(Washington) Good news for old cats suffering from osteoarthritis: American health authorities have approved a treatment intended to reduce their pain.
Posted at 6:04 p.m.
These are monoclonal antibodies – a type of treatment that has received a lot of attention since the COVID-19 pandemic because it helps reduce the risk of serious illness.
But this is the first time that synthetic antibodies have been authorized for animals.
“Advances in veterinary medicine have been instrumental in extending the lives of many animals, including cats,” said Steven Solomon, director of the veterinary section of the US Drug Administration (FDA), in a statement.
“But longer lives are associated with more chronic diseases, such as osteoarthritis,” he added.
The new drug is given by injection under the skin, once a month. The dosage depends on the weight of the cat.
Osteoarthritis is a disease that affects the joints: with age, the cartilage allowing the sliding of two bones wears out, causing friction that is a source of pain.
The new treatment, called Solensia, attaches to a protein called NGF which is involved in pain regulation. The pain signal is thus prevented from reaching the brain.
During clinical trials, researchers asked cat owners to describe their animal’s behavior: does it jump as much as before from piece of furniture to piece of furniture? Does he wash as much?
This behavior was then compared after taking the treatment.
Mild side effects were observed, such as vomiting or diarrhoea, but these did not require discontinuation of treatment.