Airedale Endocrine Immune TestingDr. Alfred J. Plechner, DVM is the Veterinarian. He practices out of the
California Animal Hospital
Click here for more information on Dr. Plechner In light of the number of Airedales that have been developing some life threatening auto immune diseases, after having been apparently healthy, Dr. Plechner and I are recommending that asymtomatic, healthy Airedales be tested on the following schedule to enable early detection of potential problems. This will enable the Airedales to be treated prior to the development of critical or serious medical conditions.
The testing Laboratory that runs these test to Dr. Plechner's specifications:
Jason MacDonald
Check the NVDS website http://www.national-vet.com for blood panel descriptions, and the instructions for sending in the serum samples. You should call to confirm costs and obtain instructions for shipping. Why only NVDS? These tests are run to Reference Ranges (normal values) that are narrower than many testing labs use. NVDS uses Radioimmunoassay (RIA) testing methods and equipment to provide very accurate testing results for Dr. Plechner. These tests are expensive, and time consuming for any laboratory to run. Laboratories do not run these test because they are expensive to set up, require meticulous laboratory technique, and frequently need to be re-run if there are contaminations in the set up of the equipment. Dr. Plechner will want an Endocrine Immune Panel 1 (EI1) panel run for dogs that appear healthy. Getting the Sample: Your Veterinarian will need to draw sufficient whole blood from the dog so that they will have 3 ml of serum for submission for testing. {Mr. MacDonald said they could do it with as little as 2 ml but is very happy to receive approx. 4 ml of serum in case retests are necessary.} Your Veterinarian will centrifuge the whole blood immediately to separate the blood serum from other blood parts. The serum should be put into a "red top vial", frozen as soon as possible, and kept frozen until shipped. Only ship the frozen serum samples Monday thru Thursday. They must be kept cold and should NOT arrive in LA on a Saturday. Get a cheap, gel, cold pack that you put in the freezer to ice sore joints or muscles. (Some pharmacies will give you these if they have any that they have gotten with cold shipments of drugs. Try asking the pharmacist.) Get a card board box that will just fit into the Lab Pack (about 3" thick by 8" by 10"), and bubble wrap to wrap the vials and cold pack in inside of the box. Fill out the Airbill. You want the EXPRESS service, check off LabPak, weight under 2lbs. Get the shipment ready - lab pack in hand, frozen serum vials, fold over the chilled gel compress in half to cover the vials, wrap the chilled gel compress in as much bubble wrap as will fit in the box for packaging and insulation, put the box into the Lab Pack with the Sample Submission Form and check made payable to "National Veterinary Diagnostic Services" Put the box back into the freezer until you are ready to ship. NVDS will fax the test results to your Veterinarian and Dr. Plechner. If there are abnormal results, you should contact Dr. Plechner at his office and consult with him on your Airedale. He may make prescription recommendations for the necessary hormones or dietary recommendations. Start working with your Veterinarian to get the drugs and the treatment program started. Medrol, Soloxine, Predisone, and Cortisone are frequent the prescription hormones that are prescribed. There are cheap sources of these available on the World Wide Web. You are invited to join a support and information sharing group on Yahoo, where we are keeping a database of normal and abnormal test results.
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Kirk Nims kirknims@hotmail.com
Email your success story to Sidney@AiredaleTerriers.org with the subject line "Hormone Therapy Success Story." Alfred J. Plechner D.V.M.
B.S., Biology, UC Davis
During 35 years of clinical work, veterinarian/author Alfred Plechner has identified an unrecognized endocrine-immune impalance as a major cause of multiple chronic disorders in animal companions. These disorders include allergies, epilepsy, viral diseases, inflammatory bowel disease, autoimmunity, cancer, and more. Here he explains his break-through clinical work and his program for successfully treating thousands of pets with a wide range of health problems. Dr. Plechner is also the author of "Pet Allergies: Remedies for an Epidemic" Pet Allergies: Remedies for an Epidemic by Alfred Plechner, DVM, and Martin Zucker
This highly-acclaimed book that has become essential reading for pet owners and breeders. An unrecognized epidemic of allergy and disease is ravaging cats and dogs. Why is it happening? What can you do to protect your pets? This much-talked-about book, based on many years of clinical experience, provides answers and solutions. It reveals the startling facts of why pets become sick and dies before their time, why they constantly scratch, develop allergies and attract fleas |
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