And it’s bidirectional.
95% of the drugs we use in veterinary medicine are ‘off-label’ and are registered human therapies. Meaning that the mouse/rat and larger species research behind this work that resulted in human therapies, translated directly to veterinary equivalents that clinicians use every day.
What’s more, is the powerful real-life opportunities in collaboratively studying cancer and other shared human-animal diseases in our companions with whom we share our homes and lives.
Did you know that cats develop triple negative breast cancer, the most aggressive and treatment resistant form of breast cancer in humans? And dogs develop non-hodgkin’s lymphoma, and clinical trials in canine patients that are hoping to cure this cancer are advancing treatments for the very same condition in humans.
The standard of care for Osteosarcoma, a terrible cancer of the bones, that predominantly affects children, and requires amputations- has been transformed by surgeries and chemotherapy interventions developed in canine patients.
So much to be grateful for.
Well designed, rigorous scientific research, prioritising animal welfare, saves lives.
For International Cat Day, we wanted to highlight current research being conducted in animals for the benefit of animals - in this case, cats.
Toru Miyazaki discovered a molecule coined "AIM" in 1999 and was originally testing its potential as a cure for kidney disease in humans, so he began studying AIM in mice to better understand its actions in the body. However, Miyazaki coincidentally had a chance to talk to a veterinarian who told him, "Almost all cats will develop kidney disease." And, as in humans, kidney disease has been considered incurable in cats.
Further research with his team discovered that AIM doesn't work properly in cats. "If kidney disease occurs because AIM does not work, then of course kidney disease could be cured by supplementing AIM," explains Miyazaki in a recent interview with a Japanese magazine called Healthist.
The predominance of feline kidney disease is also true in large cats like lions and cheetahs. Cheetahs have a particularly short lifespan, with most dying from kidney disease in 8 years. An AIM injection could therefore potentially help prevent these felines from going into extinction.
Clinical trials are currently underway in cats and, if all is successful, then AIM injections will soon be applied for approval. Miyazaki hopes that an application for approval will be submitted next year or the year after at latest.
#Cats #CatHealth #InternationalCatDay #AnimalResearch #ResearchSavesLives #KidneyDisease #AnimalTesting #VeterinaryMedicine #NewResearch #NewScience
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