Spring/Summer 2013 Aesculapian Magazine - University of Georgia ...

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CVM associate professor of emergency and critical
care medicine and a board-certified expert in
anesthesiology), and members of other collaborating
institutions traveled to Africa to perform
examinations of gorillas and chimpanzees at the
Limbe Wildlife Centre in Cameroon. The trip served
as part of an effort to assess possible differences
between captive apes in the U.S., and those living in
native sanctuaries where the living conditions are
closer to that of truly “wild” living apes. Brainard,
who is also based in the CVM’s department of Small
Animal Medicine and Surgery, is on the project for
his expertise in anesthesia, because different types of
anesthesia may impact cardiac function.
The GAHP aims to develop an organized
methodology for collecting and storing data from
the great apes, including evaluations of blood work,
animal nutrition, cardiac ultrasounds, blood pressure
and electrocardiograms.
“We’re going to bank, in this database, all the
information that we can and look for patterns,”
Rapoport said. “Patterns will help us better define
the type or types of heart disease that we’re seeing.
We have to define ‘normal’ and then distinguish the
difference between normal and abnormal. Only with
that understanding can we hope to make a difference
here.”
As a veterinary cardiologist who performs and
interprets cardiac ultrasounds on apes at Zoo Atlanta,
and occasionally other zoos, Rapoport’s involvement
with the GAHP is integral to the project. For the
GAHP, he serves as the cardiac advisory group leader,
and has oversight over all cardiac exams performed
for each of the ape taxa.
Each Team Member Contributes to the Puzzle
Drs. McManamon, Rapoport and Brainard are only
a small portion of a very large team of collaborators
and contributors who are spread out across North
America, Mexico, Canada, Europe, and even New
Zealand. At UGA, other collaborators include: Dr.
Scott Brown, a professor who is jointly appointed
to the departments of Small Animal Medicine and
Surgery and Physiology and Pharmacology, and who
is an expert in renal disease and hypertension; Dr.
Cathy Brown, a professor of anatomic pathology with
expertise in renal pathology and experience with
creation of a software database to evaluate canine
kidney disease; and Dr. Angela Ellis, an associate
professor of pathology with expertise and special
interest in zoo, wildlife, comparative cardiac and
Dr. Jennifer Glavis, a volunteer veterinarian with the Limbe Wildlife Centre,
examines chimpanzee Papa’s ear during his check-up, while Dr. Ben
Brainard, an expert in anesthesia and emergency/critical care veterinary
medicine, monitors Papa’s vitals. Dr. Brainard is an associate professor of
emergency and critical care medicine at the University of Georgia College of
Veterinary Medicine. Photo by Adam Thompson/Courtesy of Zoo Atlanta.
ophthalmic pathology. Drs. Ellis and Cathy Brown
are based in the Athens Veterinary Diagnostic
Laboratory.
The CVM’s relationship with Zoo Atlanta, along
with its proximity to Zoo Atlanta and to Murphy,
has provided both faculty and students a unique
opportunity to participate in the project and to
collaborate and learn with others. “Hayley Murphy
is the ring leader of this project,” said Rapoport.
“There are a number of people who have played key
roles in the various stages of what is now the GAHP,
but she has driven and continues to drive the project
forward.”
For Rapoport, the project has great potential for
the future health and well being of great apes. “Heart
disease is a major cause of death in these incredibly
charismatic animals, so the potential to better
understand and treat their heart disease equals a
potential to improve both quality and length of life for
our aging great apes,” he said.
Creating the database, with both clinical and
pathologic data, will take some time, but the hope is
that such large amounts of information will eventually
show patterns and clues as to how the disease can be
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The University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine