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March 2004
N3 Mice Engineered
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Table of Contents
Gene-Altered Mice Create Healthful Oils
EICOSADERM Is Now Available In A 32 Ounce Economy Size
Tip: MECHANISM OF ACTION of Fish Oil
DermaPet Vision Statement
DermaPet Mission Statement
Gene-Altered Mice Create Healthful Oils
Scientists in Boston have created a line of genetically engineered mice that
make their own omega-3 fatty acids-healthful oils, typically found in fish,
that mice, humans and other mammals cannot normally make on their own.
The scientists have no interest in adding mice to the menus of health food restaurants,
though the meat from these gene-altered mice is now about as heart-healthy as
a piece of salmon. Nor do they advocate adding the omega-3 gene to humans-an
enhancement that would endow people with the capacity to convert the unhealthful
fats in their diets into healthier oils but would open a Pandora’s box
of ethical concerns.
They do, however, foresee a future in which cattle will be engineered to have
the gene in their muscles so a slab of beef could have a fat profile similar
to that of a piece of salmon-and without worries about
mercury or other ocean contaminants that have recently plagued the seafood industry.
The Boston team also foresees putting the gene into chickens, to make leaner
eggs, and into cow mammary tissues so the milk produced by those cows would
be rich in omega-3s. Omega-3 fatty acids have been shown to lower the risk of
heart disease and other chronic conditions in humans.
But the immediate goal, the researchers said, is to put the gene into farmed
salmon. Although fish are famed for being rich in omega-3s, even they cannot
make those good compounds themselves. They get them by eating algae-tiny floating
plants packed with omega-3s.
Farmed fish are not free to graze on algae and are generally fed vegetables
oils, which makes their meat hardly more healthful than that of other farm animals.
To make up for that, fish farmers typically add
ocean-derived fish meal to their farmed fishes’ food-an approach that is
expensive and inefficient, requiring tow to three pounds of fish meal to make
one pound of farmed fish rich in omega-3s.
“If we put this gene into live salmon and then just give them vegetable
oil, they can make the omega-3’s themselves, and they’ll be healthier
and they’ll be healthier to eat” said Jing X. Kang, the Harvard
Medical School cell biologist who led the mouse study, which appears in today’s
issue of the journal Nature.
Kang and his colleagues started with a gene isolated from a tiny, soil dwelling
worm called C. elegans, an organism able to make its own omega-3 fatty acids
from less healthful omega-6 fatty acids. Omega-6’s are the prevalent fats
in today’s human diet.
They injected copies of that gene into mouse embryos and then placed the embryos
into the wombs of surrogate mother mice to develop into mice with the unprecedented
capacity to make omega-3s from the omega-6s in their diet. Their offspring inherit
the same capacity.
Conventional mice fed conventional, fish-free diets have 20 or more times as
much omega-6 fatty acids as omega-3 fatty acids in their muscles, blood and
breast milk- a ratio similar to that found in humans eating a standard American
diet. That ratio has been linked chronic inflammation, heart disease and related
problems.
But with their newfound capacity to convert one fatty acid to the other, the
engineered mice lowered their omega-6 levels and raised their omega-3 levels
to the point where they had about equal amounts of each in their bodies-a healthy
1-to-1 ratio that scientists believe is about what humans had thousands of years
ago. The mice seemed to suffer no ill effects, Kang said.
“This could be an enormous step forward for animal nutrition and for the
nutritional value of animal products.” said Norman Salem, a laboratory
chief at the National Institute of Alcohol Abuse and
Alcoholism, who studies fatty acid chemistry. As fish, cows and other farm animal
have been fed higher amounts of vegetable oils over the years, their meat has
become increasingly unhealthful for humans,
Salem noted. But there is another way that may help reverse that trend, he said:
Change the fat profiles of the plants being fed to those animals.
Plant biotechnologists are already tackling that challenge, said David Stark,
a vice president at Monsanto Co. in St. Louis, one of several companies pursuing
the goal. Canola oil especially rich in
monounsaturated fat-the kind that makes olive oil healthful-is already on the
market, he noted. And scientists have begun to endow soybeans with an omega-3
gene like the one in Kang’s mice.
Animals fed the engineered beans would produce milk and meat with more healthful
fat profiles. But perhaps most important, Stark said, omega-3 rich soybeans
could have a direct impact on heart disease rates, because more than 80 percent
of the oil in the American diet comes from soybeans.
Pre-Vegas Australian DermaPet importer DELVET’s JIM ADAMS and DermaPet distributor, PROVET MELBOURNE’s BRIAN OAKLEY, paid me a “business” visit in Palm Desert. There was time for a little bit of golf. Despite jetlag, Brian, the low handicapper of the group, gave Jim and I a few lessons on how to hit a ball with an uphill lie during one round.
Viva Las Vegas
The Western States Meeting at the Mandalay Bay hotel had over 6,000 vets. Although
it still has a ways to go to meet NAVC standards, the meeting staff largely
met the needs of the exhibitors
and attendees. The hotel had the right meeting space to handle the show and
will hopefully keep us despite the lack of veterinary high stakes gamblers attending.
There was ample entertainment. Hootie and the Blowfish closed for the ‘amateur’ band including DON HARRIS, CHRIS PERRY (MEDRX), STAN GABRIEL (virbac) and KEVIN VASQUEZ (Butler). JAMES DOONAN (Andover) while wondering how his wife would do on the ‘ching-chings’, saved me with a bandaid. PETER EMILY coined the term ODOFACTANT for an essential ingredient in our new dental chew product that is “coming soon”.
Previous veterinary co-workers RUDY FANARI and TANNIS JOHNSON (MD) visited. Tannis reflected on all the concoctions we used to use in my clinics. JIM SLOAK (Houston, works with old pal, MIKE MARK) actually told me he likes and uses my products. BERT GINDY came by and asked me to tell his wife, DONNA (NAVC czarette), to quit taking his chips and dial 800-NO-SLOTS. COLIN BURROWS (NAVC czar) observed one of my rare successful moments at the crap table. Perhaps, I should call 800-NO-CRAPS?
The unflappable HENRY RANDAZZO was seen spending lots of money on his beautiful new clinic in Bermuda Dunes where YT has been known to see a case of two. Henry introduced me to BOB MASON, Associate Dean at the new Western University in Pomona. BYRON EMSWILLER helped Henry spend while ERIC JACKMAN kept the clinic running. MICKEY WILLEN walked me over to the AVMA to help me with my health insurance.
LINDA JACOBSON proudly brought us a card showing she is the new President of the NAVC although I am equally impressed that she (along with SALLY HADDOCK) are the vets for the WESTMINSTER dog show. Not to be so one sided in our coverage just no one from WVC stopped by. ROBERT GRAHAM (IL), IRWIN SMALL’S (UI, my mentor) classmate visited. My classmate MAX BALMFORTH (RI) looked the same.
I enjoyed the good company of LOU and PENNY GOTTHELF who were spending a lot of time with laser guru JEFF and LAURA MAYO (Seattle); special thanks to Penny for ironing my wrinkled shirts.
The booth was covered by “Cowboy” JACK WHITE, JOYCE HEFLIN (CA), PATRICK RAYBURN (TX) and ALAN GARETT (Corpus Christi). Alan, a GP, provides us with a unique perspective to communicate with other GPs until his classmates/colleagues come by and tease him relentlessly.
I also met with PHIL COHEN, RON WHITFORD and JEFF WERBER of . PetCARE Television
Network, Inc PTNW (www.petcaretv.com)
, the fast growing reception based client education network that wants to be
in your reception area. Now is the time to join the 3,000 veterinary subscribers
to this educational / marketing monthly video magazine.
EICOSADERM Is Now Available In A 32 Ounce Economy Size
EicosaDerm is now available in a 32 ounce economy size. Buy 3 get 1 FREE for the Introductory Special (net $17.99/ less than $0.02/10 lb dose). This will afford 960 doses for a 10 pound dog (or 96 for the 100 pound beast), making this much more affordable than the “one major supplier of omega 3 liquid” and generic caps.
We will be at the PENN meeting in PHILADELPHIA, March 11-13 and AAHA meeting in TAMPA on March 20-23. Then the BSAVA in BIRMINGHAM England 3/30-4/3.
MedRx is offering CE with EAR Seminars by LOU GOTTHELF on the road next in BALTIMORE on March 28th and MINNEAPOLIS on April 18th. Call 888-392-1234 to register or find out when one is coming near you.
Territory Managers
We are pleased to announce the addition of JAY MAIDEN as our TM for the SE US.
Jay can be reached at 727-560-2325, jaymaiden@verizonmail.com.
COLIN FERGUSON, formerly of IVD, is our new Midwest rep. He can be reached at 614-539-9176, cferguso@columbus.rr.com.
JOYCE HEFLIN is our West Coast TM.
The “old work-horse” CHUCK MICHAELS (NE TM) and PATRICK RAYBURN (SW TM) continue to ride with distributor reps.
All our sales are guided by the capable JACK WHITE jag6410@aol.com or call 1-866-DERMAPET.
For the TM nearest you please email, look at our web
site or call us.
1st Quarter Special. “Dental Month”
EicosaDerm BUY 10 and get 2 FREE of the 8 ounce size and Buy 3 get 1 free of our new 32 Ounce Economy size.
DentAcetic. Buy 12 Get 12 FREE
Gallons. Buy 3 and Get 1 FREE.
Call your DermaPet Distributor or 800 755 4738 for ordering information.
Tip: MECHANISM OF ACTION of Fish Oil
The use of supplements for treating pruritic inflammatory diseases and crusting diseases in dogs and cats has been the subject of multiple open and controlled studies. In general, this method has shown success for the management of pruritus and inflammation associated with a variety of diseases, though predominantly allergic.
Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA), which is usually supplied by using cold water
marine fish oils, competes as a substrate for cyclooxygenase and 5- and 15-lipoxygenase.
The metabolism of EPA by the
lipoxygenase enzymes results in the formation of leukotriene B5 and 15-hydroxyeicosapentaenoic
acid. The two products are thought to inhibit leukotriene B4, which is a potent
pro-inflammatory mediator.
Consumption of a diet enriched in N-3 (omega-3) fatty acids reduced delayed-type
hypersensitivity responses, decreases production of prostaglandin E2, and resulted
in increased postvaccinal total lymphocyte count in aged Beagle dogs. An omega-3
fatty acid-enriched diet had no long-term negative effect on wound healing in
dogs. ( Muller & Kirk’s Small Animal Dermatology 6th Ed. p. 239)
Ed note: The correct dose of 180 mg EPA per 10 pounds remains. That dose is
in each ml of EicosaDerm, an ethical product,
which is currently the least expensive method for supplementing fish oil. Remember:
not all fish oil has the proper amount of EPA; other omega 3 sources like flax
seed do not contain enough EPA to be effective.
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yet highly effective products for the veterinary community.
DermaPet Mission Statement
To contribute to your growth and that of the veterinary industry by providing
excellent, unique, innovative all natural yet highly effective products that
embrace the pet, veterinarian, and client relationship.
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Steve Melman VMD
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| Steven Melman VMD DermaPet Animal Dermatology and Behavior Clinics Potomac, MD 20854 |
dermapet@aol.com http://www.dermapet.com 800-755-4738 fax 301-365-0191 |
8909 Iverleigh Court 
Potomac, Maryland
20854
301-983-8387 800-755-4738 Fax 301-365-0191
E-mail dermapet@aol.com
