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Since our founding in 1948, Morris Animal Foundation has funded more than $51 million in research to protect, treat, and cure the world's companion animals and wildlife.
Along the way, our studies have led to major advances in veterinary care, including vaccines and other preventions, diagnostic tools and new therapies for the diseases and health conditions that threaten the lives of the animals we love. You can search our completed-study database by species and/or disease to learn more about our successes.
Category
99CA-057: IMHA
principal investigator: David J. Polzin, DVM, PhD, University of Minnesota
completed
Year: 0 of 0. $0
Immune mediated hemolytic anemia is an autoimmune disease in which red blood cells are identified by the immune system as foreign and then destroyed. It is often treated with high doses of corticosteroids to suppress the immume system. Other immunosuppressive drugs are often added to the treatment regime, but are unproven. This clinical trial is designed to determine if there is a significant difference between two treatment protocols (prednisone vs. prednisone + cyclosporin).
Results
The investigators found that although cyclosporine is safe to use in dogs, it was ineffective in improving the survival rate of dogs with IMHA. Despite cyclosporines poor performance in this usage, the investigators learned valuable information. The major cause of death in dogs in the study was thromboembolic (blood clotting) complications. Based on this data, the investigators determined that significant improvement in the survival rate of dogs with IMHA is unlikely to be achieved without some means of controlling thromboembolic complications. Through a new Foundation-funded study, they are evaluating the use of heparin, an anticoagulant, to prevent clotting.
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