Current Studies
Owners and referring vets seeking to enroll an animal in a current study should carefully review the study description and enrollment criteria below.
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The American Veterinary Medical Association Animal Health Studies Database lists hundreds of ongoing studies at sites throughout the U.S. and Canada.
Current clinical trials and translational research studies at VA-MD Vet Med
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General ItemThree-dimensional echocardiographic morphologic analysis of the mitral valve in Cavalier King Charles Spaniel puppies
Purpose: To monitor the mitral valve structure of Cavalier King Charles Spaniel (CKCS) puppies and to compare the structure of CKCS puppies’ mitral valves to puppies of other breeds.
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General ItemThree-dimensional echocardiographic determinants of the age of onset of myxomatous mitral valve disease in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels
Purpose: To map the hearts of the Cavaliers using specialized software and 3-D echocardiogram and predict future onset and severity of mitral valve disease.
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General ItemClinical and echocardiographic predictors of outcomes in dogs with degenerative mitral valve disease
Purpose: To evaluate the clinical utility of resting respiratory rate and four different echocardiographic measurements of left atrial dimensions in predicting the onset of congestive heart failure in dogs with myxomatous mitral valve disease.
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General ItemEffect of treatment with spironolactone in dogs with pulmonary hypertension and myxomatous mitral valve disease
Purpose: To test whether treatment with the diuretic drug spironolactone, in addition to conventional therapy for congestive heart failure (CHF), will improve pulmonary hypertension caused by mitral valve disease.
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General ItemThe Role of Infection and Immunity in Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM)
Purpose: To understand more about how EPM affects the immune system of horses, and discover how we might improve the diagnosis and treatment of the disease.
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General ItemMolecular Combinatorial Therapy for Canine Malignant Gliomas
Purpose: To determine the safety and effectiveness of a new chemotherapy drug and drug delivery method in the treatment of brain tumors (gliomas) in dogs.
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General ItemMRI-guided HFIRE Ablation of Canine Intracranial Tumors
Purpose: To further evaluate the safety and feasibility of MRI-guided High-Frequency Irreversible Electroporation (HFIRE) for the treatment of glioma brain tumors.
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General ItemIdentification of a genetic predisposition for Equine Protozoal Myeloencephalitis (EPM) susceptibility and associated gene dysregulation in clinically affected horses
Purpose: To determine if there is an underlying genetic predisposition for horses that develop EPM, including chronically affected horses who either fail to respond to treatment or suffer recurrent disease after ceasing treatment.
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General ItemHistotripsy for treatment of canine appendicular osteosarcoma
Purpose: To determine if histotripsy, a novel treatment that can destroy tissue without radiation or heat, can effectively treat canine osteosarcoma.
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General ItemEvaluation of incidence of incomplete margins after incisional scar revision
Purpose: To evaluate a comprehensive margin evaluation after surgical scar revision for dogs with previously-diagnosed soft tissue sarcomas, mast cell tumors, and other dermal/subcutaneous tumors.
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General ItemOptimizing radiation therapy planning using advanced imaging in dogs with soft tissue sarcomas
Purpose: To investigate differences between computed tomography (CT) and magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) in tumor imaging of dogs with soft tissue sarcomas and to determine how these differences affect radiation therapy planning
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General ItemHigh Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) ablation as single modality treatment for canine subcutaneous tumors
Purpose: To establish the feasibility, safety, and tolerability of High Intensity Focused Ultrasound (HIFU) in the treatment of canine soft tissue sarcomas (STS), and to characterize the tumor response and time to progression after HIFU treatment
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General ItemUltrasound-guided histotripsy ablation of canine brain tumors through an acoustically transparent cranial window
Purpose: To investigate the safety and antitumor activities of a new ultrasonic technology, called histotripsy, that can noninvasively destroy (ablate) tumor tissue using acoustic energy, in dogs with brain tumors.
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General ItemTHOP chemotherapy protocol as front-line treatment of canine B-cell lymphoma
Purpose: To determine the efficacy and side effect profile of THOP, a new multi-drug chemotherapy protocol, as the first-line treatment in dogs with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma.
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General ItemADAMTS-13 activity in dogs with chronic liver disease
Purpose: To evaluate the role of the ADAMTS-13 enzyme in abnormal blood clotting in dogs with chronic liver disease.
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General ItemDiagnostic utility of a feline optimized TSH assay for the diagnosis of feline hyperthyroidism
Purpose: To determine the accuracy of feline thyroid-stimulating hormone (fTSH) for diagnosis of hyperthyroidism in cats, and to compare fTSH with canine thyroid-stimulating hormone (cTSH) concentrations in hyperthyroid cats, cats with normal thyroid function who have underlying illnesses, and healthy cats.
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General ItemHigh-Frequency Irreversible Electroporation (H-FIRE) for the treatment of primary or metastatic liver disease in dogs
Purpose: To determine if H-FIRE, which uses electrical pulses to destroy cancer cells, is a safe and effective ablative therapy for the treatment of primary, multi-focal, or metastatic liver cancer in dogs.
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General ItemDetection of circulating tumor DNA and microRNA in dogs and cats with lymphoma
Purpose: To investigate whether genetic material (DNA and microRNA) from cancer cells can be identified in the blood of dogs and cats with lymphoma.
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General ItemADAMTS13 activity in dogs with presumptive idiopathic immune thrombocytopenia
Purpose: To evaluate the role of ADAMTS13, an enzyme related to blood clotting, in dogs with presumptive idiopathic immune thrombocytopenia.
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General ItemThromboelastography in cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy
Purpose: To evaluate cats with hypertrophic cardiomyopathy (HCM) for abnormal blood clotting activity.
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General ItemAssessing Postoperative Pain in Pigs After Celiotomy or Laparoscopic Spay
Purpose: To test if minimally-invasive ovary removal will have fewer complications and improve recovery in pet pigs compared to the traditional abdominal surgery ovariohysterectomy spay technique
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General ItemFeasibility and safety of intra-tumoral carboplatin delivery in canine oral tumors using a novel iontophoretic delivery system
Purpose: To evaluate the safety and feasibility of treating oral tumors in dogs using a novel iontophoretic system to deliver chemotherapy directly to the tumor site.
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General ItemEvaluating the ablative and biomechanical effects of complete tumor histotripsy ablation in canine osteosarcoma
Purpose: To evaluate the effects of histotripsy, a novel treatment for that can destroy tissue without radiation or heat, on dogs with osteosarcoma.
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General ItemSpeckle tracking echocardiography as a new screening tool for dilated cardiomyopathy in Doberman Pinschers
Purpose: To test whether speckle tracking echocardiography will be able to detect changes in the hearts of Dobermans who have abnormal 24-hour Holter monitoring but normal standard echocardiograms.
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General ItemHeEV: Histotripsy-enabled Extracellular Vesicle characterization in canine soft tissue sarcoma patients
Purpose: To evaluate the activity of a type of communication signal released from cells in dogs with soft tissue sarcomas after they are treated with non-invasive histotripsy ablation.
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General ItemDoes body condition affect fertility and reproductive performance in the bitch?: Comparing reproductive performance of overweight/obese and lean bitches
Purpose: To identify how body condition, exercise, and nutrition affect the reproductive potential of female dogs and the health of their puppies.
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General ItemAdvanced hemodynamic monitoring in anesthetized dogs
Purpose: To test whether using advanced cardiac monitoring techniques provides a more accurate measurement of cardiac output and helps clinicians better determine when anesthetized dogs need more cardiovascular support to maintain a healthy cardiac output.
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General ItemEvaluation of high-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE) for treatment of canine lung tumors
Purpose: To evaluate the feasibility, safety, and immune effects of using a novel non-thermal ablation technique, high-frequency irreversible electroporation (H-FIRE), for treating canine lung tumors.