Today, Dr. Lucas Kandefer says today we are talking about what can be a very controversial topic and something we should always keep in mind and consider really on a regular basis. He says what we are talking about is modern medical advances that our pets help us develop.
Dr. Kandefer says there are a lot of things that have happened over the past that have had some questionable ethics and questionable morality when we are looking at some of our research and some of the things we have done in the past; it has become really a well rounded and well researched investment into making sure all research is chosen based on very strict ethical and moral compasses so this is something that is changing dramatically and continues to change and from where we were 50 years ago to now is a very different environment. He says some of the medical advances we have had from our pets have changed our lives completely and goes on to say our pets have given us a huge amount of opportunities to find different things that can help our lives over and over again.
Dr. Kandefer says the first transplants based on the heart were actually developed with dogs as models; so it is something where millions of people have transplants on a regular basis yearly and that transplant and the actual anti-rejection drugs have really made a huge difference in a lot of people’s lives.
He says, we do find that the current research into blindness and degenerative changes with people has actually been found through intensive study of our cats. Their retinal system was really the first model to help develop and understand what was happening on the human’s eyes.
Lastly, Dr. Kandefer says the one thing that we have found is that children with asthma is the vast majority of inhalers in both the preventative and emergency inhalers were developed using our tiny little friends guinea pigs and that has allowed our children to live normal lives and adults through that continued disease, so there are a lot of things that have made our lives better, longer and a lot of this research does benefit our pets as well. Dr. Kandefer says our old life span for a cat or a dog used to be seven to ten years and now the average life span for a pet, you know, fifteen years is not a big step to get there, so while there is always going to be controversy around this and it a very important thing to consider, a lot of advances has helped our pets and us have come through this research.
For more information visit nfveterinarysociety.org
