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 ItemPattern of thyroid function tests during recovery from acute nonthyroidal illness
Purpose: To identify the approximate duration of time for thyroid hormone levels to return to normal following nonthyroidal illness resolution.
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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 ItemSerum Neurofilament Light Chain as a Biomarker in Dogs with Seizures
Purpose: To measure Neurofilament light chain (NfL), a neuronal structural protein, to help assess seizure control and differentiate seizures from similar appearing neurologic episodes.
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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 ItemThe Effect of a Modified Approach on Early Weight Bearing Following Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy in Dogs
Purpose: To determine if a modified approach to Tibial Plateau Leveling Osteotomy (TPLO), which allows improved preservation of the muscle attachments, will lead to earlier weight bearing and faster resolution of lameness following TPLO surgery.
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General ItemBlood Collection from Dogs with Pemphigus Foliaceus
Purpose: To understand more about the role autoantibodies play in the inflammation and lesion formation associated with pemphigus foliaceus (PF) in dogs.
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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 ItemOwner-Assessed Quality of Life Factors for Mini Pigs
Purpose: To develop an owner-assessed quality of life instrument for mini pigs
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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 ItemBlood clotting activity in dogs with chronic GI disease
Purpose: To determine the activity of an enzyme (ADAMTS-13) that plays a role in blood clotting, along with other known blood clotting parameters, in dogs with chronic GI disease.
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General ItemAIM: Ablative Immune Modification with Nanopulse Stimulation prior to treatment with doxorubicin in dogs with diffuse large B-cell lymphoma
Purpose: To evaluate if treatment with NPS alters immune markers and impacts treatment outcome when combined with standard chemotherapy.
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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 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 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.