Page 3 - Clinical Connections - Spring 2022

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

Veterinary Breakthroughs Amid the Daffodils

Welcome to our spring edition of that there is more we can do to manage these
Clinical Connections, again highlighting the steroid-resistant cases.
core principle of our clinical centres – cutting- Our Orthopaedic Service, led by Professor
edge practice informed by applied and, on Richard Meeson, has continued to go from
occasions, basic research in environments strength to strength, and on Page 7 the
that are supportive of both undergraduate team describes highlights from a typical
and postgraduate training and experiential week, including a comminuted fracture of
learning. the shoulder joint of a young dog, which was
One of the most challenging things our one of a number of injuries sustained after he
teams manage is owner expectations and, ran into a wild boar! This followed by a total
in particular, anxieties around pets coping hip replacement for a two-year-old Bernese
with advanced treatment protocols and mountain dog and stem cell therapy for
management practices. Nowhere is this more severe elbow osteoarthritis, outlining how we
of a concern than when we are dealing with are using quantitative data generated using a
cancer patients. Our lead story reports on the pressure mat to more objectively evaluate the
development of a dedicated chemotherapy benefits of this form regenerative surgery.
administration room. This will help us provide Dirk Werling, Professor of Molecular
the best possible experience for patients. Creating a positive Immunology, discusses flow cytometry for companion animal
and supportive environment that can be adjusted for individual cancer research on Page 8. As part of the current investment of
preferences is paramount for all our patients, but especially so the Hawkshead Campus, with support from Hertfordshire Local
for those attending for regular chemotherapy sessions, and this is Enterprise Partnership and the Animal Care Trust, we were able
equally important for the peace of mind of clients. to purchase two flow cytometers, one of which is a fluorescence-
There is an interesting article from Bettina Dunkel, Head of activated cell sorter, and a new microscope, to enable live-cell
RVC Equine, on a hot topic in veterinary practice – antimicrobial imaging. The Flow Cytology Core Facility is available to both
stewardship. Bettina discusses a range of considerations around internal and external users.
responsible antimicrobial use in horses. As Bettina emphasises, On Page 9, members of the Internal Medicine Service discuss
there are numerous causes of systemic inflammation in the horse. exciting developments that have meant the once inevitably fatal
While a significant bacterial infection is one explanation, there are FIP can be treated with parenteral and then oral antiviral agents.
many more and the clinical signs invariably do not provide a clue One of the few silver linings of the COVID-19 era has been
as to the underlying cause. She outlines this complexity in the the possibility of more easily gaining access to drugs, such as
context of antimicrobial use and overuse. remdesivir and GS 441524, that target certain coronaviruses.
Our exotics article on Page 5, by Nadene Stapleton, discusses It has been extremely gratifying to have been able to work with
one of the more common problems we deal with in rabbits – Bova UK to save the lives of an ever-increasing number of young
ear disease. Nadene explains why, despite being potentially cats, using a combination of injectable and oral preparations,
particularly painful, the disease is often not picked up until it who but for the pioneering work of the UC Davis’s Niels Pedersen
has progressed and requires surgery. As well as discussing would certainly have died from this horrible disease.
treatment, Nadene talks about interesting research showing that Last but certainly not least, Page 10 has a fascinating
a great many cases are picked up when rabbits have CT scans article by Balázs Szladovits, Associate Professor of Clinical
for other conditions, thus underlining the problem of the disease Pathology, on the epigenetic clock, which he has been working
going unnoticed due to rabbits’ stoicism. on collaboratively, including with Professor Steve Horvath at
On Page 6 Erica Tinson, from our Emergency and Critical Care UCLA. This new tool based on analysis of the epigenetic data
team, discusses a severe case of immune-mediated haemolytic of an individual can reveal their biological age, which can differ
anaemia. Buddy, a six-year-old Labrador, required packed markedly from chronological age. This research has great
red blood cell transfusions on five occasions and underwent implications for veterinary and human medicine, and will no doubt
therapeutic plasma exchange. He ultimately had 10 units of help vets explain disease risks to owners and how these risks
red blood cells and eight plasma exchanges before recovering could be mitigated by attention to factors within their control. It
completely. We can probably all recall frustrating IMHA cases that really is a most exciting area of future research.
seemed completely intransigent to aggressive initial therapy with Professor David Church, Deputy Principal and Acting Vice
“steroids and another agent”; Erica’s article is a timely reminder Principal (Clinical Affairs)

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