The rewards of research
What has the Companion Animal Health Fund accomplished in three decades? Besides purchasing thousands of dollars worth of specialized equipment, the Fund has supported scientific investigations that have improved the quality of companion animal health care around the world. The Companion Animal Health Fund has been especially influential in several areas including immunohistochemistry, molecular technology, reconstructive surgery, veterinary ophthalmology, medical imaging and laparoscopic surgery.
• Immunohistochemistry (IHC) is a diagnostic tool where scientists can use enzyme-flagged antibodies to identify patterns of antigen distribution in tissue. With the Fund's backing, scientists at WCVM were among the first to develop IHC techniques for diagnosing autoimmune diseases and cancerous tumours in companion animals. Based on WCVM's research, veterinary diagnostic laboratories gained access to new IHC markers that improved cancer diagnoses.
• Molecular technology: WCVM researchers were pioneers in using PCR (polymerase chain reaction) technology to investigate feline leukemia virus (FeLV) — a challenging disease to diagnose with antigen-based tests. Those early studies led to additional work in applying PCR technology to investigate a possible viral link to the development of vaccine-associated feline sarcomas (VAFS).
• Reconstructive surgery: With CAHF's support, WCVM researchers have developed more than a half-dozen skin flap options for reconstructive surgery and successfully used these techniques on clinical cases at WCVM's Veterinary Teaching Hospital. Based on their work, surgical specialists now have a viable alternative to amputating a pet's limb after an accident or tumour removal.
• Medical imaging: The first project that the Fund ever supported was a radiographic study of Canadian Eskimo dogs that took place during the winter of 1978 in Yellowknife. Since that very first projects, medical imaging specialists at WCVM have collaborated on dozens of CAHF-supported projects where researchers have used medical imaging to confirm diagnoses and pinpoint the location of injured tissues or bones.
• Veterinary ophthalmology: Besides providing financial support for the purchase of ophthalmology equipment, the Fund has backed ground breaking research into several inherited retinal diseases. In particular, WCVM research has shed new light on the inheritance of retinal detachment in Great Pyrenees dogs, inherited geographic retinal dysplasia in miniature schnauzers, and inherited retinopathy in the Borzoi breed.
• Laparoscopic surgery: With CAHF's financial support, WCVM scientists designed minimally invasive techniques for disc removals, spays and thorascopies (chest surgery) in dogs. Surgical specialists also worked with anesthesiologists to develop optimum methods of anesthesia during certain types of surgeries. More than 10 years later, those techniques are still being used by surgical specialists in veterinary medicine.
For more details about CAHF-backed research achievements, click here to read "Rewards of Research" in the Fall 2003 issue of Vet Topics.
