College of Veterinary Medicine Research Brochure

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“Are thereparts ofthe brainthat canbe repaired?”Dr. Roger Reepthe antibodies encouraged neuronsin the damaged regions of the rats’brains to sprout. Over time, in somerats, the new neurons appeared totake over the work the damagedtissue used to do and restorednormal behavior.“By investigating mechanisms ofneural repair in rats, there’s hope fordeveloping a therapy to promoterecovery in humans,” Reep said.“Our question is what kinds ofchanges can the brain make tocompensate for injury from stroke?Are there parts of the brain thatcan be repaired?”with folds of matter. Manatee brainsare smooth and their brains aresmaller relative to their body size.“It’s not so much that their brainsare small but their bodies havebecome large because of the need toeat large amounts of plants per day,and to conserve heat,” Reep said.Mapping the Brain's Possibilitiesto process tactile information,”Reep said. “It’s a neurobiologicalsolution for living in the world.By understanding more about thekind of information the animal hasto work with, we can moreeffectively design protective habitatand alter our behavior in a way thatis meaningful to them.”The research could haveimplications for regulators whohave designed no-wake zones toprotect manatees, Reep said.Scientists are asking whethermanatees can sense fast-movingboats better than they senseslower boats.EEvery 45 seconds, someone inthe United States has a stroke– and a reason to be interested inthe research of University of Floridaphysiologist Roger Reep.Reep studies spatial neglect, asyndrome that robs stroke victims ofthe awareness of half of their world.A stroke on the right side of thebrain, for example, takes away thevictims’ awareness of everything ontheir left. The problem isn’t visual –their eyesight is fine – but they arenot aware of the left side unless theyturn around.“Under normal circumstances,whether you pass on my right or myleft, I will say hello,” said Reep, aprofessor in UF’s College ofVeterinary Medicine and aresearcher in UF’s McKnight BrainInstitute. “If I’ve had a stroke in theright hemisphere of my brain, I’llneglect to say hello to you if youpass on my left.“The interesting thing is that peoplewith neglect don’t even realizethey’re missing half the world, andsince they’re unaware of theproblem, they aren’t motivated toseek therapy.”Filmmaker Federico Fellini, whosuffered a stroke at 73, posted noteseverywhere as reminders to “lookleft.” Artists with spatial neglectshow a strong bias toward the rightside of a painting or sculpture. Butfor the bulk of stroke victims,mostly the elderly, it’s the everydaymanifestations of spatial neglectthat alter their lives: Stroke victimsin nursing homes, for instance, mayeat only the right half of a meal untila worker turns the plate around.During 20 years of research, Reepand his colleagues developed andused a model in rats that allows forthe study of spatial neglectsyndrome. The researchers located aregion of the brain in rats that issimilar to the region of the humanbrain affected by spatial neglectsyndrome. They induced damage tothis region in the rats, thenadministered monoclonalantibodies, which override a proteinthat prevents neuron growth. Theirpreliminary findings indicate thatFor the 700,000 Americans whohave a stroke each year, theanswers will be vital.Florida conservationists, too,have reason to pay attention toReep’s research. Reep also studiesevolution of the brain and recentlyhas focused on the manatee brain,in hopes of developing insights thatcan help in conservation of theprotected animals.“I guess you could say I lead tworesearch lives,” Reep said. “I’m aFlorida native, and because of thatand my own sensibilities, I want topreserve what I can of the naturaldomain of Florida, and that includesthe animals.”Reep says the order Sirenia, towhich manatees belong, evolvedindependently from other lines thatled to elephants and hyraxes,beginning about 50 million yearsago. There are striking differencesbetween manatee brains and thebrains of animals of similar size.Every brain even a third as large as amanatee brain becomes convoluted,In recent years, researchers also havediscovered that manatees use tactilehair – a sense of touch – to detectunderwater currents and vibrations.Reep and his colleagues at MoteMarine Laboratory are currentlyusing behavioral testing todetermine the capacities of thissystem to detect significant watermovement, such as the approach ofother animals from behind.Reep’s group also works closelywith the state marine mammalpathology laboratory andSea World so that the scientists canexamine manatee brains quicklyfollowing a manatee death. Thepostmortem examinations showthat manatees have specific clumpsof cells on the cerebral cortex thatdeal with tactile informationtransmitted from the hairs.“What we have is an indication thatmanatees have an elaborate systemThe common thread in Reep’swork is the brain and using basicscience to understand it. TheNational Institutes of Health is amajor source of funding for hisresearch, which has been publishedin the journal Brain Research.“Purely as science, this isfascinating,” Reep said. Of his workwith spatial neglect, he added, “Asthe population ages, more peoplewill get this, and we will need tolearn more about the higher orderregions of the brain. In a personwith stroke, we have an opportunityto learn from the nature of theirdeficits.”Photo left: Dr. Roger Reep has focusedon the manatee brain in hopes ofdeveloping insights that can help inconservation of the protected animals.34Research • University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine••Environment • www.vetmed.ufl.edu35
Assessing Risks to Animal, Human and Environmental Health36PProtecting the health ofFlorida’s people andenvironment is a huge task, andpolicy makers often lack theexpertise to tackle scientific questions.How much of a chemical is harmfuland how much is acceptable? Doesthe hazard posed by a toxin changedepending on whether it is presentin water or in soil? How does thecost to clean up a hazardous wastesite balance with the likelihood ofpublic exposure?Environmental policy makers on thestate and national level place suchissues in the hands of scientists atthe University of Florida’s Centerfor Environmental and HumanToxicology, an interdisciplinarycenter housed in the College ofVeterinary Medicine.Research • University of Florida College of Veterinary Medicine“We have a lot of strength intoxicology across the campus, so thecenter’s role is to take thosestrengths and foster research,education and service,” said centerDirector Stephen Roberts. “Wedraw from the health science center,engineering, agriculture and others.We’re the go-to point for humanand environmental toxicology.”The center has contracts with theFlorida Department ofEnvironmental Protection to provideadvice on risks posed byenvironmental contaminants and isinvolved in the evaluation ofvirtually all major contaminatedsites in the state. Roberts stressesthat the center’s role isinformational and advisory; thedecisions on how to manage therisks posed by chemicals in theenvironment remain in the hands ofpolicy makers.A case in point involved acontroversy in 2001 over pressuretreatedlumber used in playgrounds.The lumber was treated withchromated copper arsenate, or CCA,a pesticide that contains arsenic,which can cause neurologicalproblems, cardiovascular diseaseand even cancer.The state asked the center toinvestigate the issue and evaluaterisk assessments that had beenconducted on exposure to arsenicfrom pressure-treated wood,particularly exposure of childrenusing wooden play structures. Thecenter found that a criticalweakness in the assessments wasthe absence of data regarding how••much arsenic children actuallyreceive from contacting CCAtreatedwood. Estimates of exposureand risk varied widely, making itunclear the extent to which thewood posed a health problem.The U.S. Environmental ProtectionAgency decided to conduct itsown assessment of risks to childrenfrom pressure-treated wood.Roberts provided technical adviceto the agency on how to perform theassessment through his roleas a member of the EPA’s ScientificAdvisory Panel. Ultimately, amidmounting concern, thepressure-treated wood industryvoluntarily agreed to withdrawCCA-treated wood from themarket for most uses.“Our role is to provide sound,objective technical advice. Most ofthe time we’re out of the limelight,”Roberts said. “We don’t want to beportrayed as a crusader.”The issue of arsenic contaminationin Florida doesn’t stop atplaygrounds. Roberts said the statehas thousands of agricultural sitescontaminated with arsenic, datingback to an era when cattle tick feverwas treated by dipping cattle in vatsof arsenic. Golf courses, too, can becontaminated with arsenic. Thefodder for toxicologists is endless.“If arsenic is in drinking water, weknow its toxicity,” Roberts said.“But if it’s in soil, is it as toxic? Doesthe soil bind it? We’re doing studiesto find out what is an acceptablelevel for arsenic in soil. And theresults could mean the difference ofmillions in cleanup costs.”The work of the center extends wellbeyond arsenic. A health departmentofficial might ask for help explainingthe hazards of benzene in drinkingwater. An environmental manageroverseeing cleanup of acontaminated site might ask forguidelines on chemicalconcentrations in soil (the centerhas issued guidelines for 500chemicals). A military installationmight need help evaluating the risksfrom unexploded ordnance on oldtraining fields. In between, Robertstravels to Washington, D.C., everysix weeks or so for meetings of theEPA Scientific Advisory Panel.“It’s exciting for UFto be a main player.”Dr. Stephen Roberts“Our role is science advice, notpolicy,” Roberts said. “We want tounderstand what chemicalsubstances do from the level ofmolecules up to entire populationsof individuals. We give regulatorsthe science to decide whetherthere’s a health problem.”Among the newest researchinitiatives for the center isnanotechnology. The centercollaborated with the College ofEngineering last fall to put on UF’sfirst seminar on nanotoxicology.Nanotechnology is the science ofcreating materials on an extremelysmall, molecular scale, callednanoscale. The size of the moleculesis measured in nanometers, or onebillionth of a meter. Nanotechnologycan be used to create computerchips, for example, that arethousands of times smaller thancurrent methods allow.“The federal government is spendingbillions on nanotechnology,” saidRoberts, “but there’s been almost noresearch on the environmentaleffects of nanotechnology.”Roberts said nanotechnology is a bigconcern for the EPA and U.S. Foodand Drug Administration becauseeventually materials, chemicals andfoods produced withnanotechnology will get into theenvironment. Already, sportsequipment and fabrics are beingproduced with nanotechnology.UF is uniquely positioned tocontribute to the science ofnanotoxicology because thecenter can draw together theresources of the health sciencecenter and UF’s strength inparticle engineering. The center isusing Department of Defensegrants to conduct pilot studies onpenetration of nanoscale particlesthrough the skin and inhalation ofthe particles.“What do we know? It’s a basicquestion,” Roberts said. “When youproduce something on a nanoscale,the properties of matter change. Dobiological properties change, too?And if so, does our conventionalwisdom about what’s toxic andwhat’s not change, too?”“It’s a brand new, emerging field,”Roberts said, “and it’s exciting forUF to be a main player.”Photo left: Dr. Steve Roberts and scientists atUF’s Center for Environmental and HumanToxicology are key players on the state and nationalscene when it comes to environmental policy.Environment • www.vetmed.ufl.edu37
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Page 3 and 4: Research HighlightsIntroduction, co
Page 5 and 6: Racing to Determine Causes of Greyh
Page 7 and 8: Seeking Solutions to Cat Overpopula
Page 9 and 10: Foamy Viruses Show Gene Therapy Pot
Page 11 and 12: Changing Standards of Care While Im
Page 13 and 14: Studying the Cough Mechanism“Ther
Page 15 and 16: Evaluating Treatments for Osteoporo
Page 17: Advancing Health of Wildlife, Endan

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