news 2015

Owners of one of the UK's most popular dog breeds, the Cavalier King Charles Spaniel, are being asked by researchers at the University of Bristol's School of Veterinary Sciences to take part in a study to investigate a novel method of assessing neck pain in dogs. Syringomyelia is a progressive inherited neurological disease of the neck spinal cord in Cavalier King Charles Spaniels (CKCS), which may cause neck pain and affects around 70 per cent of CKCS over six-years-old.

To coincide with European Antibiotic Awareness Day , researchers from the University of Liverpool have edited and contributed to a special online collection of research papers relating to the use of, and resistance to, antimicrobials in horses, which is published today by the Equine Veterinary Journal .

Human error is the largest single cause of mistakes made by veterinary surgeons when treating patients, new research by The University of Nottingham has revealed. The study, published in the academic journal The Veterinary Record, found that the majority of errors were caused by the limitations of memory and attention leading to slips, lapses and mistakes that can occur when distracted or under stress.

Experts in one of the most dangerous health problems in horses have just published new research which could transform the way the condition is diagnosed and treated by vets and horse-owners. The two new studies, carried out by researchers at The University of Nottingham's Vet School , have looked at the first assessment of more than 1,000 horses with colic, and also asked more than 200 vets how they go about diagnosing colic.

A particular gastrointestinal disorder, which causes colic, or abdominal pain, in horses, is more prevalent in Lancashire compared with other nearby counties, according to researchers at Lancaster University and the University of Liverpool. They have also found that Idiopathic Focal Eosinophilic Enteritis (IFEE), lesions causing an obstruction in a horse's small intestine, is actually seasonal and occurs more often in younger horses.

6 January 2015 At present there are no consistently safe and effective methods for the treatment of headshaking in horses. The condition, a neuropathic facial pain syndrome, often leaves affected horses impossible to ride and dangerous to handle, and can result in euthanasia. A new study has found a treatment called percutaneous electrical nerve stimulation (PENS) could reduce signs of the condition in horses.