UC Davis Veterinarians Help Paralyzed Dog Walk Again.

Doctors at the UC Davis Veterinary Hospital were faced with the incredible challenge of helping a paralyzed dog walk again. Leah’s deer encounter nearly took her dear life. The 4-year-old border collie was kicked in the head by a stubborn buck, but at first it looked like a stubborn wound. “She had a gash in her face and was recovering nicely but on the third day she had a very devastating deterioration in her condition,” her owner Fran Cole said. Suddenly, she stopped moving. UC Davis veterinarians discovered Leah was actually left paralyzed after her skull had been dislocated from her spine.“Most times when this happens the animal or the person dies,” said Dr. Karen Vernau. She was one of the surgeons who helped put Leah back together. “What we did in surgery was to drill away part of the bone and the bone fragments that were pressing on her spinal cord,” she said. Cole was faced with the real possibility Leah would be paralyzed forever. I said to him, ‘Do you think my dog will ever walk again?’ and he said ‘If your dog walks again, it’ll be the biggest feat of my residency,’ which is not a comforting statement,” she said. What is comforting is seeing Leah spending days doing water therapy and learning how to use her muscles again. Now, she can get up, move her head and stand on all fours. She’s now home with her family in Grass Valley. She’s still doing water therapy and getting acupuncture, but she’s doing doggie stuff, too, like chasing squirrels, digging and loving life again. culled from CBS Sacremento

Device harnessing thoughts allows quadriplegic to use his hands .

An Ohio man paralyzed in an accident while diving in waves can now pick up a bottle or play the video game Guitar Hero thanks to a small computer chip in his brain that lets his mind guide his hands and fingers, bypassing his damaged spinal cord. Scientists on Wednesday described accomplishments achieved by 24-year-old quadriplegic Ian Burkhart using an implanted chip that relays signals from his brain through 130 electrodes on his forearm to produce muscle movement in his hands and fingers. Burkhart first demonstrated the “neural bypass” technology in 2014 when he was able simply to open and close his hand. But the scientists, in research published in the journal Nature, said he can now perform multiple useful tasks with more sophisticated hand and finger movements. The technology, which for now can only be used in the laboratory, is being perfected with an eye toward a wireless system without the need for a cable running from the head to relay brain signals. “This study marks the first time that a person living with paralysis has regained movement by using signals recorded from within the brain,” said bioelectronic medicine researcher Chad Bouton of the New York-based Feinstein Institute for Medical Research, who worked on the study at the Battelle Memorial Institute in Ohio. Burkhart said the technology lets him function like “a normal member of society.” The technology potentially could help people not only after spinal cord injuries but after strokes or traumatic brain injuries, Bouton added. Burkhart, a former lacrosse goalie, suffered a broken neck and spinal cord damage at age 19 diving into a wave ( http://newsdaily.com/2016/04/device-harnessing-thoughts-allows-quadriplegic-to-use-his-hands/#MXp5F33Tom2uXhRI.99) Surgeons implanted the pea-sized chip into his motor cortex, which controls voluntary muscular activity. The chip, connected to a cable running from his head to a sleeve containing the electrodes wrapped around his forearm, sends brain signals that stimulate muscles controlling the hands and fingers. Burkhart, with six wrist and hand motions, could rotate his hand, make a fist, pinch his fingers together, grasp objects like a bottle, spoon and telephone, swipe a credit card and play the video game simulating guitar strumming. Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center neurosurgeon Ali Rezai called the results a “milestone in the evolution of brain-computer interface technology.” Burkhart said “Things are kind of moving along better than I imagined,” B

ZIKA VIRUS AND NERVE CELL INFECTION.

Top Zika investigators now believe that the birth defect microcephaly and the paralyzing Guillain-Barre syndrome may be just the most obvious maladies caused by the mosquito-borne virus. Fueling that suspicion are recent discoveries of serious brain and spinal cord infections – including encephalitis, meningitis and myelitis – in people exposed to Zika. Evidence that Zika’s damage may be more varied and widespread than initially believed adds pressure on affected countries to control mosquitoes and prepare to provide intensive – and, in some cases, lifelong – care to more patients. The newly suspected disorders can cause paralysis and permanent disability – a clinical outlook that adds urgency to vaccine development efforts. Scientists are of two minds about why these new maladies have come into view. The first is that, as the virus is spreading through such large populations, it is revealing aspects of Zika that went unnoticed in earlier outbreaks in remote and sparsely populated areas. The second is that the newly detected disorders are more evidence that the virus has evolved. “What we’re seeing are the consequences of this virus turning from the African strain to a pandemic strain,” said Dr. Peter Hotez, dean of the National School of Tropical Medicine at Baylor College of Medicine. The suspicion that Zika acts directly on nerve cells began with autopsies on aborted and stillborn fetuses showing the virus replicating in brain tissues. In addition to microcephaly, researchers reported finding other abnormalities linked with Zika including fetal deaths, placental insufficiency, fetal growth retardation and injury to the central nervous system. Doctors also are worried that Zika exposure in utero may have hidden effects, such as behavioral problems or learning disabilities, that are not apparent at birth. “If you have a virus that is toxic enough to produce microcephaly in someone, you could be sure that it will produce a whole series of conditions that we haven’t even begun to understand,” said Dr. Alberto de la Vega, an obstetrician at San Juan’s University Hospital in Puerto Rico. A rare and poorly understood condition, Guillain-Barre can weaken muscles and cause temporary paralysis, often requiring patients to need respirators to breathe. Guillain-Barre is an autoimmune disorder, in which the body attacks itself in the aftermath of an infection. The newly discovered brain and spinal cord infections are known to be caused by a different mechanism – a direct attack on nerve cells. That has prompted scientists to consider whether the Zika virus also may infect nerves directly in adults, as they already have suspected in fetuses In medical journals published last month, doctors described neurological syndromes in two patients that they attributed to Zika. Doctors in Paris diagnosed meningoencephalitis, an infection of both the brain and spinal cord, in an 81-year-old man who was hospitalized after being exposed to Zika on a cruise. Another French team reported acute myelitis, a paralyzing infection of the spinal cord, in a 15-year-old girl who had been infected with Zika on the French Caribbean island of Guadeloupe. In its latest surveillance report, the WHO said the two cases “highlight the need to better understand the range of neurological disorders associated with Zika-virus infection.” Other mosquito-borne viruses – including dengue, Japanese encephalitis and West Nile – are known to directly infect nerve cells in the brain and spinal cord. But such viruses are seldom associated with Guillain-Barre, and never with microcephaly, said Baylor’s Hotez. Read more at http://newsdaily.com/2016/04/zika-mystery-deepens-with-evidence-of-nerve-cell-infections/#Y57C3WqytSrm3AEj.99

SNAKE BITES IN DOGS.

photo credit = internet. Dogs are generally curious,rampaging through stuff,sticking heads in holes and generally running around for fun.They have the tendency to be bitten by snakes ,and when this happens its an emergency and first aid is essential and a necessity. When dogs are bitten its better to assume the snake is poisonous and so initiate treatment protocol.Snake bites are complex and need attention immediately since the various venom's exhibit different signs. Some snakes venom cause shock and rapid death ,while other cause paralysis and it usually requires a large quantity of venom before much damage is done and some others have concentrated venom resulting in death within hours. When a dog is bitten the first step is to prevent movement of the dog to prevent circulation of venom; 1) immobilize the limb. 2)keep animal calm 3)prevent the venom from circulating by using a tourniquet and ice pack in the area 4) seek veterinary attention immediately where an anti-venom is administered. When a dog is bitten DO NOT; 1) cut the bite site open. 2)attempt to suck poison out. 3) do not leave dog unattended to and try to kill snake. Snake bite code is save the pet first and try to kill the snake later.

The Threat of Rabies in Horses

The Threat of Rabies in Horses