Greetings!   

I'm writing today from my home office, with three dogs and two cats scattered about the room. True, they can be a bit of a distraction at times (especially when the cats walk across my keyboard!), but I'm grateful for the company. Plus, they're a great reminder of why I do this work: to secure a better future for cats and dogs around the world.  

Whether the reason for your interest in this work is helping animals, advancing science, or improving public health, I hope you'll find something in this update to feed your passion:

• ACC&D's 2009-2010 Bi-annual Report 
• A study to compare behavior changes in dogs after surgical vs. chemical castration 
• News from the field of gene silencing (which has potential for non-surgical sterilization)
• American Journal of Reproductive Biology's special issue on contraceptive vaccines 

Just read on below for details. As always, we're interested in your comments and questions.  

We invite you to check out our 2009-2010 Bi-annual Report! You'll find 

• Reflections from our board chair and president,
• Key accomplishments (including two scientific think tanks, our 4th International Symposium, and our Esterilsol Small Grants Program),
• Financial information (revenue and expenses),
• Directors and scientific advisors,
• Major contributors, and
• Organizational Partners.

Questions or comments? Please contact us at info@acc-d.org!

One of the questions we hear most often about Esterilsol™ (the chemical sterilant for male dogs) is whether the same behavior changes can be expected with this non-surgical sterilant as with traditional surgical castration. We know that Esterilsol doesn't reduce testosterone as much as castration, especially in adult dogs, but we don't know how those numbers translate to actual behavior changes. And, frankly, there is a lot of misunderstanding out there about how surgical castration changes behavior.  

ACC&D has long been interested in seeing a study done to explore this issue, and we were thrilled to hear that Veterinarians Without Borders- Canada is working with leading dog behavior and population management experts to conduct a study and finally get some reliable data. The study will be conducted in Puerto Natales, Chile with the support and participation of local officials. More...

ACC&D has been pleased to provide financial and in-kind support to this project and is seeking additional support. Please contact us if you are interested in getting involved!  

(The photo above shows a Veterinarians Without Borders- Canada team at a project in Guatemala in which Esterilsol was used to sterilize male dogs.)

Immunocontraception is one promising approach to non-surgical reproductive control, and it's receiving increasing attention recently. Immunocontraception involves vaccinating a human or other animal against against a hormone or other factor essential for fertility. The July issue of The American Journal of Reproductive Biology features seven articles on contraceptive vaccines.  

You can access the abstracts for the articles free by clicking here. Full-text articles are available by subscription or for a fee.   

ACC&D held a scientific think tank on immunocontraception for cats and dogs in 2009. A report developed from that gathering can be found here.

(Dr. Levy, author of the review Contraceptive Vaccines for the Humane Control of Community Cat Populations, published in July's American Journal of Reproductive Biology, is pictured above playing with the cats from an immunocontraceptive study she led.)

Silencing (or "turning off") genes necessary for fertility is one potential route to non-surgical sterilization. ACC&D has been interested in this field of study; we held a think tank in 2009 bringing together experts in gene silencing to explore this area and determine best pathways forward. (A report on that think tank is available here.) 

Two new publications on gene silencing provide insights into this exciting field:

In RNAi Therapeutics: Second-Generation Candidates Build Momentum, author Allan Haberman, PhD, discusses newly emerging trends in RNA applications, as the pharmaceuticals industry opens its doors to the field with an eye toward translating advances in basic research into biomedical products.  
 

The second article, The Heart of the Matter, was published in TheScientist. The article explains how undamental research in the RNA field is beginning to hold promise for managing heart disease, a widely-recognized cause of considerable morbidity and death among humans. According to a number of recent scientific publications, microRNA (miRNA) molecules that can be found in blood soon may be considered for clinical applications in the diagnosis of heart disease, and possibly also in treatment strategies.