Laurie's Blogs.

What’s that?  Only 5 minutes?  Yes, this will be a 5-minute read of a handful of papers regarding canine arthritis.  Set your timer…. GO!

1.     The Librela Study:

Corral MJ, Moyaert H, Fernandes T, et al. A prospective, randomized, blinded, placebo-controlled multisite clinical study of bedinvetmab, a canine monoclonal antibody targeting nerve growth factor, in dogs with osteoarthritis. Vet Anaesth Analg. 2021 Nov;48(6):943-955.  

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34565678/  

On day 28, 43.5% of dogs achieved treatment success with bedinvetmab compared with placebo (16.9%) (p = 0.0017). Treatment success continued through days 56 (50.8%) and 84 (48.2%) in the bedinvetmab group and was < 25% in the placebo group at all time points.

Adverse health events occurred at similar frequencies in both groups. They were considered typical for a population of dogs with osteoarthritis and not related to study treatment. Treatment with bedinvetmab demonstrated a significant effect on all three components of CBPI-pain interference, pain severity, quality of life.

P.S.  I feel compelled to direct readers to the FB Group – Librela experiences – to learn more about the side effects that dog owners are experiencing.

https://www.facebook.com/groups/949999742415867  

2.     USING the Helsinki Chronic Pain Index

Wright A, Amodie DM, Cernicchiaro N, et al. Identification of canine osteoarthritis using an owner-reported questionnaire and treatment monitoring using functional mobility tests. J Small Anim Pract. 2022 Aug;63(8):609-618. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/35385129/ 

More osteoarthritis cases were identified in study dogs than previous prevalence estimates, indicating the screening checklist's potential to help identify for further evaluation cases that could otherwise remain undiagnosed. Improvements in function were demonstrated after carprofen treatment.

Bottom Line – Use it!

https://www.fourleg.com/media/Helsinki%20Chronic%20Pain%20Index.pdf  

3.     Wondering about herbal supplements for OA?

Cardeccia ML, Elam LH, Deabold KA, et al. A pilot study examining a proprietary herbal blend for the treatment of canine osteoarthritis pain. Can Vet J. 2022 Jan;63(1):55-62. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34975168/  

A herbal remedy from Pet Wellbeing, called Agile Joints was studied on dogs with Osteoarthritis.

This proprietary herbal blend contains devil’s claw tuber (Harpagophytum procumbens), sarsaparilla root (Smilax officinalis), dandelion root (Taraxacum officinale), yucca root (Yucca glauca), boswellia gum (Boswellia serrata), turmeric root extract standardized to 10% curcuminoids (Curcuma longa), and bromelain as active herbal ingredient.

The supplement did not statistically improve clinical signs in dogs based on veterinary or owner assessments of lameness.

4.     Marine-based Fatty Acids for OA

Kampa N, Kaenkangploo D, Jitpean S, et al. Study of the effectiveness of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, marine based fatty acid compounds (PCSO-524 and EAB-277), and carprofen for the treatment of dogs with hip osteoarthritis: A prospective, block-randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled clinical trial. Front Vet Sci. 2023 Feb 1;10:1033188. 

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36816197/  

This study evaluated the effectiveness of glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate, marine based fatty acid compounds (PCSO-524 and EAB-277), and carprofen for the alleviation of canine hip OA pain.

PCSO-524 and EAB-277, but not glucosamine/chondroitin, resulted in significant improvements in PVF from baseline after 4 weeks, and 6 weeks, and to a similar degree to that seen with carprofen.

The Take-Aways

There you go… 5-minutes of your time spent in a productive way.   

Yes, to fatty acids.  No, to herbal supplements.  The Helsinki Chronic Pain Index validated again.  And, “learn more”, about Librela.