acupuncture has become a popular option among horse-owners seeking a non-invasive, drug-free option for treating this condition in their animals.
However, lameness grade did not change significantly in horses with palmar heel pain receiving acupuncture treatment at any of the seven sites on the foot chosen by the authors for this study. While they note that acupuncture doesn’t appear to provide effective analgesia in this group, a larger study using magnetic resonance imaging for more specific inclusion criteria might lead to different results.
Canadian Veterinary Journal 56 (12): 1,257-1,260.
Methadone and medetomidine premedication for neutering cats
Louisa Slingsby and others, University of Bristol
Methadone is an agent acting on a greater range of cell receptors than similar opioid drugs such as morphine. The authors investigated the safety, and the sedative and analgesic effects of methadone when given in combination with medetomidine in cats being prepared for neutering.
In 45 male and female patients, the combination provided adequate analgesia for the first six hours after administration with no apparent adverse effects. A further dose of methadone at six hours, plus a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug at eight hours, ensured adequate analgesia for up to 24 hours.
Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 17 (10): 864-872.
Palmar/plantar digital neurectomy in horses with foot pain
Santiago Gutierrez-Nibeyro and others, University of Illinois
Palmar/plantar digital neurectomy may be indicated in horses with chronic foot pain due to lesions of the podotrochlear apparatus, painful ossified ungular cartilages or as a result of fractures of the distal phalanx. The authors examined the outcomes of this procedure in 50 horses in which the lesions were diagnosed by magnetic resonance imaging.
Their findings indicate that palmar/plantar digital neurectomy can improve or resolve lameness in horses with foot pain that is unresponsive to medical therapy. However, the procedure is not recommended for use in patients with core or linear lesions of the deep digital flexor tendon.
Equine Veterinary Journal 47 (2): 160-164.
Pharmacokinetics of high-dose subcutaneous buprenorphine in cats
Polly Taylor and others, Taylor-Monroe, Ely, Cambridgeshire
Buprenorphine is a long-acting opioid analgesic agent that has been shown to be useful in neutering procedures in cats. The authors investigated the pharmacokinetics and pharmacodynamics of the drug in healthy cats at doses of between 0.02 and 0.24mg/kg bodyweight.
Their findings show that aqueous high-concentration buprenorphine formulations administered at 0.12 or 0.24mg/kg have potential uses in cats, providing anti-nociception in a single subcutaneous injection of minimal dose volume.
Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery 18 (4): 290-302.
Behavioural changes in donkeys in response to analgesia
Fran Regan and others, University of Bristol
While there have been many studies in horses attempting to identify objective indicators of pain, there has been little parallel research in donkeys. The authors looked for differences in the behaviour of donkeys with and without pain after administering either meloxicam or placebo to animals with a range of chronic or acute disease conditions.
Those given the analgesic drug were judged to be more alert post-treatment, lay down and had their eyes closed less frequently and, when standing, tended to hold their heads higher.
Equine Veterinary Journal 48 (1): 33-38.
Effect of ketamine on the quantity of propofol needed for anaesthesia
Rachel Reed and others, University of Tennessee
Total intravenous anaesthesia is becoming more widely used as an alternative to inhalation anaesthesia for some patients. Propofol is a commonly used injection anaesthetic but at surgical doses it may have cardio-depressive effects.
The authors investigated using ketamine in combination with propofol to anaesthetise healthy male beagles. Their study shows that ketamine, at loading doses of 2mg/kg or 3mg/kg and a constant rate infusion of 0.3 or 0.5g/kg/min, was effective in significantly reducing the minimum infusion rate of propofol needed to eliminate a response to noxious stimuli.
American Journal of Veterinary Research 76 (12): 1,022-1,030.
Effects of dipyrone and/or meloxicam on haemostasis in dogs
Felipe Zanuzzo and others, Sao Paulo State University, Botucatu, Brazil
Dipyrone is a non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drug licensed for canine analgesia in some European countries but which has been found to inhibit platelet aggregation in humans. So further information is required on its haemostatic effects before it can be recommended for routine use in the peri-operative period.
The authors investigated its effects on various haemostatic parameters when given alone and in combination with meloxicam. In healthy adult dogs they found that in contrast to meloxicam, dipyrone does inhibit platelet aggregation. But the two drugs given in combination caused more prolonged inhibition.
Journal of Veterinary Emergency and Critical Care 25 (4): 512-520.
Effects of pre-operative carprofen and tramadol on post-operative analgesia
Nicole Karrasch and others, Ohio State University, Columbus
Pre-emptive analgesic treatment, normally involving opiate agents, has been shown to reduce the requirement for post-operative analgesia in canine surgery. The authors examined the effects of the selective COX-2 inhibitor carprofen and the multimodal opioid analgesic tramadol on the post-operative analgesia requirement of dogs undergoing cutaneous tumour removal.
They found no significant differences in pain scores between the two treatment groups and those given no pre-emptive analgesia.
Canadian Veterinary Journal 56 (8): 817-822.
