Clinical pathology resident receives grant to study blood clotting
Clinical Pathology resident Dr. Nora Springer received a $2500 research award
from the American Society for Veterinary Clinical Pathology (ASVCP) in March
2011. For the past three years, ASVCP has given one “Share the Future” research
award per year, based on the quality of the candidate’s written proposal and the
potential of the project to expand the knowledge base in veterinary clinical
pathology. The grants range from $1,000 to $2,500, and are used to support new
research by clinical pathology residents and graduate students.
Springer
will use her award to investigate how tiny particles shed from platelets in the
blood can lead to blood clots and thrombotic diseases in horses. She hopes to
develop tests that will detect developing problems and help prevent thrombosis.
Every cell in the body sheds microparticles, and those derived from platelets
are the most common kind in the blood. These platelet-derived microparticles
encourage blood to coagulate, and if enough accumulate they can form clots in
blood vessels that obstruct blood flow, leading to thrombotic diseases in both
horses and humans.
“Horses are at risk for thrombosis with inflammatory
diseases, some of which are quite common, such as colic. The onset of thrombosis
can drastically alter the clinical course of the disease and result in longer
hospitalization times or death,” said Springer. “Unfortunately, Thrombosis is
difficult to prevent because current tests can’t detect when a patient is at
risk. Identifying at-risk patients before symptoms emerge is essential to guide
therapy and minimize these diseases. I aim to develop new testing methods using
bead-based flow cytometry that will count platelet-derived microparticles in
equine blood and plasma, and to determine how these microparticles influence
thrombosis.”
These new tests may allow clinicians to detect and
predict thrombosis in patients, and develop treatments or prevention plans to
stop the onset of blood-clotting disease.
