Regenerative medicine therapies for musculoskeletal and neurological diseases, including the application of mesenchymal stem cells, have the potential to improve function and comfort in patients by altering the target environment through cell signaling and other immunomodulatory effects.  Such therapies are promising for these patients, particularly those not amenable to traditional medications or require more control of their disease.

This long-term study aims to track the efficacy and safety of stem cell therapies used to treat a variety of nerve and musculoskeletal conditions. Stem cell therapy has the potential to regenerate tissue as well as mediate healing and inflammation. The ultimate goal is to help animals recover from injuries faster or more completely, and to reduce discomfort. The trial aims to help dogs and horses recover from injuries faster and with limited pain, and to advance musculoskeletal treatment for all species including humans.

Eligibility: Dogs or horses seen by the Cornell University Hospital for Animals or other veterinarians with a diagnosis of most neurological or musculoskeletal conditions may qualify.

Compensation: The owner covers costs related to the stem cell extraction, testing and implementation.

Owner responsibilities: Either you or your primary veterinarian may refer your dog or horse to us to participate in this trial. We will collect tissue at Cornell University Hospital for Animals or work with primary veterinarians to help them collect necessary tissue for stem cell isolation and expansion in our laboratory. Once the stem cell product is prepared, it may be applied to your dog or horse at Cornell or by your referring veterinarian. Follow up with pain and function surveys are required before and at several time points after stem cell product application.

Principal Investigators: 

for dogs - Chris Frye, DVM, DACVSMR

for horses - Aimee Colbath, VMD, MS, DACVS-LA

Contact/Schedule an Appointment: If you have a dog you think may be eligible please call CUHA for an appointment at 607.253.3060.

If you have a horse you think may be eligible please call the Equine Hospital for an appointment at 607.253.3100.

Castration of male dogs is one of the most common surgically performed procedures in the United States. While traditional castration can be performed by many techniques, all include removal of the testicles through an incision. Depending on the age and size of the dog, further invasive surgery is performed to remove the scrotal sac (scrotal ablation) to decrease the possibility of postoperative complications. Noted complications with traditional castration include infection, incisional complications, scrotal blood clots, scrotal skin death, severe bleeding, and less frequently but more seriously, damage to the urethra and prostate gland. These complications are seen more frequently in large breed dogs and dogs afflicted by cryptorchidism (testicles in the wrong location).

An alternative to Traditional Castration (TC) is Total Laparoscopic Castration (TLC) which involves ligating the blood supply of the testicle as well as severing the duct that carries sperm (vas deferens). Total laparoscopic castration has been investigated previously in both small and large animals and found to be safe and effective. A short-term study comparing dogs castrated by both techniques reported significantly lower pain scores, cortisol levels (stress hormone), and C-reactive protein levels (inflammation value) in the laparoscopic group. The objective of this study is to investigate the surgical and anesthesia time, short-term and medium-term hormonal and physiologic effects, pain scores and postoperative complications of large breed dogs undergoing TLC or TC combined with laparoscopic gastropexy if appropriate. We hypothesize that the surgical and anesthesia times will be shortened, hormonal and pain score effects will be comparable, and the complication rate and physiologic inflammatory effect will be lower for TLC dogs compared to TC dogs.

Eligibility: Any dog that weighs more than 33 pounds that is seen at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals for simultaneous laparoscopic gastropexy and castration.

Compensation: There are no additional costs to participate in this study. You will receive 10% off your bill associated with the castration and gastropexy. There is no cost to you for the follow up study appointments if done at Cornell. The study will pay for surgical complications if necessary.

Owner Responsibilities: Your dog will be randomized between traditional and laparoscopic castration. 

• All dogs will undergo blood tests and a recheck examination on days 0 (pre-surgery), 1 (first day after surgery), 14, 30, 90 and 180. 
  • all dogs will receive an injection of a hormone stimulant (Gonadotropin releasing hormone - GnRH) to test for testosterone levels at days 0, 1, 14, 90, and 180.
  • The postoperative appointments may be done at your primary veterinarian IF your vet can perform the GnRH stimulation test, however those costs will not be covered.

Principal Investigator: Nicole Buote, DVM, DACVS

Contact/Schedule an Appointment: Please contact the soft tissue surgery service or the clinical trials coordinator at 607.253.3060, or email vet-research@cornell.edu. 

Squamous Cell Carcinoma (SCC) is the second most common oral malignant tumor in dogs. They are locally invasive and often recurrent. They invade the bone rapidly and sometimes cannot be removed by surgery.

The aim of this clinical trial is to determine whether trametinib is effective at reducing the size of oral squamous cell carcinoma in dogs. Trametinib is an oral medication approved by the FDA for use in certain types of cancer in humans and has been previously found to be safe in dogs under experimental conditions. Our laboratory experiments indicate that canine oral squamous cell carcinomas are very sensitive to trametinib, suggesting that affected dogs might benefit from therapy. Our ultimate goal is to develop a novel therapy that can help improve outcomes and reduce side effects compared to traditional treatment strategies.

Eligibility: Dogs seen by the Cornell University Hospital for Animals (CUHA) who have been diagnosed with an oral squamous cell carcinoma are eligible.

Compensation: All visits and procedures directly related to and during the study will be performed entirely free of charge to you. The drug will also be provided to you free of charge. Additionally, if your dog either completes the study or is withdrawn from study for progression of disease, the study will cover an additional $1000 worth of medical expenses related to standard of care therapy for your dog's SCC.

Owner Responsibilities: We will ask you to bring your dog to the CUHA for follow up appointments on or around days 14, 30, 44, and 60. On days 14 and 44 we will conduct a physical exam and oral exam under light sedation. On days 30 and 60 we will do a physical exam and perform a full-body CT scan under general anesthesia to document response to treatment. Additionally we will take an additional biopsy of the tumor and aspirate a related lymph node.

You are also committing to give the medicine by mouth once daily. This medication is considered chemotherapy and safety instructions will be relayed to you. We will also ask you to complete a brief questionnaire about your dog's health once a week (either over the phone or in person at the visits).

Principal Investigator: Santiago Peralta, DVM, AVDC, FF-AVDC-OMFS

Contact/Schedule an Appointment: If you have a dog you think may be eligible please call either the dentistry serivce or the oncology service or the clinical trials coordinator at 607.253.3060, or email vet-research@cornell.edu

Sponsor: This clinical trial is sponsored by the Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center

The sinus node is the major pacemaker of the heart. In dogs, disease of the sinus node can result in slow heart rates that requires pacemaker implantation. The goal of this study is to characterize the electrical properties of the sinus node in dogs with slow heart rates that require pacemakers.

Eligibility: Any dog seen at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals with a diagnosis of a slow heart rate that requires pacemaker implantation.

Compensation: You will receive a 10% hospital discount and $2000 on your bill toward the pacemaker implantation. There are no additional costs to participate.

Owner Responsibilities: If the pacemaker implantation is not an emergency surgery, we will place a 24-hour ECG (Holter monitor) for your dog to wear at home in the weeks before the scheduled surgery. Once your dog is admitted for surgery, an atropine response test will be performed before the surgery. (This involves giving a medication that normally increases the heart rate temporarily.) During anesthesia we will perform an electrophysiologic study of the sinus node, which will involve placing catheters in the heart that can be used to pace the heart rhythm and record the electrical potentials of the heart. Following this, your dog will have the permanent pacemaker placed and the rest of the visit will be conducted as it would be without enrollment in the study.

Principal Investigator: Shana Mintz, DVM, DACVIM (Cardiology)

Contact/Schedule an Appointment: Please contact the cardiology service or the clinical trials coordinator at 607.253.3060, or email vet-research@cornell.edu. Your referring veterinarian may also contact the hospital to refer your pet.

IBD (Inflammatory Bowel Disease) is a common primary gastrointestinal (GI) disease causing undesired symptoms such as poor appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea in dogs.  Dogs that do not respond to diet and antibiotic therapies are treated with corticosteroid medications that can have side effects that can make quality of life worse in some cases. Therefore, more targeted immunotherapies are needed to inhibit the inflammation seen with this disease.

GLS-1027 has been shown to inhibit the inflammatory effects of a small population of white blood cells (Th17-mediated inflammation), which have shown to contribute to inflammatory bowel diseases in mice and people. In this study we are assessing the effect of GLS-1027 in dogs with chronic GI symptoms that do not respond to food or antibiotics with lab work routinely measured in the Loftus Laboratory and clinical setting at Cornell University Hospital for Animals.  Dogs will be randomly assigned to one of two groups: (1) standard of care dose of steroids + placebo, (2) half dose of standard of care steroids + low dose GLS-1027.

Eligibility: Dogs seen by the Cornell University Hospital for Animals who have been diagnosed with chronic enteropathy (symptoms for >3 weeks) who have already failed diet and antibiotic therapy, have had compatible diagnostics done to rule out other endocrine, infectious, or neoplastic causes, and have a biopsy diagnosis consistent with inflammatory bowel disease. Dogs must be >5kg. Dogs with a history of corticosteroid or other immunosuppressive treatment of more than 10 days in the preceding month may not participate.

Compensation: The drug or placebo will be provided for free. Additionally, you will receive some free lab work at days 14 and 28. There will be a 10% hospital discount on all study-related visits.

Owner Responsibilities: This is a 28-day study. You are responsible for administering study medications as directed and must return your dog to CUHA for follow-up appointments around day 14 and day 28. You will be asked to fill out a one-page journal to document drug administration and any change in symptoms.

Principal Investigator: Jennifer Prieto, DVM, DACVIM

Contact/Schedule an Appointment: If you have a dog you think may be eligible please call the internal medicine service or the clinical trials coordinator at 607.253.3060, or email vet-research@cornell.edu

Dietary management of cats with chronic kidney disease (CKD) can be very complicated due to the need to balance many changed dietary needs to keep the CKD from worsening, such as keeping protein relatively low while also maintaining optimal potassium and phosphorous levels. We are examining whether feeding a hydrolyzed protein diet will provide more amino acids while also keeping protein levels low enough to help prevent muscle wasting while still optimizing the other needs.

Eligibility: Cats with IRIS Stage I or Stage II Chronic Kidney Disease

Compensation: You will receive the food for free for the duration of the study. Additionally there will be a 10% hospital discount on all study-related visits to the Cornell University Hospital for Animals.

Owner Responsibilities: Your cat will be given one of three commercial diets that have been formulated to be more digestible, with two of the three utilizing the specially selected protein ± natural anti-inflammatory nutrients. You will feed this diet exclusively for a minimum of 1 month and up to a maximum of 12 months if the response is favorable. All treats and supplements must be discontinued prior to your cat’s enrollment.  You will be required to bring your cat to Cornell for the initial appointment including a brief exam, urinalysis, fecal examination and blood work and back to Cornell at 3 months, 6 months, 9 months and 12 months after beginning the diet for additional brief exams, urinalysis, fecal examination and blood work (follow up at your local veterinarian may be possible in some cases). You will also fill out a survey related to your cat’s quality of life and diet performance each month during the dietary trial.

Principal Investigator: Kenneth Simpson, BVM&S, PhD, DACVIM, DECVIM-CA

Contact/Schedule an Appointment: Please contact the internal medicine service or the clinical trials coordinator at 607.253.3060, or email vet-research@cornell.edu. Your referring veterinarian may also contact the hospital to refer your pet.

Gallbladder disease is common in cats and dogs and can lead to significant illness and even death. The routine surgical approach to remove the gallbladder usually requires surgeons to open the intestine (duodenotomy) to ensure the common bile duct draining the liver is open before removing the gallbladder. This adds risk as this intestinal incision can leak after surgery requiring an emergency surgery. This procedure also add time to the surgical procedure and to the anesthetic event which can be deleterious to unstable or ill patients.

Intraoperative image-guidance could provide objective evidence for surgeons to determine the common bile duct is draining the liver is open. The use of indocyanine green (ICG), a dye that glows green under near-infrared (NIR) light, has been described before for biliary surgery in human medicine. ICG is extremely safe at clinical doses, with rare anaphylactic reactions reported in humans but not in animals. There are no studies investigating the use of an intraoperative injection of ICG into the gallbladder in pets.  The aims of this study will directly address this knowledge gap in veterinary medicine and will determine if ICG can be used as an alternative to performing an additional surgical procedure during gallbladder removal.

Eligibility: Any dog seen at the Cornell University Hospital for Animals that needs to have their gallbladder removed.

Compensation: You will receive a $600 credit on your bill, a free CBC/chem, and 10% off the surgical procedure and associated anesthesia.

Owner Responsibilities: Your dog will receive the dye during their gallbladder removal. There are no further responsibilities or obligations.

Principal Investigator: Nicole Buote, DVM, DACVS

Contact/Schedule an Appointment: Please contact the soft tissue surgery service, the emergency service, or the clinical trials coordinator at 607.253.3060, or email vet-research@cornell.edu. Your referring veterinarian may also contact the hospital to refer your pet.

Idiopathic epilepsy (IE) is a common disease in dogs. Up to 20-30% of these dogs are refractory to available therapies, and there is currently no cure for the disease. Fly biting syndrome is another neurological clinical manifestation of either a seizure or suspected gastrointestinal disease (GI). The syndrome consists of involuntary repetitive abnormal episodes and has been shown to involve a seizure activity of the brain in some cases but responds favorably to dietary changes and/or GI drugs much more commonly. The purpose of this study is to determine if Fecal Microbiome Transplantation (FMT) administered as a capsule, from healthy donors, will decrease episode frequency and severity due to gut microbiome changes.

Eligibility: Dogs will be included in the study if they meet the following criteria:

• Under 4 years of age

For Epileptic dogs: Have a history of recurrent seizures for > 1 year

• Have a seizure frequency ≥ 1 per month for at least 2 consecutive months in which the dog was appropriately treated with two or more conventional antiepileptic drugs (AED).
• Refractory dogs will be required to either have had a serum phenobarbital or bromide concentration within a therapeutic range or be receiving the labeled dose of zonisamide or levetiracetam before being considered refractory. All AED given prior to the beginning of the study will be continued unchanged.
• They must also have had normal lab tests (CBC, serum biochemical analysis and bile acids), unremarkable findings on MRI of the brain and CSF analysis (if performed), and negative results of infectious disease testing. The amount of testing may vary due to owners’ consent at the time of diagnosis and the age and breed of the dog.

For Fly Biting Syndrome:

• Have recurrence of events more than once a month despite being on either fluoxetine or phenobarbital at therapeutic level.

Compensation: The drug or placebo will be provided free of charge. The dogs in the placebo group will have the option of receiving 3 months of the FMT capsules at the end of the trial period as an incentive, if proven to show some improvement.

Any tests or procedures unrelated to the study are the responsibility of the owner.

OWNER RESPONSIBILITIES: If you agree to let your dog participate in this study, your dog will be randomly assigned to receive either FMT or a placebo. You will need to return to Cornell for monthly visits for follow-ups, blood and fecal sampling, and to receive the next month’s capsule supply for the duration of the trial period. (5 visits) Most importantly, we ask that you don’t make any changes in the dog’s medications or diet during the trial period (16 weeks), and for you to keep a seizure and medication log. (The logs will be provided to you.) 

Principal Investigator: Yael Merbl, BSc, DVM, DECVN

Contact/Schedule an Appointment: Please contact the clinical trials coordinator team at 607.253.3060, or email vet-research@cornell.edu.

Osteosarcoma is a common cancer diagnosed in dogs, particularly in large breed dogs. While several chemotherapy protocols have been shown to provide modest management of the onset of metastasis (spread of cancer), we are continuously looking for additional treatments that may extend survival time.

Carboplatin is a widely accepted chemotherapy agent used in treatment of osteosarcoma. The results of this study will allow us to determine if dogs can successfully tolerate carboplatin and a new drug called Laverdia-CA1 (verdinexor) in a combination protocol.

Eligibility: Dogs seen by the Cornell University Hospital for Animals who have been diagnosed with osteosarcoma in a limb, have had the leg amputated, and have NOT received any chemotherapy

Compensation: This study is sponsored by the Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center. Laverdia-CA1 (verdinexor) will be provided free of charge. The sponsor will cover some of the costs you incur during carboplatin treatment. This will include $150 at each carboplatin visit (up to $600 total) and $25 at each bloodwork visit (up to $100 total). You will receive a 10% discount on your bill. You are responsible for all additional costs. Any tests or procedures unrelated to the study are your responsibility.

Owner Responsibilities: This is a 12 week study. You are responsible for administering study medications as directed and must return your dog to CUHA for follow-up appointments according to a specific timeline. All study procedures, time requirements, and responsibilities will be provided to you in a project outline.

Principal Investigator: Kelly Hume, DVM, DACVIM

Contact/Schedule an Appointment: If you have a dog you think may be eligible please call the clinical trials coordinator at 607.253.3060, or email vet-research@cornell.edu

Lymphoma is one of the most common cancers in dogs with few treatment options available. Traditional injectable chemotherapeutic drugs have been used to extend quality of life, achieve clinical remissions, and slow cancer progression, but are not feasible options for many families. Additional safe, low cost therapies are needed for canine patients. 

Multi-agent chemotherapy plus prednisone (an oral steroid pill) is the standard treatment. However, this is not a viable option for many families with affected dogs. The goal of this study is to compare outcomes, safety, and quality of life in dogs with large cell lymphoma receiving either prednisone plus a supplement, prednisone plus a specific antibiotic that may have anti-cancer activity, or prednisone plus a conditionally approved oral anti-cancer drug.

Eligibility: Dogs seen by the Cornell University Hospital for Animals who have been diagnosed with large cell lymphoma who are not already on oral prednisone.

Compensation: This study is sponsored by the Cornell Richard P. Riney Canine Health Center. All testing related to this study is covered by the sponsor. This includes the costs of medications, diagnostic testing, and evaluation pertinent to the study. Any tests or procedures unrelated to the study are your responsibility.

Owner Responsibilities: This is a 12 week study. You are responsible for administering study medications as directed and must return your dog to CUHA for follow-up appointments according to a specific timeline. There is a possibility (depending upon which arm of the study your dog is randomized to) that we may take a small amount of extra blood and lymph node aspirates at time points where these procedures are already occurring (so your dog will not have an extra needle poke). You will be asked to complete an extra questionnaire about your dog's health at study-related visits. All study procedures, time requirements, and responsibilities will be provided to you in a project outline.

Principal Investigator: Kelly Hume, DVM, DACVIM

Contact/Schedule an Appointment: If you have a dog you think may be eligible please call the clinical trials coordinator at 607.253.3060, or email vet-research@cornell.edu