The Horse Doctor

There is now growing concern over several cases of the H5N1 flu in Indonesia (Sumatra)in which it appears that the virus may have adapted to human to human transmission (reported in Bloomberg.com ) . " In one case, a 10-year- old boy who caught the virus from his aunt may have passed it to his father, the first time officials have seen evidence of a three-person chain of infection, an agency spokeswoman said. Six of the seven people have died." At this point no one knows if any mutations have occured. "So far, studies of the Sumatran outbreak and genetic analyses of the virus don't indicate the virus has undergone major changes, Cheng said. Scientists at WHO-affiliated labs in the U.S. and Hong Kong found no evidence that the Indonesian strain of H5N1 has gained genes from pigs or humans that might change its power or spreadi ng ability, WHO said." "Almost all of the 218 cases of H5N1 infections confirmed by the WHO since late 2003 can be traced to direct ...

For those who are not keeping up with the news about this guy...here it is. This guy is certifiable. Amir Taheri has a good article about this. He is the current Iranian President and a member of a sect of Islam called the "Twelver's" who believe that the hidden Imam will return after a worldwide catacylism......one that can be brought about by the actions of man. More here . Now that the Iranian economy is headed for the dumper ( even with record high oil prices) he seems to be on the same track as Adolph Hitler. The Iranian Islamic Majlis (parliament) passed a law that will re quire religous minorities to wear strips of colored cloth just as the Germans did prior to World War II. "The law mandates the government to make sure that all Iranians wear "standard Islamic garments" designed to remove ethnic and class distinctions reflected in clothing, and to eliminate "the influence of the infidel" on the way Iranians, especially the ...

For those that watched the Preakness this afternoon it brought back memories of Ruffian. Heres what we know now according to Dr Larry Bramlage. Barbaro suffered two fractures in the right hind fetlock and is most likely being transported to New Bolton Center, the equine hospital at The University of Pennsylvanian. New Bolton is one of the only Hospitals that c an recover horses from surgery in a pool and decrease the risk of wrecking the surgical repair during recovery.Unfortuneatly, this is a very significant injury since the fetlock is now very unstable and will most likely have to be plated . Additionally, if the blood supply or nerves are stretched or damaged then the picture gets worse. It was a great thing Prado did such a masterful job of bringing Barbaro to a quick stop without doing any further damage. We will find out more in a few days if the information is released, if all goes well.....sooner than later. UPDATE Barbaro underwent surgery and at this point it is looki...

Horse serum has been used for years as a souce of "gamma globulins" (anti-bodies) for many species including man. Now a group of scientists in China are using antibody fragments from horses to fight the H5N1 virus. "The researchers included Jiahai Lu, PhD, of Sun Yat-sen University in Guangzhou, China. They're among experts worldwide working on bird flu treatments." The article is in MedicineNet.com and was written by Miranda Hitti from WebMD. "First, the scientists prepared H5N1 virus in hen's eggs. Next, they immunized horses to make antibodies to H5N1. Lu and colleagues took fragments of those antibodies, mixed them with H5N1 virus, and then spread the mixture on plates holding dog cells. Dog cells were only exposed to H5N1 or the horse antibody fragments. For comparison, other dog cells were left alone, without either H5N1 or the horse antibodies' fragments. The researchers checked on the dog cells every day for the next five...

As I've posted recently, the writers for Star trek seem to have incredible vision. There is a new post at " TCSDaily " by Glenn Reynolds (Technology, Commerce,Society) that discusses the use of optical implants to restore vision. " Daniel Palanker, a physicist at Stanford University in California, had the idea to bypass the dead rods and cones and to stimulate the cells of the inner retina with electrical signals directly. Previous research had shown this method allowed perception of light, and Dr Palanker built a way to exploit it. His bionic eye system is made up of a 3mm chip implanted into the retina and a pair of virtual-reality-style goggles containing a video camera. The goggles convert the video pictures into an infrared image. "The image is projected on to the retina and the retinal implant has photosensitive pixels that convert infrared light into pulses of electrical current, stimulating the cells in the retina," said Dr Palanker. So far, he h...

( angelfire cartoons ) Just to set the record straight....this is a SYNDROME. That means it is a condition with multiple potential causes that has a unique set of symptoms. In this case the symptom is head shaking, this is either horizontal, vertical or rotary and frequently resembles a nervous twitch. Sometimes this is so uncontrollable that the behavior becomes almost manic and dangerous. Over the years many different causes have been attibuted to causing head shaking syndrome, including (1) ear mites (2) allergic rhinitis (3) ocular disease (4) Trigeminal neuritis (5) dental disease and (6) photic headshaking. One, from the fever swamps of the internet , links it to vaccines ( see my previous post about my thoughts on holistics) One older study noted that these horses were frequently over 8 years of age, Throughbred or Warm Blood, owned by 40+ year old women used for hunter/jumper or dressage. Additional studies have linked this to the time of year (seasonal) and most recently, to b...

Three prostate cancer cells have taken up fluorescently labeled nanoparticles (shown in red). The cells' nuclei and cytoskeletons are stained blue and green, respectively. Similarly designed targeted nanoparticles containing a chemotherapeutic drug are capable of getting inside cancer cells and releasing a lethal dose of the drug and eradicating tumors. It's funny how so many things that have been used by the writers of Star Trek had come to be common place....the communicator (cell phone), Tricorders ( Palm pilots/Blackberrys) and the ever present computer. Now we are seeing another one....nanotechnology. These are small(microscopic) particles and appliances that can be injected into a patient to treat a specific disease. I read a great site, Technology Review from MIT that is definately on the cutting edge and has a report on Nano's being used in the treatment of Prostate cancer. "To make the nanoparticles, the researchers mix together a prostate c...

For years I have been fighting a never ending battle against ignorance.....and I think I'm losing. I don't practice third world medicine and yet I have several clients that sometimes give in to the dark side and use roots and herbs on their horses ( fortunately not many). On the surface Homeopathy sounds so appealing....it's natural, safe and best of all "effective" . Unfortunately there is very little science involved and more and more "fear". I was recently confronted with a quasi new one... the noxious field. ..danger. This one has some old in it , such as the "high tension power line" fears of the past, and some I haven't heard before. The dreaded "Geopathic noxious energy" - " What are geopathic noxious energies? These are noxious earth rays that come where underground water vein s cross; locations of earthquake fracture faults, underground voids (caverns or hollows) in the rock structure...

Many of our clients now use wireless video camera systems to monitor their foaling mares ( sure beats sitting by the stall late at night). With recent advances in computer wireless technology , you can put your camera feed on the internet and have someone else watch it for you. I have heard rumors that there are fee for service sites but I haven't found them yet ( any entrepreneurs out there that want to start one?) . The equipment is fairly inexpensive ~$200- $400 but you will need a DSL or cable internet hookup for a high speed connection.There are several sites that will help you host your web camera feed and there are even sites dedicated to those that just like to watch for the fun of it. "Foalnet" This site is set up so that you can get an alert whenever a mare starts to foal...turn up the volume on your computer. There seems to be quite a following of foalings on the internet and people just like to watch them. Even if you don't want to web-cast it would still ...

It was bound to happen. As medical and scientific advances progress it was only a matter of time before someone cloned a horse . VetGen Inc. of Austin Tx was the first to sell a cloned horse , and now plans to sell 22 clones by 2008. They also project that they will sell 100 yearly for about $150,000 each. I'm still skeptical since several recent scientists have been exposed for faking alot of their data and others were unable to reproduce the experiment results. So if you have some spare cash lying around and really want to start over in training your horse( I know theres something you would do differently) heres your chance.

The first documented cases of MRLS have been reported in Florida (Alachua County). For those who were living in a cave in 2001 , there was an outbreak of abortions in Kentucky that devastated the Thoroughbred industry that year, about 3000 foals were lost. There were many Veterinarians and specifically Internists that were overwhelmed with the foals and mares affected. Besides the abortions , there were foals born that soon died with pericarditis (fluid in the sack around the heart) and uveitis (inflammation in the eye). Someone who definately thinks outside the box found a link with this syndrome and the Eastern tent caterpiller(ETC). I for one was skeptical , leaning more towards the camp looking into mycotoxins ( fungal toxins). The ETC feeds on wild cherry and crab apple trees and are cyanide accumulators as well as potentially ergotoxins . While the actual causative agent remains ellusive, several studies have shown that feeding ETC to pregnant mares reproduces the syndrome w...

I was recently asked about the use of Methotrexate in the horse by an owner. She had obtained some ( your guess is as good as mine where it came from) at the recommendation of her trainer( remember ,this is an injectable prescription drug). She was told that it would help her horse move "smoother". Methotrexate has been used for years in race horses as a supposed treatment for arthritis. This is because it's human use is as a chemotherapeutic agent and has been used to suppress the immune response in rhumatoid arthritis and certain cancers. It's use to "smooth" out the movement of the horse cannot be justified. A recent report stated the following "Methotrexate is known to have a negative effect on reproduction. In fact, it is coupled with the drug RU-486, the morning-after pill that causes abortion in humans. When administered as chemotherapy or to treat arthritis, the law requires patients to be informed: "Tell your doctor if you are pregn...

Now here's a worth while cause. I'm working on the board of Directors for this group that has put together a center where we can teach disabled kids to ride and to provide a Physical Therapist that uses horseback riding as therapy. It's called Horse sense and Sensitivity .Having a nephew with Down Syndrome this is also important to me. Since most of these kids have concurrent physical limitations as well, the actions and motions involved in horseback riding are a tremendous benefit to them physically. They can finally find themselves taller than everyone else, moving freely without a walker or wheelchair and having a sense of control . There are several programs working at the center including a physical therapist, a Certified Instructor in Handicap riding giving lessons and a program for emotionally and physically abused kids to learn horsemanship as well. There is a great deal of potential for growth with this organization and I would encourage all of you to look at their...

While so much attention these days is on Bird Flu...and rightly so. There is another that bugs me. While I'm more into upland game birds, I have alot of friends and clients that deer hunt. After a recent advisory from the Fla. Dept of Agriculture....I worry about eating venison these days. For those that dont know there is a disease called CWD (chronic wasting disease) of deer and elk that is seen out in the west and mid -west that is caused by an organism called a "Prion". This is actually a sub-viral particle that you cannot eliminate , sterilize or kill. You can't cook it out of or irradiate from the meat. These buggers are bad news. It is similar to the organism that causes mad-cow disease and Creutzfeldt-Jakob disease (CJD) ,a progressive dementia that is fatal. We know that CWD can be transmitted intra species and the potential for humans to develop a dementia after consuming venison is high. The good news is that we have not seen it here in Florida....but th...

There is currently an outbreak of EHV-1 at the Pimlico Race track in Maryland and transport restrictions into Kentucky. We saw several cases of Neurologic Rhino (EHV-1) here last summer , all in the Mandarin part of Jacksonville. The typical clinical signs consist of posterior paresis(weakness) ataxia (incoordination) and sometimes facial or cranial nerve involvement. The bad thing about this is that it can look like so many other neurologic conditions in the horse, most notably , CSM (cervical Stenotic Myelopathy-Wobblers syndrome) , West Nile Virus, EPM (Equine Protozoal Myelitis) or even trauma. We vaccinate against this disease using a combination EHV 1& 4 vaccine but even this may not be completely effective since there is significant antigenic shift and drift from year to year. The most current vaccine strains are from 2001 and only provide protection for about 90 days. Due to this you should vaccinate your horses reguarly. We vaccinate a minimun of twice yearly . Should yo...

Recent research done at the University of Tasmania has shown that a facial tumor found in Tasmanian Devils since the 1990's is transmissible. There have been several tumor found in other animals that are as well, such as Equine Sarcoids and TVT (Transmissible Veneral Tumors) in dogs . The odd thing in this one is that the tumor has 13 chromosome pairs whereas the Devil has 14. The jounal Nature reports that the population of devils on Tasmania has dropped from 140,000 to 80,000 since it was first discovered over 10 years ago. DFTDA (devil facial tumor disease) is thought to be spread by the biting activity of devils which pick up tumor cells on the teeth and transplant them into the next devil they bite. This suggests several things about this tumor, one , that it is fairly hearty and two, that it can bypass the bodies initial immune response to the bite wound. Normally there is a large number of white cells and components of an immune cascade that swarm to an infected area to c...

For those that are paying attention there is a World-wide violent protest by peace loving Muslims over the publication of cartoons by a Danish newspaper. (Forgive me but I don't recall world-wide violent protests over the Robert Mapplethorpe exhibit of a crucifix in a jar of urine.) The one that is causing most of the fuss is one of Muhammad with a bomb in his turban. Michelle Malkin has the rest of the photo's. It appears this is particularly offensive since nobody can produce pictures of Muhammad as they might be worshipped and that would be idolatry. Note that they aren't upset with the bomb in the turban idea " Allah akbar, Mustaffa ,we should have thought of that, instead of that stupid shoe bomb idea, now we look like that foolish infidel Maxwell Smart". Now we have Muslim clerics calling for the beheading of Europeans ( I wonder if they include the French in that), this could pose a unique problem since 25% of Europe is now Muslim. Come to think of it th...

From the "I don't think I would have said that" department comes this jewel. If you get "dressed up for Wal-Mart (and I've been to Wal-Mart, America's tackle box) then I sure don't want to see you in a Dollar store. I can only guess what you wear to the 7-11. I guess Ms. Jackson could be a slave to fashion and actually gets her nails done before she hits the big "W" but somehow I doubt it.

Gone this weekend to NY and was unable to update this blog , had to put in some culture time with the Horse Daughter for her 15th birthday. For those that missed the State of the Union address last night, there was a memorable site and story. Laura Bush had a Dog seated with her ( and NO it wasn't a Marine). It was Rex, a 5 year old German Shepperd bomb sniffer and veteran of Operation Iraqi Freedom. His owner, Air Force Tech Sgt. Jamie Dana was injured by an IED (Improvised explosive device....AKA-road side bomb) and awoke in the Hospital crying for her dog. She was told the dog had been killed in the blast. After surgery she was informed that Rex actually survived but since she was being reassigned she couldn't take Rex with her. The Government had $18,000 invested in training and Rex would have to remain and serve 5 more years. However, an act of Congress by Dana's congressman, Rep. John Peterson, R-Pa. slipped into a Defence bill transfered Rex to Sgt. Dana and they ...

I just got a disturbing e-mail from Dr. Kapustin from " Nature.com ". It looks like Nature is way out in front as far as published information about the H5N1 virus. This latest publication states that the current virus flash point in Turkey shows two new mutations. The first is a switch in an amino acid change at the 223 position on the hemaglutination (H) protein. This increases it's affinity for binding to human cells and decreases it's affinity for bird cells. The second is another switch ,like the 223-haemoagglutinin mutation, it signals adaptation to humans, says Alan Hay, director of a WHO influenza laboratory at the NIMR. "There is this glutamic acid–lysine flip," he explains. "Glutamic acid is associated with flu-virus replication in birds, and lycine is in primates."These changes put us on the track to the 10 genetic changes associated with the 1918 pandemic. Dr. Tier spoke of a recent meeting where it was speculated that if we reach that ...