Key quality control aspects about cannabinoid-rich hemp products that a veterinarian needs to know: a practitioner's guide.

There is considerable confusion in the veterinary profession surrounding the rise in hemp cannabidiol-based animal products and what veterinarians should know before discussing these products with clients. There is emerging evidence for the potential use in case management across many veterinary indications; however, the cannabinoid concentrations and whether these are isolated cannabinoids or whole hemp extracts is difficult to elucidate, even from the published papers. Much like any extract from a plant, there are multiple considerations including quality control, pharmacokinetics in the intended species, microbiological and chemical contamination, and product consistency-all aspects that should be considered before a conversation can begin with a client. The aim of this review is to help practitioners make informed decisions and better facilitate discussions with clients for companion animals kept as pets. This review will not address food animal issues, as established withholding times have yet to be fully researched.

A Case of Mercury Toxicity Complicated by Acute Inflammatory Demyelinating Polyneuropathy.

A 13-year-old African American male presented with 2 months of subacute altered mental status, ptosis, areflexia, disordered gait, constipation, weight loss, abdominal and testicular pain, and hyperhidrosis. Initial workup at our facility was unrevealing until elevated serum mercury level was detected. Diagnosis of mercury toxicity was confirmed, and chelation therapy with succimer was started. After beginning succimer, the patient developed acute-onset weakness and was diagnosed with acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy. Supportive studies included elevated cerebrospinal fluid protein and acquired demyelinating polyneuropathy on nerve conduction study. He responded well to treatment with intravenous immunoglobulin and returned to his baseline state of health. Although there is a known association between mercury toxicity and axonal neuropathy, there is only 1 other case report of acute inflammatory demyelinating polyneuropathy in the setting of mercury toxicity. The nature of the correlation between these 2 entities in our case remains unclear.

Social cues influence foraging in dwarf hamsters (Phodopus campbelli).

In 2 experiments, dwarf hamsters (Phodopus campbelli) were trained to find palatable foods in an open field. The location of each food patch remained the same throughout each experiment, and only 1 food was available per day. Once subjects had been trained to find each food in its unique location, they progressed to a testing phase in which subjects' mates were allowed to eat and hoard the food that was available in the open field each day. The foods that subjects' mates brought back to the home cages then served as discriminative stimuli signaling which food could be obtained in the open field. Subjects generally approached the patch containing the food hoarded by their mates, suggesting that dwarf hamster burrows could function as information centers.

Healthy Buddies: a novel, peer-led health promotion program for the prevention of obesity and eating disorders in children in elementary school.

OBJECTIVE: We designed and tested a novel health promotion program for elementary schools that was based on peer teaching from older to younger schoolchildren ("Healthy Buddies"). SUBJECTS AND METHODS: This prospective pilot study compared the effect of our program (2-3 hours/week, 21 weeks) in 2 Canadian elementary schools (intervention: n = 232 children, the whole school implementing the program; control: n = 151). Older students (4th through 7th grade) were given direct instruction from 1 intervention teacher and were paired with younger students (kindergarten through 3rd grade) for the whole school year. Students in 4th through 7th grade then acted as teachers for their younger "buddies." All lessons included 3 components of healthy living: nutrition, physical activity, and healthy body image. The students first learned how to be positive buddies and learned the 3 components of a healthy life. Thereafter, they learned how to overcome challenges to living a healthy life. Outcome measures (intervention and control schools at the beginning and end of the school year) included validated questionnaires that assessed healthy-living knowledge, behavior and attitude, a 9-minute fitness run, self-competence, body satisfaction, disordered eating symptoms, and anthropometry (BMI, blood pressure, and heart rate). RESULTS: Compared with control students, both older and younger intervention students showed an increase in healthy-living knowledge, behavior, and attitude scores and a smaller increase in systolic blood pressure. BMI and weight increased less in the intervention students in 4th through 7th grade and height more in the intervention students in kindergarten through 3rd grade. CONCLUSIONS: Our student-led curriculum improved knowledge not only in older schoolchildren but also in their younger buddies. It also decreased weight velocity in the older students. Student-led teaching may be an efficient, easy-to-implement way of promoting a healthy lifestyle from kindergarten to 7th grade.