News Archives, Office of Advancement, College of Veterinary Medicine at the University of Illinois

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News Archives

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Some items have been excerpted from Illinois in the News, a daily service provided by the University of Illinois News Bureau.

Please Note: Some Web links are short-lived by design of the publisher. In most cases, articles are archived on the publisher's Web site and can be retrieved electronically. Some articles may be archived on sites that are fee-based, and some may have re-distribution restrictions. In some cases, first-time users of a publisher's Web site may be asked to subscribe to it.

CANCER-FIGHTING VIRUS
WICD Sunrise News – Channel 15 (Aug. 19) – Dr. Amy MacNeill described the studies her lab has been conducting to see whether a rabbit pox virus could be used to treat a variety of canine cancers.

HORSE HICCUPS
The Horse (Lexington, Ky., Aug. 5) -- Hiccups in horses have been called thumps since 1831 when a veterinarian first reported a thumping noise coming from the abdomen of a horse that just ran 13 miles. "Thumps in and of itself is not a problem," said Cristobal Navas de Solis, an equine internal medicine resident at the U. of I. Veterinary Teaching Hospital. "But if a horse does have thumps, there is usually an underlying cause that needs to be treated."
http://www.thehorse.com/ViewArticle.aspx?ID=12446

FLEA SEASON ADVICE
WCFN TV Channel 49 (Aug. 4) – Dr. Allan Paul, veterinary parasitologist, answered questions about pesky summertime flea problems.
http://illinoishomepage.net/media_player.php?media_id=20681

ESTRADIOL AND COGNITIVE FUNCTION
Innovations Report (Bad Homburg, Germany, Aug. 1) -- Researchers at Illinois led by Susan Schantz, a professor of veterinary biosciences, found that chronic exposure to estradiol, the main estrogen in the body, diminishes some cognitive functions.
http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/biowissenschaften_chemie/bericht-115369.html
Also in:
* Bio-Medicine (Chongqing, China, July 31)
http://www.bio-medicine.org/biology-news-1/Chronic-exposure-to-estrogen-impairs-some-cognitive-funct...
* e! Science News (Quebec City, Aug. 1)
http://esciencenews.com/articles/2008/08/01/chronic.exposure.estrogen.impairs.some.cognitive.functio...
* Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (New Rochelle, N.Y., Aug. 1)
http://www.genengnews.com/news/bnitem.aspx?name=39622603
* HULIQ.com (Hickory, N.C., Aug. 1)
http://www.huliq.com/65554/chronic-exposure-estrogen-impairs-some-cognitive-functions
* United Press International (Aug. 1)
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/08/01/Estradiol_exposure_may_impair_cognition/UPI-7799121756710...
* Canadian Broadcasting Corp. (Toronto, Aug. 1)
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2008/08/01/estrogen-rats.html?ref=rss
* Aphrodite Women’s Health (Scarborough, Australia, Aug. 4)
http://www.aphroditewomenshealth.com/news/20080703224926_health_news.shtml
* Innovations Report (Bad Homburg, Germany, Aug. 1)
http://www.innovations-report.com/html/reports/life_sciences/report-115369.html
* Medical News Today (Bexhill-on-Sea, England, Aug. 4)
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/117048.php
* New Kerala (Ernakulam, India, Aug. 2)
http://www.newkerala.com/topstory-fullnews-5709.html
* News-Medical.Net (Sydney, Australia, Aug. 3)
http://www.news-medical.net/?id=40465
* Science Daily (Chevy Chase, Md., Aug. 1)
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/08/080801074106.htm
* Thaindian News (from Asian News International; Bangkok, Thailand, Aug. 2)
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/lifestyle/chronic-oestrogen-exposure-may-impair-some-cognitive-f...
* Yahoo! News Canada (Aug. 1)
http://ca.news.yahoo.com/s/cbc/080801/science/science_estrogen_rats
* Scientific Blogging.com (Aug. 1)
http://www.scientificblogging.com/news_releases/too_much_estrogen_impairs_cognitive_functions
* Political Gateway (UPI)
http://www.politicalgateway.com/news/read/162802
* RxPG News (Aug. 3)
http://www.rxpgnews.com/gynecology/Chronic_exposure_to_estradiol_diminishes_some_cognitive_functions...
* First Science
http://www.firstscience.com/home/news/breaking-news-all-topics/chronic-exposure-to-estrogen-impairs-...
* LabSpaces.net (Aug. 1)
http://labspaces.net/8158/Chronic_exposure_to_estrogen_impairs_some_cognitive_functions
* OneIndia (from Asian News International; Bangalore, India, Aug. 6)
http://living.oneindia.in/health/disorders-and-ailments/2008/oestrogen-exposure-cognitive-functions-...

VETERINARY EDUCATION
St. Clair County Journal (Collinsville, Ill., July 17) -- At the U. of I., about 900 applicants compete for 120 spots available in its veterinary medicine program each year. "I assume the competition is the same throughout the United States," says Karen Eichelberger, of the U. of I.'s veterinarian sciences program. "A lot of states don't even have a vet school, and the only one that has two is California."
http://stclairjournal.stltoday.com/articles/2008/07/16/news/sj2tn20080716-0709fhj-fhpetbusiness000.i...

EAGLE SURGERY UPDATE
WAND-TV 10 o’clock News (Decatur, July 14) – Dr. Avery Bennett, professor of veterinary clinical medicine, performed a successful surgery Saturday to straighten the beak of an eaglet in Virginia that had suffered an avian pox virus soon after hatching. The four-phase surgery took nearly three hours.
* Also WVIR-Channel 29 (NBC; Charlottesville, Va., July 12)
http://www.nbc29.com/Global/story.asp?S=8665392&nav=menu496_2_3
* Richmond Times-Dispatch (Virginia, July 17)
http://www.inrich.com/cva/ric/news.apx.-content-articles-RTD-2008-07-17-0055.html

LAMENESS TRIAL
News-Gazette (July 10) - The University of Illinois Veterinary Teaching Hospital is seeking dogs with signs of pain or lameness to participate in a study of a nutritional supplement.
http://www.news-gazette.com/news/local/2008/07/10/lame_dogs_sought_for_new_study_on
* Also on WCIA Channel 3 News at 5 and 6 (July 10)
http://illinoishomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=19801

EAGLE SURGERY
The News Leader (Staunton, Va., July 8) -- A baby bald eagle admitted to the Wildlife Center of Virginia on May 22 with a golf-ball-sized mass on its beak will undergo surgery at the center Saturday. The center will bring in R. Avery Bennett, a professor of veterinary clinical medicine at Illinois for the surgery.
http://www.newsleader.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080708/NEWS0/807080314/1002
* Also WCIA Channel 3 News at 10 (July 10)
http://illinoishomepage.net/content/fulltext/?cid=19891
* Also The News Virginian (Waynesboro, July 11)
http://www.newsvirginian.com/wnv/news/local/article/baby_eagles_lesion_falls_off_surgery_scheduled_f...

AGING PETS AND VISION
WCFN TV Channel 49 (July 7) – Dr. Ralph Hamor, veterinary ophthalmologist, explained the difference between cataracts and hardening of the lens, two problems that may affect the eyes in older dogs.
http://illinoishomepage.net/media_player.php?media_id=14231

ROCKY MOUNTAIN SPOTTED FEVER
WEIU TV (Charleston, July 2) – Dr. Melissa Riensche explained the transmission, signs, and preventive measures related to the tick-borne disease Rocky Mountain spotted fever, which was recently reported in a Champaign County dog. Her dog Hunter assisted in conveying the story.

CLIMATE CHANGE
Science Daily (Chevy Chase, Md., June 25) – Dr. Karen Terio, of the Zoological Pathology Program, was part of an international team that found the first clear example of how climate extremes, such as the increased frequency of droughts and floods expected with global warming, can create conditions in which diseases that are tolerated individually may converge and cause mass die-offs of livestock or wildlife.
http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2008/06/080625073804.htm
Also in:
* DailyIndia.com (from Asian News International; Jacksonville, Fla., June 25)
http://www.dailyindia.com/show/253116.php/Extreme-weather-swings-may-trigger-perfect-storm-of-infect...

* HULIQ.com (Hickory, N.C., June 25)
http://www.huliq.com/62730/climatic-conditions-can-alter-normal-hostpathogen-relationships

* Medical News Today (Bexhill-on-Sea, England, June 25)
http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/112561.php

* Thaindian.com (Bangkok, Thailand, June 25)
http://www.thaindian.com/newsportal/health/extreme-weather-swings-may-trigger-perfect-storm-of-infec...

* Yahoo News India
http://in.news.yahoo.com/139/20080625/981/tsc-extreme-weather-swings-may-trigger-p.html

* MedIndia.net (Chennai, India, June 25)
http://www.medindia.net/news/view_main_print_new.asp

* Innovations Report (Bad Homburg, Germany, June 26)
http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/studien/bericht-113178.html

* PhysOrg.com (Douglas, Isle of Man, July 3)
http://www.physorg.com/news134277906.html

* Innovations Report (Bad Homburg, Germany, July 7)
http://www.innovations-report.de/html/berichte/umwelt_naturschutz/bericht-113672.html

* Science Centric (Sofia, Bulgaria, July 3)
http://www.sciencecentric.com/news/article.php?q=08070346

* Moldova.org (Chisinau, July 8)
http://it.moldova.org/stiri/eng/133011/

* The Money Times (Mumbai, India, July 8)
http://www.themoneytimes.com/news/20080708/study_climate_change_may_kill_wildlife-id-1028665.html

* United Press International (July 8)
http://www.upi.com/Science_News/2008/07/08/Study_Climate_change_may_kill_wildlife/UPI-31581215545396...

* MinnPost.com (Minneapolis, July 22)
http://www.minnpost.com/from_our_partners/2008/07/22/2641/umn_news_lions_caught_in_the_crossfire

CONSERVATION MEDICINE
Science Now (Washington, D.C., June 19) -- Researchers have found chimp colonies that are plagued by human respiratory diseases. The tendency of 2-year-old chimps to play with each other seems to make such outbreaks in chimp communities in Ivory Coast much deadlier. "Play behavior apparently has a huge potential cost for these animals," says Tony Goldberg, a U. of I. professor of pathobiology.
http://sciencenow.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/2008/618/2

OPHTHALMOLOGY
St. Louis Post-Dispatch (June 19) -- Ralph Hamor, a clinical professor in the U. of I. College of Veterinary Medicine, says a bad odor coming from a poodle-mix’s eye secretions may be the result of excessive tearing and suggests the owner take the dog to a veterinary ophthalmologist.
http://www.stltoday.com/stltoday/lifestyle/stories.nsf/lifestyle/pets/story/68861d1009510ec38625746d...

PET HEALTH Q&A
Focus 580 (WILL-AM, June 18) -- Dr. Julie Byron and Dr. Julie Whittington of the small animal medicine section at the Veterinary Teaching Hospital answered callers’ questions about dog, cat, and exotic pet health.
http://will.illinois.edu/focus580/interview/focus080618a/

CONSERVATION MEDICINE
Mongabay.com (June 14) -- Logging activities in tropical Africa may pose hidden health risks to wildlife and humans according to Thomas R. Gillespie, a researcher at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, speaking at a scientific conference in Paramaribo, Suriname.
http://news.mongabay.com/2008/0614-aids_wildlife.html
* Also at: allAfrica.com (Washington, D.C., July 3) -- Research by Thomas Gillespie, a U. of I. professor of pathobiology, found that degraded forests in Uganda and the Democratic Republic of Congo have higher incidences of parasite transmission between wildlife and humans.
http://allafrica.com/stories/printable/200807030284.html

SUMMER EMERGENCIES
Channel 3/49 (WCIA/WCFN) Morning Show (June 2) -- Tune in Monday at 7:35 a.m. when Dr. Maureen McMichael will talk about common summer hazards, from heat stroke to poisoning.
http://illinoishomepage.net/media_player.php?media_id=9916