The Horse Doctor

Watch this video, it will blow your mind. While this is being developed for the military(a lot of scientific advances are) it could have huge implications in medicine. Imagine taking those with spinal injuries, ALS, MS and severe arthritis and being able to walk and function with only minimal exertion. I have to admit I had flashbacks to Robo-cop and darth Vader but it is truly amazing. I'm sure the expense is astronomical but like much of technology the price will come down as the product comes on line and more advances are made. Think about the implications for Equine medicine in generations to come where the lame horse or laminitic horse could move about effortlessly. I don't think we will be around to see it but we can surely see it coming.

This past week Dr Mary left us and went to run the Boston Marathon. The amazing thing about it is that she has been coughing like a chain smoker for the last month. She got checked out by the doctors and ran anyway finishing in the top third in her class. While Dr Dick and I fight the pull of the outgoing tide by dieting and hitting the weights.....Mary effortlessly stays in unbelievable shape. Here are some pics from the race.....congrats Mary.

This is a great Aussie political satire that shows how politicians are viewed the world over. Think of this every time you see an upcoming political interview this presidential season.

The AAEP journal Equine Veterinary Education frequently publishes highlights of clinically relevant papers and this months edition does just that. There are several very interesting abstracts presented including the following. "Induction of Laminitis by prolonged hyperinsulinemia in clinically normal ponies" by K.E.Asplin et al. The purpose of the study was to determine what are the effects of prolonged insulin administration on hoof wall integrity. High serum insulin states exist in the horse such as in Metabolic Syndrome and the associated insulin resistance. In this study 9 clinically normal ponies were divided into 2 groups, 1. treated n=5 ,2. control n=4. The treated group was given insulin over a 72 hour period via a euglycemic-hyperinsulinemic clamp technique which keeps the blood glucose level normal in the face of increased insulin. there was no gastrointestinal disease and no systemic illness during the study, ruling out those causes of laminitis. In the treatment ...

I have had quite a few responses to a post on "Gallium Nitrate and Tildren". The main point of my post was the pushing of Gallium nitrate on the public as a scientific treatment for navicular disease, which still has no scientific backing today. This one came in recently. "Isn't the primary effect of Tildren to inhibit bone resorption? A related effect would be, yes, to reduce the Calcium in the blood, if this were coming from excess bone remodelling. It's not to treat the blood Calcium , but to reduce damage to the bone...which increases blood Calcium. I'm absolutely sure you know this already, but your comment is leading and misleading. You must be a fan of Richard Dawkins". I'll try to address those questions here. Tildren (tiludronate) was also mentioned as a recent treatment for Navicular disease (also tarsal arthritis and thoracolumbar pain ) American Journal of Veterinary Research , March 2007, Vol. 68, No. 3 , Pages 329-337. Til...