Canine Arthritis Research: Would You Participate in a Study?

According to the spring edition of Bellwether, the magazine of the University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine, predicting our future health may soon be possible through the sequence to our own DNA.

But what is equally exciting to me is the possibility that soon after, we will be able to obtain the same genetic health forecaster for our pets.

Discoveries regarding diseases in companion animals have revealed a momentous commonality with illness that also affects humans and The University of Pennsylvania School of Veterinary Medicine has lead the way in such research. However the school also continues to do important research targeted purely toward veterinary medical issues. One such disease, canine arthritis can be just as debilitating for animals as its human counterpart can be for us. So for people living in or around the University of Pennsylvania area, at this time, the Veterinary Clinical Investigation Center is conducting The Arthritis Assessment Study. They are recruiting dogs with osteoarthritis to take part in an in-depth study to assist future canines with arthritis or other orthopedic related pain. To be eligible for participation, dogs must weigh at least 33 pounds, have osteoarthritis in one or more joints, not be sensitive to or have had a reaction to non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs, and must be able to tolerate a three week delay in receiving pain control medication.

Participating owners will be required to bring their dogs to Ryan-VHUP for three visits, including the initial screening visit, over about a one month period. For more information about this study, please contact the Veterinary Clinical Investigations Center at 215-573-0302, or email vcic@vet.upenn.edu.

Would you and your dog participate in a study like this, purely for pets?