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Clinical Trials

US Department of Defense Canine Spinal Cord Injury Study: Part 2

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Title US Department of Defense Canine Spinal Cord Injury Study: Part 2
Contact Person Alisha Selix
Julie Harris
Jonathan M. Levine, DVM, DACVIM-Neurology
Species Dog
Inclusion Criteria and General Background Information
  1. Dogs must have ≤ 2 day history of spinal cord dysfunction resulting in a loss of coordination in the back legs
  2. The spinal cord injury must be suspected to be due to disk herniation and must be located between the T3 and L3 vertebrae
  3. Dogs must be male or male castrated and weigh between 7-35 pounds
  4. Dogs must be an appropriate candidate for surgery
Exclusion Criteria Dogs receiving steroids within 7 days of injury cannot participate.
Owner Commitments Animals will participate during the normal course of their hospitalization, for the diagnosis and treatment of disk herniation. Dogs will receive either placebo or study drug one time. Dogs will have urinary function and limb movements measured at various time points during their hospitalization and at a 42 day re-check point. Further details on study procedures can be obtained by contacting the neurology staff at 979-845-2351
Financial Incentives

There are no financial obligations by the owner to Texas A&M University for participation in this study, although they will be responsible for standard fees associated with initial examination, surgery and recovery. The standard 4-6 week follow-up visit will be paid for by the investigator and is required for participation.

Participation in the study with successful completion of all visits will result in a final client cost of $1200 for all procedures. Animals failing to complete the study may be subject to the entire cost of procedures (approximately $3500).

US Department of Defense Canine Spinal Cord Injury Study: Part 1

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Title: US Department of Defense Canine Spinal Cord Injury Study: Part 1
Contact Person: Amanda Garner
Alisha Onkst
Julie Harris
Jonathan M. Levine, DVM, DACVIM-Neurology
Species: Dog
Inclusion Criteria and General Background Information:
  1. Dogs must have ≤ 2 day history of spinal cord dysfunction resulting in a loss of coordination in the back legs
  2. The spinal cord injury must be suspected to be due to disk herniation.
  3. Dogs must be male or male castrated and weigh between 7-35 pounds.
Exclusion Criteria: Dogs lacking pain perception in the back legs cannot be enrolled.
Owner Commitments: Animals will participate during the normal course of their hospitalization, for the diagnosis and treatment of disk herniation. Dogs will have urinary function measured at various time points during their hospitalization and at a 42 day re-check point. Further details on study procedures can be obtained by contacting the neurology staff at 979-845-2351
Financial Incentives:

There are no financial obligations by the owner to Texas A&M University for participation in this study, although they will be responsible for standard fees associated with initial examination, surgery and recovery. A 4-6 week follow-up visit will be paid for by the investigator and is required for participation.

Participation in the study with successful completion of all visits will result in a cost for all procedures (spinal imaging, spinal surgery, rehabilitation, 7 days of hospitalization) of $3000, which is $500 less than our standard fee for back surgery.

Inflammatory Central Nervous System Disease Screening

Title: Inflammatory Central Nervous System Disease Screening
Contact Person: Alisha Onkst
Julie Harris, RVT
Jonathan M. Levine, DVM, DACVIM-Neurology
Species: Dogs
Inclusion Criteria and General Background Information: Dogs with MRI and CSF confirmed inflammatory central nervous system disease will have CSF submitted for analysis to the University of Georgia for identification of novel agents.
Exclusion Criteria: None
Owner Commitments: None
Financial Incentives: None

Canine Brain Tumor Surgery Study

Title: Canine Brain Tumor Surgery Study
Contact Person: Alisha Selix
Julie Harris
Species: Dogs
Inclusion Criteria and General Background Information: Veterinarians at Texas A&M University have entered into collaboration with medical doctors and scientists at University of Texas at Houston Medical School to improve our understanding of brain tumors. As a first step, the two institutions have partnered to develop a tissue bank and provide funding for canine brain tumor surgeries at Texas A&M University.

The following criteria must be met for participation.

  1. Your dog must have MRI evidence to support the presence of a mass within the brain tissue. While MRI at Texas A&M is encouraged, animals with outside MR studies are eligible.
  2. The mass must be accessible for removal or biopsy (to be determined by neurologists at Texas A&M)
  3. Your dog must be in good systemic health and have only moderate neurological deficits (an examination at Texas A&M is required)
  4. You must be willing to allow tumor tissue removed during surgery to be banked for scientific study
Exclusion Criteria: None
Owner Commitments: Animals will participate during the normal course of their hospitalization, for the diagnosis and treatment. Participating patients will be required to return to the hospital for a re-check neurological examination 4-6 weeks after surgery. The time required to complete this re-check visit could range from 1-2 hours.
Financial Incentives: Animals eligible for participation in this program will have the costs of brain tumor removal and aftercare waived, up to $6000. In most instances, this waiver should cover the entire cost of surgery, post-op MRI, and immediate post-operative care.

Spinal Cord Injury Study: Correlation of MRI to Functional Outcome

Title: Spinal Cord Injury Study: Correlation of MRI to Functional Outcome
Contact Person:

Amanda Garner
Alisha Onkst
Julie Harris
John F. Griffin IV, DVM, DACVR
Jonathan M. Levine, DVM, DACVIM-Neurology
Species: Dogs
Inclusion Criteria and General Background Information:
  1. Dogs must have ≤ 7 day history of spinal cord dysfunction resulting in a loss of coordination in the back legs
  2. The spinal cord injury must be suspected to be due to disk herniation.
  3. Dogs must weigh between 6-33 pounds.
Exclusion Criteria: None
Owner Commitments: Animals will participate during the normal course of their hospitalization, for the diagnosis and treatment of disk herniation. Dogs will have a special MRI that takes about 70 minutes, instead of the typical 20-30 minutes. Dogs will be given MRI contrast medium (gadolinium). Further details on study procedures can be obtained by contacting the neurology staff at 979-845-2351
Financial Incentives: There are no financial obligations by the owner to Texas A&M University for participation in this study, although they will be responsible for standard fees associated with initial examination, surgery and recovery. A 4-6 week follow-up visit will be paid for by the investigator and is required for participation.

Participation in the study with successful completion of all visits will result in a cost for all procedures (spinal imaging, spinal surgery, rehabilitation, 7 days of hospitalization) of $3000, which is $500 less than our standard fee for back surgery.