What's New

New Blood Marker for Heart Disease in Dogs and Cats - Idexx Laboratories announces the addition of Cardiopet pro-BNP. This blood test is useful in assessing cardiac health in the dog and cats. The test can also help us differentiate between a cough that is caused from primary heart disease or primary lung disorders (bronchiis, etc).

New Dosing Recommendations for Trilostane in Cushing's Disease - Previously most endocrinologists recommended a once-daily dosing. At this point, the dosing recommendations is twice daily with the dose being much smaller.

New blood Marker for Detecting Pancreatic Disease in the Cat - One of the more frustrating disease states in the cat is attempting to make an accurate diagnosis for the vomiting and "not feeling well" kitty cat. There are always a number of possibilities and, in some cases, treatments are vastly different.

Slentrol - Pfizer has recently released a new product for weight loss in dogs. Slentrol is taken daily by mouth, and in the studies performed during the trials of the drug, found an overwhelming response to the medication.

Comfortis - This new flea product is a 30-day flea pill, killing fleas throughout the thirty day period. Spinosad, the active ingredient in the flea tablet, works on the flea's nervous system causing involuntary muscle contracture and paralysis, leading to death of the flea. Spinosad, while being extremely toxic to the flea, is harmless for all mammals.

Vetmedin - A new drug to help us treat pets with heart disease has recently been made available. The medicine, called Vetmedin (Pimobendan) is manufactured and sold through Boehringer-Ingelheim and is available in 1.25 mg and 5.0 mg beef-flavored chewable tablets.