Tasman,
the dog, urges OSU students and passersby to contact OSU and tell them to stop
Billman from killing his friends. Ten people showed up to pass out fliers and
educate the OSU community.Protest Against the Continued Killing of Dogs at OSU
Wednesday - May 9
11:30 am to 1:00 pm
Hamilton Hall - 1645 Neil Ave.
Tasman,
the dog, urges OSU students and passersby to contact OSU and tell them to stop
Billman from killing his friends. Ten people showed up to pass out fliers and
educate the OSU community.
The Columbus Dispatch - Research on dogs at OSU protested - 5/12/07
Dr. Billman writes:
Although, during the last 25 years, the canine model of sudden cardiac death described in this article has provided invaluable information concerning factors involved in VF, there remain many unanswered questions. The mechanisms responsible for VF at the cellular and subcellular level remain largely to be determined. It, therefore, is very likely that this canine model for sudden death will continue to stimulate new research and produce interesting results for the next 25 years. (A comprehensive review and analysis of 25 years of data from an in vivo canine model of sudden cardiac death: Implications for future anti-arrhythmic drug development)
OSU defends the work of Dr. Billman by saying his work is important to understand why some humans have heart attacks while exercising. Really.?. It would be nice if OSU atleast understood what Dr. Billman is doing to the dogs he kills. And when can the dogs at OSU stop running for their lives?
Protocol 2006A0051 was 2000A0053 was 1993A0246 - Mechanisms Responsible for Ventricular Fibrillation
Dr Billman writes: "These studies should provide the data necessary to seek funding to investigate the effects of this gene therapy in the prevention of ventricular fibrillation following myocardial infarction."
"By understanding how exercise protects the heart, it may be possible to develop better drugs to prevent the development of these fatal changes in the rhythmic beating of the heart."
And many researchers are finding that exercise is good for you and your heart by testing people. Pick up any health magazine and you'll read about a human study that shows exercise is good for you. We say its time to stop killing dogs!
Protocol 2006A0052, a new experiment funded by a drug company - Anti-arrhythmic Drug Testing
Dr. Billman provides a rationale for using "Mongrel dogs" writing "Finally, I have accumulated over 25 years of baseline data using this canine model of sudden death."
The dogs that survive the surgery to implant the balloon in the heart and have ventricular fibrillation during the treadmill/inflate the balloon portion of the experiment are moved into the drug study. If the dog has no arrhythmia it is not used in the drug study and is killed.
The dogs entering the drug study are provided the drug. If the test compound should prevent ventricular fibrillation, the exercise plus test will be repeated one week later ..." All dogs are killed at the end of the experiment.
Protocol 2007A0081 was 2004A0093 - Cardiovascular Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids
Originally approved to use 40 dogs from 2004-2007, the new protocol will use 110 dogs from 2007-2010.
"This study should provide important information on the amount of fatty acid that is necessary to become part of the heart cell membrane (and as a result protect the heart from sudden cardiac death) and how much time it takes to reach this cell membrane level. This information could then be used to design the best diet to prevent sudden cardiac death in both normal people and individuals with a high risk for heart disease."
Yes, high risk people whose diets consist of animals/meat. I believe we know diets that could help us have a healthier heart, so its time to stop killing dogs!
A paper published by Dr. Billman in 1999, Prevention of Sudden Cardiac Death by Dietary Pure Omega-3 Polyunsaturated Fatty Acids in Dogs concluded, "the 3 major dietary omega-3 fatty acids are demonstrated to be potent antiarrhythmic agents for the prevention of ischemia-induced fatal ventricular arrhythmias in this dog model of cardiac sudden death."
However, it was already known from human studies that omega-3 was good for the human heart.
"The first clinical suggestion that n-3 PUFAs significantly benefited the heart came from a 1989 study in which 2,033 men with heart disease were given dietary advice on fat, fiber or fish. After two years the men who were told to eat fish at least twice a week had a 29 percent reduction in death." Fish oils in heart cells can block dangerous heart rhythms
During this period Dr. Billman received some funding for his experiments from the Ohio American Heart Association.
In Dr. Billman's paper, a review and analysis of 25 years of data, he provides a history of all his experiments using as he likes to always call them, "mongrel dogs".
In 1980, I joined the laboratory of Dr. H. Lowell Stone, and together with Dr. Peter Schwartz, we developed a canine model of sudden cardiac death.
A detailed description of this canine model has been recently published (Billman, 2005). Therefore, the following paragraph contains only a brief description of the model. After 3–4 weeks of recovery period following the surgery and myocardial infarction, the animals learn to run on a motor-treadmill (usually over 3 or 4 days). The susceptibility to VF is then assessed using an exercise plus ischemia test. The animals run on a motor-driven treadmill for 15–18 min until a criterion heart rate of 210 beats/min has been achieved ( 70% of maximum heart rate). The workload is increased every 3 min during this test (initial level, 0% grade 4.8 kph, 0% grade 6.4 kph, 4% grade 6.4 kph, 8% grade 6.4 kph, 12% grade 6.4 kph, and finally, 16% grade 6.4 kph). During the last minute of the exercise the left circumflex occluder is inflated, the treadmill is then stopped and the occlusion maintained for an additional minute. The occlusion therefore lasts 2 min: 1 min during exercise and 1 min post exercise. This allows for the differentiation of arrhythmias induced during exercise, post exercise, and post occlusion release. The occlusion is immediately released in those animals that exhibit ventricular tachyarrhythmias (most frequently ventricular flutter that rapidly deteriorates into VF). Large flexible metal pads (approximately 11-cm diameter) are placed across the animal's chest and are connected to an external defibrillator. A major advantage of this model is the identification of 2 highly reproducible and stable populations of animals: those resistant and those susceptible to VF.
To date, I have produced an anterior wall myocardial infarction in a total of 768 animals (male, n = 287; female, n = 481) (Fig. 1). Two hundred and thirteen (27.7%) dogs died acutely either during surgery or usually within the next 4 days following surgery. The distribution of the timing of the early mortality is displayed in Fig. 2. The majority of the dogs died either during surgery (n = 90) or within the first 24 hr (n = 52) after the myocardial infarction. Over the years the survival rate has improved, as highlighted by comparing the results from the first 100 animals with studies completed on the most recent set of 100 dogs. Thirty of the first 100 dogs died before studies began (13 died during surgery) while only 19 dogs in the most recent set of 100 dogs died acutely (only 2 died during surgery). Thus, like mastering a complex piano sonata or learning a new language, practice makes perfect.
"Practice makes perfect". "there remain many unanswered questions". The only question we have is how much longer will OSU allow this experiment to continue.
What You Can Do - Contact OSU IACUC and urge them to reconsider approval of this protocol.
Write: IACUCinfo@osu.edu
Other information concerning Billman and his experiments