CVM Clinical Trials Benefiting Animal And Human Healthcare
Faculty members in the Texas A&M College of Veterinary Medicine & Biomedical Sciences (CVM) are conducting a variety of clinical trials to improve the futures of both veterinary and human medicine.
Dr. Jonathan Levine, a CVM professor and Helen McWhorter Chair of the Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences (VSCS), provided an overview of the CVM’s involvement in clinical trials during College Hour on April 12.
Levine began with a brief overview of the history of clinical trials and some relevant terminology, then discussed the importance of companion animal clinical trials.
He explained that while companion animal clinical trials are great for improving the health of dogs and cats, they can also have a huge impact on human health care. Since the beginning of dog and cat clinical trials, researchers have been able to use findings to improve human cancer treatments, therapies, and more.
“One of the big areas of our portfolio right now is oncology,” Levine said. “Heather Wilson-Robles, when she got here in the mid-2000s, was excited about doing clinical trials. She started with lymphoma and actually did one of the first lymphoma-based trials.”
Her trial found that T-cell transfusions in dogs with lymphoma improved their immune system and life expectancy. She is also involved in a clinical trial studying dogs with osteosarcoma, aimed at reducing metastasis in the lungs.
Levine said his own current project is a clinical trial to study dogs with gliomas, which are aggressive brain tumors. He is working with STING, an activating molecule that can help improve tumor-fighting immune cell activity.
One of the CVM’s most expansive and exciting clinical trials is the Dog Aging Project, led by associate professor Dr. Kate Creevy.
“Basically, the goal of this project is to try and uncover the mechanisms of aging in dogs using systems biology,” Levine said. “The team behind this is multi-institutional; it’s incredible.”
Levine also discussed studies of soft tissue sarcomas, spinal cord injuries, knee surgery techniques, osteoarthritis, cobalamin deficiencies, dilated cardiomyopathy treatments, and Chagas disease in dogs.
In addition, some CVM clinical trials focus on cats, such as the search for new drugs to treat chronic pancreatitis.
“I think a big part of being able to do these studies is having the right structure,” Levine said. “You can do those things, but it’s much easier if you’ve got department-level support.”
The next major step is increasing awareness of the CVM’s clinical trials and improving outreach to possible participants.
“Every day at the CVM, researchers are using clinical trials to make new discoveries and benefit animal and human health care,” Levine said. “These trials are about reducing suffering and improving care.”
More information about clinical trials can be found at https://vetmed.tamu.edu/clinical-trials/.
