Weekly companion animal news for November 25: parasite protection, suicide toolkit, and dog aging

Merck receives U.S. approval for cat parasite preventive

Merck Animal Health announced the U.S. approval of Bravecto Plus topical solution for cats by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Bravecto Plus is an extended-duration, broad-spectrum combination (fluralaner and moxidectin) topical solution for cats, indicated for both external and internal parasite infestations: ticks and fleas, heartworm, intestinal roundworm and hookworm. According to the announcement from Merck, Bravecto Plus provides extended protection for up to two months with one application. Merck said Bravecto is the only product on the market that protects against this combination of parasites over a longer duration.

Veterinary groups create resource to help colleges deal with suicide

A new resource aims to help veterinary colleges deal in the aftermath of student suicide. The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, the American Veterinary Medical Association and the Association of American Veterinary Medical Colleges teamed up on the guide, called “After a Suicide: A Toolkit for Colleges of Veterinary Medicine.” The free toolkit includes best practices for school administrators and staff to respond in the immediate aftermath of a suicide; guidance for helping students, faculty and staff cope in the short- and long-term; tips on working with the media and community partners; tools for deciding how to safely memorialize students; and information on how to identify and support community members who may be vulnerable and reduce the risk of suicide contagion. Read the full announcement here.

AVMA membership hits record high

Membership in the American Veterinary Medical Association increased 2% this year to more than 95,000. The organization, which represents about three-fourths of the country’s veterinarians, has seen membership growth every year since 2011, when the number dropped to 82,686, Today’s Veterinary Business (also published by NAVC) reports. This year the AVMA has added more than 1,500 veterinarians to its rolls. “We’ve made it a top priority to seek out new and better ways to provide value to our members at all stages of their careers, and I think we’re seeing veterinarians respond to that,” said AVMA President Dr. John Howe.

Veterinarians find career path in relief work

The number of relief veterinarians increased from about 1,800 in 2008 to about 2,300 in 2018, a 30% increase in 10 years, according to data from the American Veterinary Medical Association. This is on par with the percentage increase in actively working veterinarians. Being a relief veterinarian, who fills in for full-time vets, has become a viable career choice for some doctors. “I found that I really, really loved it and that I got this real sense of satisfaction at helping my colleagues take time off,” said Dr. Cindy Trice, who recently founded Relief Rover, an online community for relief veterinarians. The forum connects relief veterinarians with employers as well as with each other. One expert said at this summer’s AVMA convention that relief veterinarians are a potential solution to mitigate staffing challenges brought on by the profession’s changing demographics.

Nominations open for Dog Aging Project

Scientists have officially opened nominations to find 10,000 pets for the largest-ever study of aging in dogs, which they hope helps them learn about human aging too. The project will collect veterinary records, DNA samples, gut microbes and information on food and walks. Five hundred dogs will test a pill that could slow the aging process. “What we learn will potentially be good for dogs and has great potential to translate to human health,” said project co-director Daniel Promislow of the University of Washington School of Medicine. For example, if scientists find a genetic marker for a type of cancer in dogs, it could be explored in humans. Dogs participating in the study will live at home and follow their usual routine. Nominations are open on the Dog Aging Project’s website. All ages and sizes, purebreds and mixed breeds, can participate, the Associated Press reports.

Scientists develop dog-to-human age calculator

Researchers say they’ve found a new formula to convert dog years to human years, using a natural process called methylation. This is the addition of methyl groups (a carbon and hydrogen chemical compound) to specific DNA sequences. In humans, it tracks biological age: the toll that disease, poor lifestyle and genetics takes on people’s bodies. Dogs, as well as other species, also undergo DNA methylation, and scientists now have tried to calculate biological age using canine methylation to compare humans and dogs. Based on the data, dogs’ and humans’ life stages seem to match up, Science magazine reports. For example, a 7-week-old puppy would be roughly equivalent to a 9-month-old human baby, both of whom are just beginning to sprout teeth. The formula matches the average life span of Labrador retrievers (12 years) with the worldwide lifetime expectancy of humans (70 years). Overall, Virginia Morell writes, “the canine epigenetic clock ticks much faster initially than the human one—that 2-year-old Lab may still act like a puppy but it is middle-aged, the methylation-based formula suggests—and then slows down.”

CBD affects cats and dogs differently: study

CBD supplements seemed safe for dogs in a recent study, but the results raised questions for cats. The study, published in the journal Animals, examined how CBD-rich hemp nutraceuticals in pets’ diets affected their blood chemistry. The researchers gave 2 mg/kg total CBD concentration orally to eight dogs and eight cats twice daily. After 12 weeks of this regimen, the dogs showed no clinically significant changes, but the cats showed some behavioral changes, like excessive head shaking and licking. One cat had increased levels of a certain enzyme, Petfood Industry reports. The study authors suggested CBD receive further study in cats to determine how dosage and other variables affect them.

3D printers help surgeons plan complex procedures

The Tufts University Cummings veterinary school is using 3D printing technology to model patients’ bones based on MRI and CT scans. Mike Karlin, a veterinary orthopedic surgeon at Tufts, has six 3D printers in his lab. “With 3D printing, a lot of your decision making takes place preoperatively,” Karlin said. “You make a plan, execute it on the printed bone, and then check to see if the plan worked. If you are happy, you’re good to go. If not, you adjust the plan and print a second set of bones to test how that works. It saves you time in surgery, and pets spend a lot less time under anesthesia.” The technique can be used to plan for spinal surgeries, as well as for reconstructing the skulls of pets that suffer major head injuries or require brain surgery, one Tufts neurologist said.