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Scientists explore heart disease in great apes
western lowland gorillas
Western lowland gorillas Lope and Ozala at Twycross Zoo.

Age-related degeneration could play a part

A Europe-wide study is hoping to find out why great apes such as chimpanzees and gorillas suffer from heart disease.

The Ape Heart Project is being led by Twycross Zoo in collaboration with the University of Nottingam. Dr Victoria Strong is the first of several doctoral students to begin work on the 10-year study. She aims to pinpoint the most common type of heart disease affecting primates and why they develop it.

"At the moment we're unsure why great apes in human care develop heart disease," she explained. "We also have yet to find out whether their wild counterparts are affected to the same degree."

Dr Strong believes the answer could be age-related degeneration, as primates in zoos tend to live longer than their wild counterparts, as they are not facing threats such as predation, poaching and infectious diseases.

Coronary heart disease (ischaemic heart disease) is the most common cause of death in humans, both in the UK and worldwide. In people, it is linked to lifestyle factors such as poor diet and a sedentary habits. But researchers do not currently believe these lifestyle factors explain the mortality of primates in captivity.

Dr Strong said: "In humans we commonly see the build-up of fatty deposits that causes atherosclerosis, which is caused by eating badly and exercising rarely, but so far this is not what we are seeing in apes.

"In the apes we are observing the death of the cardiac muscle, which is then replaced by scar tissue. At present we do not know what might be causing heart tissue degeneration, but we are looking into the role that genetics, nutrition and even viruses might play."

So far, the Ape Heart Project has carried out a retrospective mortality review across all great ape collections in European zoos over an 11-year period, ending in 2014. Researchers found heart disease to be a major cause of death in adult chimps, bonobos and gorillas. The results are expected to be similar for orang-utans when data analysis is complete.

Researchers are receiving the hearts of great apes that die in zoos and sanctuaries worldwide and detailed pathology is being carried out to determine if heart disease was the cause of death. The team are working alongside Professor Mary Sheppard, a human cardiac pathologist and sudden cardiac death specialist at George's University in London.

Dr Strong is working with veterinary pathologist Dr Kerstin Baiker and has produced a protocol to standardise cardiac post-mortem examinations and sample collecting, after the project highlighted major differences in approaches used by European zoos. Guidelines have also been produced by the project to improve heart screening in European Zoos, helping them to identify heart disease while there is still time for treatment.

Image © Lucy Ray

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Vets to run marathon for World Animal Protection

News Story 1
 Two recently graduated veterinary surgeons will be running the London Marathon in April to raise money for the charity World Animal Protection.

Alex Bartlett and Maeve O'Neill plan to run the race together if they are given the same start times.

Dr O'Neill said: "You're always limited in what you can do to help animals, so it is nice to raise money for a charity that helps animals around the world."

Dr Bartlett added: "I have never run a marathon before and am excited to run my first one for such a good cause!"

Both Dr Bartlett and Dr O'Neill have fundraising pages online. 

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News Shorts
BSAVA releases new Guide to Procedures

The British Small Animal Veterinary Association (BSAVA) has published a new edition of its Guide to Procedures for Small Animal Practice.

It has added four new procedures; cystostomy tube placement, endotracheal intubation, point-of-care ultrasound and wet-to-dry dressings.

BSAVA says that it is an essential step-by-step guide to diagnostic and therapeutic procedures performed in practice. The textbook includes new images and illustrations, as well as high-definition videos for use prior to procedures.

Nick Bexfield and Julia Riggs, editors of the new edition, said: "We have built upon the success of the previous editions by responding to the feedback received from the BSAVA readership, and hope this new guide helps to further increase the confidence and accuracy with which these procedures are performed."

Print copies are available in the BSAVA store, with a digital version in the BSAVA library.