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Summer 2006

VETERINARY RADIOLOGY
The Horse (Lexington, Ky., Aug. 31) -- Veterinary radiology, like its human medicine counterpart, is central to diagnosing and solving many medical problems. Dr. Stephen Kneller, veterinary radiologist at the U. of I. Veterinary Teaching Hospital in Urbana, was board certified in radiology in 1972, when the field had only around 30 specialists. He talks about his specialty.
http://www.thehorse.com/viewarticle.aspx?ID=7532

PCB AND THE IMMUNE SYSTEM
New Scientist (England, Aug. 26) -- Exactly how PCBs affect the immune system remains unclear, though one possible explanation is that they target the thymus, the organ responsible for producing immune cells called T-cells, says Mariangela Segre, a professor of pathobiology at Illinois. Segre's research has previously shown in mice that PCBs inhibit the ability of the thymus to produce T-cells.
http://www.newscientist.com/channel/health/dn9860-pollutant-damages-child-immunity.html

ANOTHER RACE TRACK FATALITY
WLS-Channel 7 (ABC; Chicago, Aug. 24) -- Arlington Park racetrack near Chicago has lost yet another race horse to an injury. Track officials say "Gringa Hug" had to be euthanized Wednesday after a race. The remains will be examined at the U. of I. to determine what caused the injury.
http://abclocal.go.com/wls/story?section=local&id=4493576

RACE TRACK FATALITIES INVESTIGATED
Chicago Sun-Times (Aug. 21) -- Two more thoroughbred horses have died at Arlington Park racetrack in Chicago. In accordance with Illinois Racing Board procedure, they will be sent to the U. of I. for necropsy examination to try to determine the cause of injury.
http://www.suntimes.com/output/horse/cst-spt-arl21.html

HOT WEATHER RISKS FOR PETS
WCIA TV Morning Show (August 7) -- Dr. Marcella Ridgway, an internist at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, spoke about heatstroke, sun burn, heartworm infection, and other summertime hazards.

STUDENT HAS PASSION FOR ALASKA
News-Gazette (August 6) -- Cristina Hansen was profiled regarding her 4-week-long research project collecting blood samples from a dwindling caribou herd in Alaska and otherwise assisting the state veterinarian in diagnostic pathology.


WILLIAM TRANQUILLI INTERVIEW
Veterinary Medicine magazine (August) - Professor, researcher, author, and well-known veterinary anesthesiologist talks about the influence of his father, Dr. Erwin Small, and Dr. John Thurmon and gives advice for new graduates in an in-depth interview. http://www.vetmedpub.com/vetmed/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=364354

STUDENT RESEARCH IN ALASKA
Daily Illini (July 31) -- Cristina Hansen, a fourth-year veterinary student, conducted research on caribou to determine normal blood enzyme levels. Her research project attempts to help determine why the caribou population has been declining for years.
http://www.dailyillini.com/media/storage/paper736/news/2006/07/31/News/How-I.Spent.My.Summer.Vacatio...

STRICKEN HORSES TO BE EXAMINED
Thoroughbred Times (Lexington, Ky., July 26) -- Illinois Racing Board officials said Monday that they will bolster pre-race screening of thoroughbreds and continue to search for the cause of the fatal breakdowns. The board is making arrangements with the U. of I. to do a post-mortem examination of every fatal breakdown.
http://www.thoroughbredtimes.com/todaysnews/newsview.asp?recno=65324&subsec=1

BARKING RAISES STRESS FOR SHELTER DOGS
MSNBC (from LiveScience, July 25) -- Continuous barking of multiple dogs in an animal shelter can create a disastrous symphonic recipe for the health of the animals, a new study indicates. "Dogs are a very social species," says Crista Coppola, an adjunct instructor in the College of Veterinary Medicine at Illinois. "They want to be around other dogs. When they see other dogs, but can't get to them, you hear a lot of frustration barking back and forth."
http://msnbc.msn.com/id/14030112/ and
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/medicalnews.php?newsid=48083 and
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2006/07/060726084338.htm and
http://www.dogflu.ca/07262006/11/the_noise_of_barking_dogs_can_stress_out_dogs_too

EQUINE FATALITIES TO BE EXAMINED
Chicago Tribune (July 25) -- A day after another horse was euthanized at Arlington Park in Chicago, Illinois Racing Board officials said Monday that they will bolster pre-race screening of thoroughbreds and continue to search for the cause of the fatal breakdowns. The board is making arrangements with the U. of I. to do a post-mortem examination of every fatal breakdown.
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/local/southsouthwest/chi-0607250107jul25,1,4854323.story?coll=chi...

VETERINARIAN PERFORMS DENTAL WORK ON LION
Elgin Courier News (Illinois, July 25) -- The Brookfield Zoo in Chicago called on U. of I. veterinary medicine professor Sandra Manfra to perform a root canal on a 500-pound lion.
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/city/3_1_EL25_A4LION_S10725.htm

DEALING WITH DIABETIC PETS
Ottawa Times (Illinois, July 18) -- Owning a pet with diabetes can be a trying experience. "Diabetes is difficult to control in humans, and more so when dealing with pets," said Thomas Graves, a veterinary internal medicine specialist at the U. of I. Veterinary Teaching Hospital.
http://mywebtimes.com/ottnews/archives/ottawa/sections.cgi?prcss=display&id=264036

NEW VTH DIRECTOR
News-Gazette (July 16) -- Dr. Michael Biehl, director of the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, "comes home" to Urbana to take on a challenging new job after spending the past 16 years living in Connecticut and working in the pharmaceutical industry.

FAWN GETS CHIROPRACTIC TREATMENT
WCIA TV Channel 3 News at 5 (July 13) -- A 12-week-old fawn brought to the Wildlife Medical Clinic on May 28 with a broken leg is receiving chiropractic treatments in the hopes that treatments will break down scarring and fibrous tissue adhesions. The bone is healing but the fawn has not regained use of the leg.
See http://www.cvm.uiuc.edu/news/viewartcl.cfm?id=95
Also on WICD TV Channel 15 News at 10 o'clock
News-Gazette photo on July 14

OCULAR PROBLEM COMMON IN DOGS
Hartford (Conn.) Courant (July 13) -- Columnist Steve Dale quotes veterinary clinical medicine professor Ralph Hamor as saying that inadequate tear production is a relatively common problem in dogs.
http://www.courant.com/classified/custom/pets/petworld/hc-cl-pets-0713,0,3927850.story
Also in
The Montreal Gazette (Canada, July 19)
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=86ae0c87f9911af975101c7a97878f79&_docnum=5&wchp=dGLb...

SUMMER PARASITES
WCIA TV Morning Show (July 3) -- Dr. Allan Paul was a guest on the Morning Show to explain what pet owners can do to combat ticks, fleas, and heartworm-carrying mosquitoes.

BENCHMARKING ANIMAL ENZYMES
Daily Herald (Arlington Heights, Ill., June 2) -- Cristina Hansen, a predoctoral fellow in veterinary biosciences, has returned from a month in several remote Alaskan villages where she collected blood samples from caribou. Hansen's samples may lead to establishing a benchmark of certain enzymes in healthy animals.
http://www.dailyherald.com/search/printstory.asp?id=204569
Also in:
http://web.lexis-nexis.com/universe/document?_m=f03a871b18a89df3279ebf49914f2de4&_docnum=8&wchp=dGLb...
http://www.suburbanchicagonews.com/couriernews/features/3_5_el26_blog_s10626.htm
http://www.nwherald.com/CommunitySection/299108864016347.php
http://www.belleville.com/mld/belleville/news/state/15318314.htm

PET OWNERS AND GRIEF
DVM NewsMagazine (July) - Cheryl Weber, a client counselor specialist at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital, says that understanding the faces of grief can help veterinarians deal with clients' suffering from the emotional pain following the death of a pet.
http://www.dvmnews.com/dvm/article/articleDetail.jsp?id=360556

PROTECTING HORSES FROM DISEASE
FarmWeek (Bloomington, Ill., June 28) -- Jim Brendemuehl, a U. of I. professor of veterinary medicine, recommends horse owners vaccinate their animals against West Nile virus and encephalitis.
http://farmweek.ilfb.org/viewdocument.asp?did=9245&r=0.4576837

FROGS' DISAPPEARANCE CAUSE FOR CONCERN
Chicago Tribune (front page, June 24) -- Cricket frogs have all but vanished from northern Illinois. Val Beasley, a U. of I. professor of veterinary biosciences, says the frogs live in cracks in the mud, and, "if that environment is messed up, they're going to have a problem."
http://www.chicagotribune.com/news/nationworld/chi-0606240232jun24,1,605877.story?page=1&ctrack=1&cs...
Related article:
*United Press International (June 25) -- Val Beasley, a U. of I. professor of veterinary biosciences, says cricket frogs are susceptible to environmental changes but any change could alter their living patterns.
http://www.upi.com/NewsTrack/view.php?StoryID=20060625-081722-2882r

TOXOPLASMA GONDII
New York Times (June 20) -- Toxoplasma gondii infects over half the world's population. Scientists are now discovering some of the secrets of the parasite's success. Dr. Milton McAllister is noted near the end of the article as a parasitologist who has called for controlling the spread of Toxoplasma by cats.
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/06/20/science/20toxo.html?ex=1151380800&en=c9cc83afb7cd8196&ei=5070&emc=...

INCLUDE ANIMALS IN EVACUATION PLANS
Horse.com (June) -- Allison Fedash, a fourth-year veterinary student at the U. of I. College of Veterinary Medicine and volunteer for the animal rescue group Noah's Wish, explains that there's never a better time to prepare for a disaster than now.
http://www.thehorse.com/viewarticle.aspx?ID=7082

RINGWORM TREATMENT AND PREVENTION
WCIA TV Morning Show (June 5) -- Dr. Karen Campbell was a guest on the Morning Show to discuss the fungal infection ringworm, and what to do about it.