Category Archives: Science-Based Veterinary Medicine

The Myth of Antioxidants?

I have written often about the popular notion that vitamins, dietary supplements, herbs, and other things which can be identified as “antioxidants” based on in vitro laboratory studies must automatically be good for our pets. This sort of simplistic reasoning … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements, Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 10 Comments

Benefits and Risks of Neutering, an Evidence Update: Neutering and Mammary Cancer in Female Dogs

This is another in my series of evidence updates on the risks and benefits of neutering in dogs and cats. I will be updating the evidence and conclusions of my original 2010 review based on a series of systematic reviews … Continue reading

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 11 Comments

Benefits and Risks of Neutering, an Evidence Update: Neutering and Urinary Incontinence in Female Dogs

A couple of years ago, I wrote a review of the risks and benefits of neutering. This handout, originally intended for clients, was also turned into a journal article for veterinarians: Evaluating the benefits and risks of neutering dogs and … Continue reading

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 1 Comment

Measuring Arthritis Pain in Dogs: Are Owner Surveys as Good as Force Plate Analysis?

I have written about a wide variety of conventional and alternative therapies for arthritis pain in dogs. A recurring issue in evaluating these therapies is how we know whether or not interventions designed to reduce pain in animals are effective. … Continue reading

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 4 Comments

Caregiver Placebo Effects: New Study Shows that Owners and Vets Often Believe an Ineffective Therapy is Working When it Isn’t

The placebo effect is a critically important, and much misunderstood phenomenon which can mislead us greatly when we are trying to decide if a medical therapy is or is not effective. While most people understand the placebo effect to mean … Continue reading

Posted in General, Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 11 Comments

New Survey: What Do Vets Think About Evidence-Based Medicine?

A couple of years ago, I conducted a small pilot survey of veterinarians to investigate their attitudes and knowledge concerning evidence-based medicine (EBM). While not a representative sample of the profession, the survey identified some interesting issues worthy of further … Continue reading

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 7 Comments

New Review Finds Little Evidence that Nutraceuticals Help Animals with Arthritis

I have written extensively about various supplements and herbal treatments for arthritis. For the most part the evidence seems weak for all of these products, though there are a couple of suggestive studies that might lead to demonstrably effective treatments … Continue reading

Posted in Herbs and Supplements, Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 6 Comments

Aural Hematoma Review and Other New Info from the EBVMA

The Evidence-Based Veterinary Medicine Association (EBVMA) is continuing to try and support evidence-based medicine for veterinarians, and the latest activity in that effort is producing a series of brief, pragmatic literature reviews on common clinical problems and therapies. The first … Continue reading

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 8 Comments

Guidelines for Minimizing Commercial Influence in Veterinary Medicine

The potential bias introduced into research, medical education, and individual clinician judgment by relationships with commercial entities is a perennial and serious issue in medicine, including the veterinary field. While critics of mainstream veterinary medicine frequently raise this issue when … Continue reading

Posted in Science-Based Veterinary Medicine | 17 Comments

Stem Cell Therapy Miracle–Maybe

I’ve written numerous times about veterinary stem cell therapies, and I’ve been quite critical about the proliferation of such interventions in veterinary medicine. This is not because I don’t see great hope in stem cell therapies, for I do. But … Continue reading

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