Emerging Diseases - University of Georgia College of Veterinary ...

monocytes/macrophages, and persists withoutmuch replication or cell damage in B-lymphocytes.This indicates that early interventionmight have to be directed at those cells thatsustain viral production, namely monocyte /macrophages. Further, these cells are the firsttargets of natural infections by lentiviruses,and vaccine design should either provoke animmune response able to prevent or curtailproductive infection ofmonocyte/macrophages.Dorothee Bienzlebienzle@calc.vet.uga.eduDietary conjugated linoleic acid: Effect ontumor growth and metastasesBecause of the increased quality of petcare in the United States, the pet population isliving to older ages. Associated with thisincrease in longevity is an increase in theprevalence of cancer in the pet population.Cancer is one of the leading causes of death inpets. In the majority of cases, death fromcancer is not caused by an inability to controlthe primary tumor but instead from theinability to prevent or treat the spread ofcancer. This inability to control the spread ofthe disease is also the leading cause of cancerdeath in people.Prostate carcinoma of the dog has recentlybeen identified as a model for human prostatecancer. Prostate cancer is the most commonlydiagnosed neoplasm of men and the secondleading cause of male death in the UnitedStates. The dog is the only nonhuman speciesin which prostate cancer occurs spontaneouslyand has a similar pattern of spread to distantorgans. Because pets share a similarenvironment and in many cases diet with theirowners, factors that influence cancer in dogsmay influence cancer in people. Diet has beenshown to play a role in the development,treatment, and management of cancer in boththe human and animal patient. Conjugatedlinoleic acid (CLA), a fatty acid foundpredominately in meat and dairy products hasbeen shown to have anticancer properties.Conjugated linoleic acid may alter growth ofthe primary tumor as well as inhibit the spreadof tumor cells to distant organs. This studywill evaluate the effects of dietary CLA on theability of canine prostate cancer cells andhuman breast cancer cells to grow and spreadto distant sites when they are inoculated intoathymic (immune incompetent) mice.Completion of this study will further elucidatethe role of CLA in the inhibition of cancer inanimals and in man.Karen Cornellkcornell@calc.vet.uga.eduPharmacokinetics and efficacy oftransdermal fentanyl patches in cats andtheir effect on serum cortisol concentrationsAdequate pain control in cats is frequentlyneglected in veterinary clinical practice. Amethod needs to be developed to provideeffective analgesia for control of postoperativepain in cats. Transdermal delivery of opiateanalgesics offers an attractive means ofmaintaining analgesia for an extended period.Although several studies have been publisheddescribing the use of transdermal fentanylpatches (TFP) in dogs, only one study hasbeen published describing their use in cats.The fentanyl concentrations achieved, theefficacy, and any potentially serious sideeffects of TFP have not been wellcharacterized in this species.The objectives of this project were toinvestigate the pharmacokinetics and clinicaluse of TFP in cats. The cats were assigned tothe following groups. Group I cats receivedfentanyl patches but did not undergoanesthesia or surgery. Group II cats receivedfentanyl patches and were anesthetized duringa portion of the study period. Group III catsdid not receive fentanyl patches and wereanesthetized during a portion of the studyperiod. Group IV cats received fentanylpatches and underwent anesthesia andovariohysterectomy (spay). Group V cats didnot have fentanyl patches placed andunderwent anesthesia and ovariohysterectomy.Group V cats were provided analgesia in amanner similar to that used in clinical practice.Dr. Karen Cornell propogates canine prostatic cancer cells inthe laboratory.22