2020 Vision of Cure for Laminitis

An update from the Fifth International Equine Conference on Laminitis and Diseases of the Foot held in conjunction with the Second Annual AAEP Foundation Equine Laminitis Research Workshop courtesy of Fran Jurga and the Ohio State University College of Veterinary Medicine. Dr. Rustin Moore, Chair of the Department of Veterinary Clinical Services at Ohio State authored an article titled Laminitis Vision: 20/20 by 2020, which includes the premise that a cure will be found for laminitis in 2020.

As Jurga notes: "The economic and emotional toll exacted by our incomplete understanding of the disease results in frustration felt by veterinarians, owners, trainers, caregivers and the general public--many of whom came to know the disease through Barbaro."

As has been noted here and by many others, the lack of a national funding source for animal research, akin to the NIH, is hindering many efforts at finding cures for diseases that afflict only animals. Private funding, such as that provided by the Jacksons to Penn as well as similar efforts by Mr. and Mrs. John K. Castle, who endow the conference, is keeping the research afloat. But it becomes increasingly difficult to attract private funds by those not intimately connected with animals or the disease.

Let's hope that Dr. Moore's vision is accurate but off by a few years. Wouldn't that be something if they beat their own goal?