January 14, 2025 • 32 mins
What are the hidden potentials and challenges in veterinary ophthalmology? Join us as we sit down with Michala Henriksen to discuss inflammatory ocular diseases. Michala's research, featured in the December JAVMA ophthalmology supplemental issue, brings to light the promising safety profile of CBD, while also raising important questions about its efficacy and unexpected ties to elevated liver enzymes. We also navigate through the harrowing 2020 Colorado wildfires with Michala, understanding their severe impact on canine eye health, particularly the rise in corneal ulcerations.
But the journey doesn’t stop with canines. Michala shares her personal and professional evolution from veterinary school in Copenhagen to groundbreaking research in equine fibrin. Her passion for inflammation and ophthalmology unfolds through her experiences with fungal keratitis in horses, leading to innovative treatments like platelet-rich fibrin. We also uncover the surprising link between TPA injections and increased glaucoma risk. Wrapping up, we venture into the world of artificial intelligence in veterinary medicine, exploring its potential and challenges in advancing research and education, all while reflecting on the collaborative efforts at the University of Copenhagen and the University of Florida that have helped shape Michala’s remarkable career.
A New Age of Veterinary Ophthalmology JAVMA supplemental issue: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association Volume 262 Issue S2: A New Age of Veterinary Ophthalmology (2024)
INTERESTED IN SUBMITTING YOUR MANUSCRIPT TO JAVMA ® OR AJVR ® ?
JAVMA ® : https://avma.org/JAVMAAuthors
AJVR ® : https://avma.org/AJVRAuthors
FOLLOW US:
JAVMA ® :
Facebook: Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association - JAVMA | Facebook
Instagram: JAVMA (@avma_javma) • Instagram photos and videos
Twitter: JAVMA (@AVMAJAVMA) / Twitter
AJVR ® :
Facebook: American Journal of Veterinary Research - AJVR | Facebook
Instagram: AJVR (@ajvroa) • Instagram photos and videos
Twitter: AJVR (@AJVROA) / Twitter
JAVMA ® and AJVR ® LinkedIn: https://linkedin.com/company/avma-journals
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Sarah Wright (00:00):
You're listening to Veterinary Vertex, a podcast
of the AVMA Journals.
In this episode we chat aboutthe December JAVMA ophthalmology
supplemental issue A New Age ofVeterinary Ophthalmology with
our guest Michaela Henriksen.
Lisa Fortier (00:19):
Welcome to Veterinary Vertex.
I'm Editor-in-Chief LisaFortier, and I'm joined by
Associate Editor Sarah Wright.
Today we have Michaela joiningus.
Michaela, thank you so much fortaking time out of this busy
holiday schedule to be with ushere today.
Michala Henriksen (00:33):
Yeah, thank you.
Thanks for having me.
This is very exciting.
Sarah Wright (00:37):
All right, let's dive right in and learn all
about ophthalmology.
So, Michaela, you authorseveral articles in the JAVMA
supplemental issue a new age ofveterinary ophthalmology.
Please share with our listenersthe background for your
articles
Michala Henriksen (00:51):
yes, they're.
You could say a little bitdifferent, uh, but the overall
is actually from my three papersuh, inflammation.
So, um, the first one, which isthe one that I'm first author
on, that one is about CBDtreatment of dogs.
It's just a review.
So cannabidiol and I'm at NorthCarolina State University now,
(01:16):
but I've been before.
I came here in 2023.
I was six years at ColoradoState University and that's
where I did a lot of CBDresearch in dogs, just because
it's a good place to do CBDresearch in Colorado, and so I
(01:36):
felt that it was a good time tolike have a review, because when
you go down to the local petsstore, Pet Smart, Petco,
wherever there are so many CBDproducts out there and me, as an
ophthalmologist, my concern isjust is it safe?
So, first thing, is it safe touse?
And then next thing is does itactually do anything to the eyes
(01:59):
?
Again, I'm an ophthalmologist,so our first study at CSU was
that we looked into is it safe.
So, we actually kind ofpiggybacked on a bigger study
that was run by Dr McGrath thereand we looked like this dogs
were on CBD, two different doses, and then we had a control and
(02:23):
we did that for 36 weeks, so avery long time, and what we
found was that they actuallydon't.
They did not have any effect ontheir intraocular pressures or
their tear production.
So that's good, because thereare some who says that
potentially, CBD could cause dryeye.
And then there are some olderstudies saying that CBD
(02:45):
potentially could cause elevatedintraocular pressure, where we
know that THC, which is toxicfor dogs and we don't want to
give that to dogs, but that thatcan be used for glaucoma.
So basically, the first studythat I just told you about that
one showed that it's safe to usebut it doesn't really do
anything.
(03:05):
We did find that we found CBDin tears for these dogs.
So that was a start.
So that's where I'm like Ithink it's good to have a review
about, like, what is it fordiseases that we think
potentially CBD can be used for?
But I will say I still arewaiting to find the disease in
(03:26):
dogs where I'm like this iswhere you can use CBD.
But it's not a long review, soI actually feel like it came out
really well and it gives areally good idea about, like
what the thought process behindusing CBD for eye diseases, both
in humans and then also onanimals.
Lisa Fortier (03:47):
Yeah, I really liked in your article how you
put about you know the why.
Why might you consider this?
You know a lot of peoplewouldn't think of ocular
inflammation and I'm curious onyour take.
You know a lot of people thatare truly in drug approval, like
at the FDA level, would saythere's no safety without
efficacy.
Right, nothing can be safeunless it's efficacious.
(04:11):
I mean, of course, our mantrasdo no harm, but there is harm in
the wallet of the owner of theadministering the CBD.
You have to go and buy it.
So all these things I'm curiousin your personal take on that,
your professional take.
Michala Henriksen (04:33):
Well, no, it's true.
And also what we did find, andwhat I've seen in some of my
other studies and other peoplehave found, is that CBD will
elevate some of your liverenzymes.
So even though it doesn't doany harm to the eyes, it still
does something, and I thinkthey're like the internal
medicine and so on are likelooking at, well, that elevation
.
Is that to be concerned aboutor not?
(04:54):
Me, as an ophthalmologist, I doget concerned every time
something is not normal, um.
So, I did a study, um that I'min process of getting written up
and published, where we alsodid CBD for cataract surgery
dogs, just because, again, thereare so many owners who's like,
hey, I want to give this andthis and this and I do the same.
(05:16):
I have two dogs and I also havethem in all kind of supplements
.
But that's where, as you said,like, is it necessary and is it
actually safe enough to use?
And that's where we just stillneed to do so much more research
with CBD before we can say forsure that maybe it doesn't do
any harm, but maybe for the eyes, but maybe there's other areas
(05:39):
that's not so good for.
Sarah Wright (05:42):
Well, we look forward to hopefully receiving
your future manuscripts.
Michala Henriksen (05:46):
Thanks.
So that was one of the papers.
Another one which is a reallysad topic, but also something
that I feel is really relevant,is about wildfires and how that
affects eyes in dogs, and thatcame from that.
I was in Colorado in 2020, whenwe had a really really bad fire
(06:13):
, actually right next to FortCollins, and we saw that there
were so many dogs coming in withcorneal serrations that was
very infected with, like weirdinfectious agents, and Colorado
we didn't actually see that muchcorneal like.
We saw corneal ulcerations, butdefinitely not Like.
(06:34):
Now.
I'm back at North Carolina inthe Southeast, where it's like
really hot and humid.
So we see fungal keratitis andalso horrible bacterial
keratitis in all our animals,which we just didn't see as much
in Colorado.
But in that time of thatwildfire we had a lot of
infectious diseases or we justfelt that we saw more.
(06:57):
So I had a really good studentvet student at CSU who wanted to
do some ophthalmology at thattime.
So she actually wrote up, as asummer scholarship student, a
retrospective study where wecould show that we actually did
see more infectious ulcerativekeratitis in that period
(07:19):
compared to two previous yearswhere we did not have wildfires.
So the same student, dr KatieJones, which is now our first
year resident here at NC State,we did a study where we set up a
prospective.
So we kind of waited forwildfires, which is really
(07:39):
horrible and we didn't reallywanted it, but we need an iCook
to do this kind of study.
So 2022 was supposed to be a bigwildfire season because it was
really dry, but we actuallydidn't get it.
So we waited until the yearlater 2023, we had some smoke
(08:01):
coming down from from Canada.
So what we did was that we justlooked at normal dogs.
So it was actually all herfriends, vet students, dogs plus
some of ours my two wasincluded where we just looked at
them when the air quality indexwas good, when it was moderate,
which like normal when youfollow air quality index on your
(08:24):
phone you can actually do that.
It kind of goes between goodand moderate, like it's not
really have anything to do withwildfire, but as soon as we get
all that smoke in, it goes up tounhealthy and like bad.
So what we did was we did an eyeexam, we did Schumer's tear
(08:46):
test, intraocular pressure notbecause we really think
wildfires have anything to dowith pressures and then tear
film breakup time we tookculture from these dogs and then
we just looked at them to seedo they have signs of
conjunctivitis, which ischemosis and hyperemia, and then
we had, for good, moderate andsevere air quality index.
(09:11):
And then we actually alsoteamed up when we came here to
North Carolina with one from ascience department who looked
into air quality actually.
So, also with PM2.5, which isparticle matters, so it's like
tiny small particles under 2.5micrometer, which we see a lot
(09:38):
in wildfires, and then ozonesand other really toxic
substances in the air when youhave wildfire.
And then we kind of like justkind of look to see if there are
any correlations.
So what we did find was thatwhen you do have that wildfire
going on and you have anelevated air quality index,
especially with elevation of PM2.5, the particle matter, then
(10:02):
your dogs have a higher risk ofgetting chemosis and hyperemia,
which is a sign ofconjunctivitis.
So, I mean it's not rocketscience, because it's kind of
what we think that when we havewildfires we all have really
itchy eyes and runny eyes.
But now we know and now we canalso tell owners to be careful.
(10:24):
And if you live in an area thathas wildfire smoke coming over,
then just maybe keep your dogsinside so they're not so exposed
.
Maybe flush their eyes with eyewash and just be careful,
because if they rub their eyesthey get ulcers and then we know
that they could potentially getthose infected ulcers with bad
bacteria.
Sarah Wright (10:50):
Yeah, it's super cool.
I lived in Vancouver, BritishColumbia, for a little bit and
the wildfires they're so bad inmy eyes they would get dry and
never thought about how affectedpets though.
Michala Henriksen (10:56):
Yeah, it's horrible.
I mean that 2020 wildfireseason in Colorado really taught
me that it's horrible.
So definitely a veryinteresting research area, but
also really sad.
And then the last one.
So, the last paper is one whereI'm just a co-author.
(11:19):
It's actually Dr Brian Gilger,who is a primary investigator,
but he had one of our interns atNC State writing this
retrospective study up andthat's in horses, um, and it's
about fibrin and hyphema, sokind of like fibrin and blood
inside of the eye and then justto see what's the outcome and so
(11:42):
on.
So, there's a lot of horses inthis study more than 200.
And it's really cool.
I think they got a really goodproduct out of it.
And basically the take-homemessage is that if you do have a
horse that has fibrin, first ofall, if it's so severe, then
(12:03):
often they will be nucleated,unfortunately.
But if they do not getnucleated by the first visit,
then they have a good prognosisto get over it.
But it is best to actually doTPA injections.
So it's not a bad idea ifyou're a referral and to like
actually send them into someoneophthalmologist or someone who
(12:25):
can do that TPA injection.
So TPA is tissue plus minogenactivator that can go in and
break down the fibrin.
Just because fibrin does umlike if it sits too long, we can
get post-euthynia cataracts andother complications that can
lead to blindness.
Um, whereas if it's hyphema, soblot um, we don't need TPA
(12:49):
often, um, especially not ifit's actively bleeding, because
then you'll just cause even morebleeding.
Lisa Fortier (13:00):
Yeah, that's pretty impressive to have three
manuscripts in one supplement.
So congratulations again onjust thinking of all the
different projects that you cando with naturally occurring
diseases.
Michala Henriksen (13:08):
Yeah, it is, but thank you, but yeah, so
that's where it's like they'revery different, but also I mean
the big, big picture isinflammation.
So yeah, it was fun, Goodprojects.
Lisa Fortier (13:21):
You're clearly curious within the field of
ophthalmology and probably inlife in general, and what
specifically sparked yourresearch interest in
inflammation and ophthalmology?
Michala Henriksen (13:31):
Well, so ophthalmology.
I had a horse when I was a vetstudent.
So I'm from Denmark, so I didmy vet school at University of
Copenhagen and my own horse gota fungal keratitis when I was a
vet student and she was not aneasy mare to treat at all.
We were like two vet studentstrying to pull her head down to
(13:53):
get the ointment in her eye andthat did not work really well.
I had a really good studypartner who where I had my horse
with and he really tried to andthere were no way we could do
this.
So eventually we sent her intothe vet school and she had a
sub-health people of our system,the SBL system, placed, which
(14:15):
this is like 20 years ago, so itwas not the most common thing
to do, so that was a big deal.
And then she also needed a lotof medication and again she was
not easy to treat.
So, the professor in equinesurgery, Pia Halper, at that
(14:36):
time she was like, can you justtreat her during the night?
So, we know that she's gettingher treatment in.
So, I did a lot of treatment onher and with that I also read a
lot about fungal keratitis andthat was at that time Dennis
Brooks at University of Floridaand then Brian Gilger here at NC
State that had written all thator a lot of that.
(15:00):
So that was kind of how I gothooked.
So, I did my residency inFlorida because I contacted
Dennis Brooks afterward andcould see if I could come down
and see some horses and, yeah,the rest is history.
Lisa Fortier (15:13):
The rest is history.
Michala Henriksen (15:15):
Yes, so that's from there.
And then the inflammation isalso University of Copenhagen.
The equine group is doing a lotof inflammation research.
Saa was a big thing when I wasthere.
So I think I'm just like verynaturally got hooked on to like
(15:35):
inflammatory diseases andinflammation in general and
that's kind of where so now.
So then when I was at CSU, it'slike alternative medicine and
how to decrease inflammation.
I thought that was veryinteresting with the CBD and
then here at NC State, justbecause CBD research is a little
difficult when you're in NorthCarolina compared to Colorado.
(15:58):
So I'm kind of like moreshifting it over to regenerative
medicine, where I'm doingresearch now with PRF,
platelet-rich fibrin and what wecan do with that.
So that's very, very excitingand Dr Gilliger is very
supportive of that, so it's agreat team to be involved with.
Lisa Fortier (16:20):
Yeah, NC State has a great orthobiologics team as
well, so lots of good people towork with.
Michala Henriksen (16:25):
Yes.
Lisa Fortier (16:26):
You talked to Sarah a little bit earlier about
maybe the biggest take-homemessages, especially of the two
articles looking at air quality,but always when we do novel
studies we find something thatsurprises us.
What when you wrote those othertwo?
Maybe not so much the CBD,because it's a review, although
you can still be surprised andlearn something what things did
(16:48):
Michaela learn?
Like wow, I didn't expect thatin writing these manuscripts.
Michala Henriksen (16:54):
So the fibrin , the equine fibrin study, it
was interesting because actuallythe horses that had a TPA
injection, they also had ahigher risk of getting glaucoma.
So we were really talking a lotabout like, why is that?
And it's probably because thoseeyes also, I would think, is
(17:15):
the one that's most damaged, sothere's probably just more
inflammation and then you justhave a higher risk of getting
glaucoma.
Or potentially, when you startbreaking down the fibrin, could
it go into the iriticonial angle, stop it for a little bit and
then you get the glaucoma.
But that was just like I mean,it's always interesting when you
(17:35):
do studies that you findsomething and you're like, oh, I
did not think about that.
The wildfire, one thing I didnot mention that we did not show
a significant correlationbetween, like, high air quality
index and then also a tear filmbreak break up time, which it
(17:59):
almost and I think we may be, ifwe had more dogs I think
actually we would be able tofind that, but you know we
couldn't show it, so I can't saythat that's there.
But tear film break up time iswhen you start having poor
quality of your tears, so it'snot like, even though you
produce tears, it just flushesout.
(18:20):
So that's why your breakup timegets changed, and we did see
that it was going in the trenddirection of that.
It's just that the trend is notreally something you're allowed
to say in papers anymore, so sothat irritated me a little bit,
because it does make I mean, itwould make the story even
(18:41):
better, right, because I do feellike, um, wildfire smoke goes
in and interfere with your uhtear film and you just get like,
as we just said, like you getreally runny, itchy eyes, um, so
yeah, but that we could notfind a correlation there.
Only a trend.
Lisa Fortier (19:02):
You said a little bit earlier that you're really
interested in platelet-richfiber and then inflammation.
How do those come together inyour future steps in research?
Michala Henriksen (19:21):
oh, uh, thanks for that question.
Well, so PRF is where you canspin down blot in a specific
method with a blot tube that hasno additive.
So, it's the second generationafter PRP, which a lot of people
probably have heard about.
PRP, platelet-rich plasma, um,so the fibrin PRF is just more
pure and it's easier to makeactually, and you get this
(19:43):
fibrin clot or a solution,liquid PRF that after some like
10-15 minutes will turn intofibrin.
So, then what we've been usingit on is corneal ulcerations in
horses, and what's nice with itis that it has a lot of growth
factors and cytokinesinflammatory cytokines so it's
(20:05):
meant to go in and increasehealing, like tissue healing.
So, dentist is using it a lot,and then also it's actually
being used a lot in humanmedicine or in facial aesthetics
.
So, I think a lot of people haveheard about like microneedling
with PRP, like, and now they'restarting to use PRF instead.
(20:26):
So just those growth factorsand cytokines that's meant to go
in and increase wound healingor inflammatory tissue, and
that's where it's like reallyinteresting to try to use that
on our corneal serrations.
So, I have, like I'm involvedwith a master program at
(20:48):
University of Copenhagen and wehad two master students who
wrote up a paper about it indogs where they use PRF and they
it's a case series and they hadreally good outcome.
So now we're just starting touse that on horses too.
I mean, the big dream is tofind a product that will go in
(21:09):
and increase corneal ulcerationhealing in horses and then cause
like mescalization andepithelialization so we can just
get them to heal so much faster.
That would be my big dream.
Lisa Fortier (21:22):
Sure.
You'll get there.
Michala Henriksen (21:24):
Sure.
Lisa Fortier (21:26):
AI, artificial intelligence and LLM and those
sorts of things are everywhere.
Do you see a role for it inophthalmology?
Michala Henriksen (21:36):
I was just telling you guys before we
started that this is my firstpodcast.
I am so old fashioned, soartificial intelligence, it
scares me a little bit, but Imean I think we need to be open
for it and I do think that itwill come.
Right now what I can use it foris probably I don't know, I like
(21:59):
to use my own brain and kind ofcome up with my own ideas.
But then what I feel I'm usingit for is like if I'm like
putting in like a question,googling, and then I've seen
that now it comes up as ananswer from artificial
intelligence where they go inand like pick uh, different
(22:20):
papers, so somehow it's like Imean that's cool, I like that,
um, but I still think that weneed to be careful not just to
let it run our life and kind oflike I know a lot of people is
like hey, you can diagnose whereI'm like, but you need to be
able to diagnose it yourself.
So I think that's where theteacher in me as a faculty, in a
(22:43):
university, that I'm like Idon't want the student just to
start using artificialintelligence to come up with the
answer.
I do want them to like know thebasic to.
Sarah Wright (22:56):
Yeah, I think that's a great answer and for
our listeners.
We do have actually aartificial intelligence
supplement coming out in AJVRthis spring, so definitely stay
tuned if you're looking forpractical applications of AI in
veterinary medicine.
Michala Henriksen (23:09):
That's really cool.
I will look forward to read that.
Sarah Wright (23:12):
Awesome, great.
We'll send you the link whenit's live.
Michala Henriksen (23:14):
Something I do like with it is that I feel
like sometimes I can make reallycool figures for my papers.
So, I do like that.
I mean it's a good tool.
I just don't want it to takeover completely.
Sarah Wright (23:29):
Exactly you definitely still need people to
do certain things.
Michala Henriksen (23:32):
Yeah.
Sarah Wright (23:33):
And for those of you just joining us, we're
discussing the JAVMAophthalmology supplemental issue
with our guest MichelaHendrickson.
So, Michela, we were discussingyour advanced training and how
you did your residency atUniversity of Florida and
veterinary school at Universityof Copenhagen.
How did this training prepareyou to write these articles?
Michala Henriksen (23:53):
so I also also I did my PhD as a
combination, so it's fromUniversity of Copenhagen, but
some of it was done atUniversity of Florida too, and I
think, like I don't know, Ireally liked my PhD from
University of Copenhagen.
I know a lot of PhD students arelike pulling their hair hair
(24:14):
out when they're doing a PhD,but I really enjoyed it and I
think they just prepared me fordoing all this studies with not
too much money and I feel likethat's where that has benefited
me, because it's like bonding.
Finding money to do studies isreally hard and it's like I
don't think everyone knows thatwhen they're reading, like a
(24:36):
supplement like this, thatthere's a lot of going on in the
background to actually getstarted on this studies and the
whole thing about getting,unfortunately, funded research
is hard.
It research is hard.
(24:57):
So that's where it's like Ifeel like my PhD prepared me to
do a lot of good ground basicstudies but with not as much
money.
So, yeah, and then like myinterest for inflammation, as we
already talked about, fromUniversity of Copenhagen, so,
yeah, that's probably what Iwould say my background.
Sarah Wright (25:15):
Very practical skill to have and honestly, I
don't think anyone's actuallysaid that before as their answer
too.
Michala Henriksen (25:19):
So no, yeah, no, I think I mean it's always
fun when we were like doing ajournal club with the residents
and it's like you're goingthrough all this papers and
they're like, why didn't they dothis and this and this, this?
And I'm like, do you know howmuch that would cost?
And like, yes, we do need to doit correct.
(25:40):
Um, but we also just need tolike I mean, otherwise we will
not be able to do all thisresearch.
So, yeah, so it's wonderfulwhen people wants to support our
research, for sure.
Lisa Fortier (25:53):
When I was running my laboratory, it was always
something to say too, to say youknow, each of you think how
much you're paid per hour peryear or whatever it is, and add
65% on top of that, and that'show much money I need to raise.
It adds up super fast.
Michala Henriksen (26:11):
It really does.
I mean, it's insane, so yeah,so it's important to have good
sponsors and people who wants tosupport.
So that's also where it's likeit's really important what you
guys are doing to get our newinformation out.
Sarah Wright (26:29):
Definitely, and we believe in fostering the next
generation of researchers andeditors too.
So we actually have journalawards that do include like
discounted, like open accessfees and things like that to
help our early careerresearchers get more out there.
Michala Henriksen (26:42):
Yeah, and I think that's really important to
like the our junior researchers.
Like what I said with KatieJones, that was my.
I got involved with her at CSUwhen she was second year vet
student and then we've just donewe actually done quite a bit of
research together and I feellike it's just important to kind
(27:04):
of show the young investigatorsthat research is fun and but
you also need to show that youcan actually go all the way
right.
So you need to like do the study, apply for a grant and then
write your study up and orperform the study and then also
go to conferences.
So I was just aswand intern with me to the
European College of EnderMedicine or Ophthalmology in
(27:37):
Europe last year and I meanthat's just a great experience
for them to go to ECVO.
It's great to go to theAmerican conferences too, but
it's like they need to see howmuch fun it is to do research,
because it's also really hardand there's a lot of like
rejections and so on, so andthen you need to read, like
(28:00):
rewrite your paper and so, sothere's a lot of hard work to it
.
So I also just feel like it'simportant to show them the good
side so we actually get peopleinto academia to do research too
.
So that's one of my hit P2 thatI just want to show the young
investigators that it is a lotof fun and it's rewarding.
Sarah Wright (28:23):
So this next set of questions is going to be
really important for ourlisteners and, as we discussed,
you contributed three articlesto the supplemental issue, so
maybe we can focus oninflammation, which seems to be
the underlying theme for all ofthem.
So what's one piece ofinformation the veterinarian
should know about your articlesin the JAVMA ophthalmology
supplemental issue?
Michala Henriksen (28:44):
So take one each.
That's what you want, if youcan do one overall.
Sarah Wright (28:49):
To summarize all the information like what should
people know?
What should?
Michala Henriksen (28:55):
people know Well that, be aware of
inflammation, and there can beinflammation in so many
different ways and we just needto make sure we're diagnosing it
correct so we can actually dothe correct treatment of it.
Sarah Wright (29:14):
Excellent.
And then, on the other side ofthe relationship, what's one
thing clients should know about?
Your articles in the JAVMAOphthalmology Supplemental Issue
Again thinking aboutinflammation, umbrella.
Michala Henriksen (29:25):
The inflammation umbrella.
Well, that's a hard one becauseI actually wanted to like each
one.
That's a hard one because Iactually wanted to like each one
, but just be aware, it kind ofgoes to the CBD.
But I just don't want peoplejust to like use artificial
(29:45):
intelligence or Googling andthink that that's the final
answer.
I do think that it's importantto go to the vet because just
because they see that, oh, hehas a red eye and that's
probably because of wildfire,there could be something else
underlying that red eye.
So inflammation has a lot offaces and artificial
intelligence is not enough tolike diagnose that.
(30:07):
So I do want them to sometimesgo to the vet too.
Lisa Fortier (30:12):
Well summarized and don't go just to Dr Google.
Michala Henriksen (30:16):
Exactly.
Lisa Fortier (30:19):
Mikkel, it's been really great to have you and
again, thank you for thesewonderful contributions.
As we wind down a little bit,we like to ask a really fun
question, and our question foryou is what is your favorite
animal fact?
Michala Henriksen (30:41):
So, during COVID I wrote a paper about
octopus and ophthalmology and Ilearned some really fun facts
that I didn't know that theoctopus actually have a hole in
their cornea like as a normalthing, so the seawater actually
can run right through into theanterior chamber, which I find,
as an ophthalmologist, veryfascinating, because that seems
(31:04):
to be not the best thing.
I mean, there's probablysomething to do with pressure
that they're going up and down,but it's also just if they're in
water that has bacteria orsomething, then it just runs
right into the eye.
So I find that very fascinating.
It was a great paper to write.
Lisa Fortier (31:21):
I didn't know that .
Now I'm thinking of, like whenI go swimming or scuba diving or
snorkeling, and you see all theparticulate matter like how big
is that hole?
Michala Henriksen (31:29):
That is actually a good question and
there's not actually written upa lot about that area of a hole.
It's up dorsal and it's not all.
It says when you're reading theliterature that it's not all
octopus who has it, like all thespecies of them, but they don't
say which one has it and whichone do not have it, so that I
cannot answer you.
But yeah, but those likeparticles, that's like in the
(31:55):
water.
I'm guessing it could go intothe eye.
I don't know.
It's an area that would be veryinteresting to do some more
research.
Lisa Fortier (32:02):
Yeah, even more fascinating that some have it
and some don't, so thank you forthat great fact.
Yeah, that's cool.
Michala Henriksen (32:09):
Yeah, that was a good paper to write, doing
COVID.
Sarah Wright (32:13):
Well, Nicola, you're in a very fortunate spot
because you actually have one ofthe invert experts at NC State,
Greg Lubart, so maybe a projectyou guys can collaborate on in
the future Maybe I should Well,Nicola.
Thank you so much again forbeing here today and for
contributing your three articlesto the ophthalmology
supplemental issue.
Michala Henriksen (32:32):
Yeah well, thank you so much for having me.
Sarah Wright (32:34):
This was fun To our listeners.
You can read Nicola's articlesin JAPMA.
I'm Sarah Wright with LisaFortier.
Be on the lookout for nextweek's episode and don't forget
to leave us a rating and reviewon Apple Podcasts or whatever
platform you listen to.
You're listening to Veterinary Vertex, a podcast
of the AVMA Journals.
In this episode we chat aboutthe December JAVMA ophthalmology
supplemental issue A New Age ofVeterinary Ophthalmology with
our guest Michaela Henriksen.
Lisa Fortier (00:19):
Welcome to Veterinary Vertex.
I'm Editor-in-Chief LisaFortier, and I'm joined by
Associate Editor Sarah Wright.
Today we have Michaela joiningus.
Michaela, thank you so much fortaking time out of this busy
holiday schedule to be with ushere today.
Michala Henriksen (00:33):
Yeah, thank you.
Thanks for having me.
This is very exciting.
Sarah Wright (00:37):
All right, let's dive right in and learn all
about ophthalmology.
So, Michaela, you authorseveral articles in the JAVMA
supplemental issue a new age ofveterinary ophthalmology.
Please share with our listenersthe background for your
articles
Michala Henriksen (00:51):
yes, they're.
You could say a little bitdifferent, uh, but the overall
is actually from my three papersuh, inflammation.
So, um, the first one, which isthe one that I'm first author
on, that one is about CBDtreatment of dogs.
It's just a review.
So cannabidiol and I'm at NorthCarolina State University now,
(01:16):
but I've been before.
I came here in 2023.
I was six years at ColoradoState University and that's
where I did a lot of CBDresearch in dogs, just because
it's a good place to do CBDresearch in Colorado, and so I
(01:36):
felt that it was a good time tolike have a review, because when
you go down to the local petsstore, Pet Smart, Petco,
wherever there are so many CBDproducts out there and me, as an
ophthalmologist, my concern isjust is it safe?
So, first thing, is it safe touse?
And then next thing is does itactually do anything to the eyes
(01:59):
?
Again, I'm an ophthalmologist,so our first study at CSU was
that we looked into is it safe.
So, we actually kind ofpiggybacked on a bigger study
that was run by Dr McGrath thereand we looked like this dogs
were on CBD, two different doses, and then we had a control and
(02:23):
we did that for 36 weeks, so avery long time, and what we
found was that they actuallydon't.
They did not have any effect ontheir intraocular pressures or
their tear production.
So that's good, because thereare some who says that
potentially, CBD could cause dryeye.
And then there are some olderstudies saying that CBD
(02:45):
potentially could cause elevatedintraocular pressure, where we
know that THC, which is toxicfor dogs and we don't want to
give that to dogs, but that thatcan be used for glaucoma.
So basically, the first studythat I just told you about that
one showed that it's safe to usebut it doesn't really do
anything.
(03:05):
We did find that we found CBDin tears for these dogs.
So that was a start.
So that's where I'm like Ithink it's good to have a review
about, like, what is it fordiseases that we think
potentially CBD can be used for?
But I will say I still arewaiting to find the disease in
(03:26):
dogs where I'm like this iswhere you can use CBD.
But it's not a long review, soI actually feel like it came out
really well and it gives areally good idea about, like
what the thought process behindusing CBD for eye diseases, both
in humans and then also onanimals.
Lisa Fortier (03:47):
Yeah, I really liked in your article how you
put about you know the why.
Why might you consider this?
You know a lot of peoplewouldn't think of ocular
inflammation and I'm curious onyour take.
You know a lot of people thatare truly in drug approval, like
at the FDA level, would saythere's no safety without
efficacy.
Right, nothing can be safeunless it's efficacious.
(04:11):
I mean, of course, our mantrasdo no harm, but there is harm in
the wallet of the owner of theadministering the CBD.
You have to go and buy it.
So all these things I'm curiousin your personal take on that,
your professional take.
Michala Henriksen (04:33):
Well, no, it's true.
And also what we did find, andwhat I've seen in some of my
other studies and other peoplehave found, is that CBD will
elevate some of your liverenzymes.
So even though it doesn't doany harm to the eyes, it still
does something, and I thinkthey're like the internal
medicine and so on are likelooking at, well, that elevation
.
Is that to be concerned aboutor not?
(04:54):
Me, as an ophthalmologist, I doget concerned every time
something is not normal, um.
So, I did a study, um that I'min process of getting written up
and published, where we alsodid CBD for cataract surgery
dogs, just because, again, thereare so many owners who's like,
hey, I want to give this andthis and this and I do the same.
(05:16):
I have two dogs and I also havethem in all kind of supplements
.
But that's where, as you said,like, is it necessary and is it
actually safe enough to use?
And that's where we just stillneed to do so much more research
with CBD before we can say forsure that maybe it doesn't do
any harm, but maybe for the eyes, but maybe there's other areas
(05:39):
that's not so good for.
Sarah Wright (05:42):
Well, we look forward to hopefully receiving
your future manuscripts.
Michala Henriksen (05:46):
Thanks.
So that was one of the papers.
Another one which is a reallysad topic, but also something
that I feel is really relevant,is about wildfires and how that
affects eyes in dogs, and thatcame from that.
I was in Colorado in 2020, whenwe had a really really bad fire
(06:13):
, actually right next to FortCollins, and we saw that there
were so many dogs coming in withcorneal serrations that was
very infected with, like weirdinfectious agents, and Colorado
we didn't actually see that muchcorneal like.
We saw corneal ulcerations, butdefinitely not Like.
(06:34):
Now.
I'm back at North Carolina inthe Southeast, where it's like
really hot and humid.
So we see fungal keratitis andalso horrible bacterial
keratitis in all our animals,which we just didn't see as much
in Colorado.
But in that time of thatwildfire we had a lot of
infectious diseases or we justfelt that we saw more.
(06:57):
So I had a really good studentvet student at CSU who wanted to
do some ophthalmology at thattime.
So she actually wrote up, as asummer scholarship student, a
retrospective study where wecould show that we actually did
see more infectious ulcerativekeratitis in that period
(07:19):
compared to two previous yearswhere we did not have wildfires.
So the same student, dr KatieJones, which is now our first
year resident here at NC State,we did a study where we set up a
prospective.
So we kind of waited forwildfires, which is really
(07:39):
horrible and we didn't reallywanted it, but we need an iCook
to do this kind of study.
So 2022 was supposed to be a bigwildfire season because it was
really dry, but we actuallydidn't get it.
So we waited until the yearlater 2023, we had some smoke
(08:01):
coming down from from Canada.
So what we did was that we justlooked at normal dogs.
So it was actually all herfriends, vet students, dogs plus
some of ours my two wasincluded where we just looked at
them when the air quality indexwas good, when it was moderate,
which like normal when youfollow air quality index on your
(08:24):
phone you can actually do that.
It kind of goes between goodand moderate, like it's not
really have anything to do withwildfire, but as soon as we get
all that smoke in, it goes up tounhealthy and like bad.
So what we did was we did an eyeexam, we did Schumer's tear
(08:46):
test, intraocular pressure notbecause we really think
wildfires have anything to dowith pressures and then tear
film breakup time we tookculture from these dogs and then
we just looked at them to seedo they have signs of
conjunctivitis, which ischemosis and hyperemia, and then
we had, for good, moderate andsevere air quality index.
(09:11):
And then we actually alsoteamed up when we came here to
North Carolina with one from ascience department who looked
into air quality actually.
So, also with PM2.5, which isparticle matters, so it's like
tiny small particles under 2.5micrometer, which we see a lot
(09:38):
in wildfires, and then ozonesand other really toxic
substances in the air when youhave wildfire.
And then we kind of like justkind of look to see if there are
any correlations.
So what we did find was thatwhen you do have that wildfire
going on and you have anelevated air quality index,
especially with elevation of PM2.5, the particle matter, then
(10:02):
your dogs have a higher risk ofgetting chemosis and hyperemia,
which is a sign ofconjunctivitis.
So, I mean it's not rocketscience, because it's kind of
what we think that when we havewildfires we all have really
itchy eyes and runny eyes.
But now we know and now we canalso tell owners to be careful.
(10:24):
And if you live in an area thathas wildfire smoke coming over,
then just maybe keep your dogsinside so they're not so exposed
.
Maybe flush their eyes with eyewash and just be careful,
because if they rub their eyesthey get ulcers and then we know
that they could potentially getthose infected ulcers with bad
bacteria.
Sarah Wright (10:50):
Yeah, it's super cool.
I lived in Vancouver, BritishColumbia, for a little bit and
the wildfires they're so bad inmy eyes they would get dry and
never thought about how affectedpets though.
Michala Henriksen (10:56):
Yeah, it's horrible.
I mean that 2020 wildfireseason in Colorado really taught
me that it's horrible.
So definitely a veryinteresting research area, but
also really sad.
And then the last one.
So, the last paper is one whereI'm just a co-author.
(11:19):
It's actually Dr Brian Gilger,who is a primary investigator,
but he had one of our interns atNC State writing this
retrospective study up andthat's in horses, um, and it's
about fibrin and hyphema, sokind of like fibrin and blood
inside of the eye and then justto see what's the outcome and so
(11:42):
on.
So, there's a lot of horses inthis study more than 200.
And it's really cool.
I think they got a really goodproduct out of it.
And basically the take-homemessage is that if you do have a
horse that has fibrin, first ofall, if it's so severe, then
(12:03):
often they will be nucleated,unfortunately.
But if they do not getnucleated by the first visit,
then they have a good prognosisto get over it.
But it is best to actually doTPA injections.
So it's not a bad idea ifyou're a referral and to like
actually send them into someoneophthalmologist or someone who
(12:25):
can do that TPA injection.
So TPA is tissue plus minogenactivator that can go in and
break down the fibrin.
Just because fibrin does umlike if it sits too long, we can
get post-euthynia cataracts andother complications that can
lead to blindness.
Um, whereas if it's hyphema, soblot um, we don't need TPA
(12:49):
often, um, especially not ifit's actively bleeding, because
then you'll just cause even morebleeding.
Lisa Fortier (13:00):
Yeah, that's pretty impressive to have three
manuscripts in one supplement.
So congratulations again onjust thinking of all the
different projects that you cando with naturally occurring
diseases.
Michala Henriksen (13:08):
Yeah, it is, but thank you, but yeah, so
that's where it's like they'revery different, but also I mean
the big, big picture isinflammation.
So yeah, it was fun, Goodprojects.
Lisa Fortier (13:21):
You're clearly curious within the field of
ophthalmology and probably inlife in general, and what
specifically sparked yourresearch interest in
inflammation and ophthalmology?
Michala Henriksen (13:31):
Well, so ophthalmology.
I had a horse when I was a vetstudent.
So I'm from Denmark, so I didmy vet school at University of
Copenhagen and my own horse gota fungal keratitis when I was a
vet student and she was not aneasy mare to treat at all.
We were like two vet studentstrying to pull her head down to
(13:53):
get the ointment in her eye andthat did not work really well.
I had a really good studypartner who where I had my horse
with and he really tried to andthere were no way we could do
this.
So eventually we sent her intothe vet school and she had a
sub-health people of our system,the SBL system, placed, which
(14:15):
this is like 20 years ago, so itwas not the most common thing
to do, so that was a big deal.
And then she also needed a lotof medication and again she was
not easy to treat.
So, the professor in equinesurgery, Pia Halper, at that
(14:36):
time she was like, can you justtreat her during the night?
So, we know that she's gettingher treatment in.
So, I did a lot of treatment onher and with that I also read a
lot about fungal keratitis andthat was at that time Dennis
Brooks at University of Floridaand then Brian Gilger here at NC
State that had written all thator a lot of that.
(15:00):
So that was kind of how I gothooked.
So, I did my residency inFlorida because I contacted
Dennis Brooks afterward andcould see if I could come down
and see some horses and, yeah,the rest is history.
Lisa Fortier (15:13):
The rest is history.
Michala Henriksen (15:15):
Yes, so that's from there.
And then the inflammation isalso University of Copenhagen.
The equine group is doing a lotof inflammation research.
Saa was a big thing when I wasthere.
So I think I'm just like verynaturally got hooked on to like
(15:35):
inflammatory diseases andinflammation in general and
that's kind of where so now.
So then when I was at CSU, it'slike alternative medicine and
how to decrease inflammation.
I thought that was veryinteresting with the CBD and
then here at NC State, justbecause CBD research is a little
difficult when you're in NorthCarolina compared to Colorado.
(15:58):
So I'm kind of like moreshifting it over to regenerative
medicine, where I'm doingresearch now with PRF,
platelet-rich fibrin and what wecan do with that.
So that's very, very excitingand Dr Gilliger is very
supportive of that, so it's agreat team to be involved with.
Lisa Fortier (16:20):
Yeah, NC State has a great orthobiologics team as
well, so lots of good people towork with.
Michala Henriksen (16:25):
Yes.
Lisa Fortier (16:26):
You talked to Sarah a little bit earlier about
maybe the biggest take-homemessages, especially of the two
articles looking at air quality,but always when we do novel
studies we find something thatsurprises us.
What when you wrote those othertwo?
Maybe not so much the CBD,because it's a review, although
you can still be surprised andlearn something what things did
(16:48):
Michaela learn?
Like wow, I didn't expect thatin writing these manuscripts.
Michala Henriksen (16:54):
So the fibrin , the equine fibrin study, it
was interesting because actuallythe horses that had a TPA
injection, they also had ahigher risk of getting glaucoma.
So we were really talking a lotabout like, why is that?
And it's probably because thoseeyes also, I would think, is
(17:15):
the one that's most damaged, sothere's probably just more
inflammation and then you justhave a higher risk of getting
glaucoma.
Or potentially, when you startbreaking down the fibrin, could
it go into the iriticonial angle, stop it for a little bit and
then you get the glaucoma.
But that was just like I mean,it's always interesting when you
(17:35):
do studies that you findsomething and you're like, oh, I
did not think about that.
The wildfire, one thing I didnot mention that we did not show
a significant correlationbetween, like, high air quality
index and then also a tear filmbreak break up time, which it
(17:59):
almost and I think we may be, ifwe had more dogs I think
actually we would be able tofind that, but you know we
couldn't show it, so I can't saythat that's there.
But tear film break up time iswhen you start having poor
quality of your tears, so it'snot like, even though you
produce tears, it just flushesout.
(18:20):
So that's why your breakup timegets changed, and we did see
that it was going in the trenddirection of that.
It's just that the trend is notreally something you're allowed
to say in papers anymore, so sothat irritated me a little bit,
because it does make I mean, itwould make the story even
(18:41):
better, right, because I do feellike, um, wildfire smoke goes
in and interfere with your uhtear film and you just get like,
as we just said, like you getreally runny, itchy eyes, um, so
yeah, but that we could notfind a correlation there.
Only a trend.
Lisa Fortier (19:02):
You said a little bit earlier that you're really
interested in platelet-richfiber and then inflammation.
How do those come together inyour future steps in research?
Michala Henriksen (19:21):
oh, uh, thanks for that question.
Well, so PRF is where you canspin down blot in a specific
method with a blot tube that hasno additive.
So, it's the second generationafter PRP, which a lot of people
probably have heard about.
PRP, platelet-rich plasma, um,so the fibrin PRF is just more
pure and it's easier to makeactually, and you get this
(19:43):
fibrin clot or a solution,liquid PRF that after some like
10-15 minutes will turn intofibrin.
So, then what we've been usingit on is corneal ulcerations in
horses, and what's nice with itis that it has a lot of growth
factors and cytokinesinflammatory cytokines so it's
(20:05):
meant to go in and increasehealing, like tissue healing.
So, dentist is using it a lot,and then also it's actually
being used a lot in humanmedicine or in facial aesthetics
.
So, I think a lot of people haveheard about like microneedling
with PRP, like, and now they'restarting to use PRF instead.
(20:26):
So just those growth factorsand cytokines that's meant to go
in and increase wound healingor inflammatory tissue, and
that's where it's like reallyinteresting to try to use that
on our corneal serrations.
So, I have, like I'm involvedwith a master program at
(20:48):
University of Copenhagen and wehad two master students who
wrote up a paper about it indogs where they use PRF and they
it's a case series and they hadreally good outcome.
So now we're just starting touse that on horses too.
I mean, the big dream is tofind a product that will go in
(21:09):
and increase corneal ulcerationhealing in horses and then cause
like mescalization andepithelialization so we can just
get them to heal so much faster.
That would be my big dream.
Lisa Fortier (21:22):
Sure.
You'll get there.
Michala Henriksen (21:24):
Sure.
Lisa Fortier (21:26):
AI, artificial intelligence and LLM and those
sorts of things are everywhere.
Do you see a role for it inophthalmology?
Michala Henriksen (21:36):
I was just telling you guys before we
started that this is my firstpodcast.
I am so old fashioned, soartificial intelligence, it
scares me a little bit, but Imean I think we need to be open
for it and I do think that itwill come.
Right now what I can use it foris probably I don't know, I like
(21:59):
to use my own brain and kind ofcome up with my own ideas.
But then what I feel I'm usingit for is like if I'm like
putting in like a question,googling, and then I've seen
that now it comes up as ananswer from artificial
intelligence where they go inand like pick uh, different
(22:20):
papers, so somehow it's like Imean that's cool, I like that,
um, but I still think that weneed to be careful not just to
let it run our life and kind oflike I know a lot of people is
like hey, you can diagnose whereI'm like, but you need to be
able to diagnose it yourself.
So I think that's where theteacher in me as a faculty, in a
(22:43):
university, that I'm like Idon't want the student just to
start using artificialintelligence to come up with the
answer.
I do want them to like know thebasic to.
Sarah Wright (22:56):
Yeah, I think that's a great answer and for
our listeners.
We do have actually aartificial intelligence
supplement coming out in AJVRthis spring, so definitely stay
tuned if you're looking forpractical applications of AI in
veterinary medicine.
Michala Henriksen (23:09):
That's really cool.
I will look forward to read that.
Sarah Wright (23:12):
Awesome, great.
We'll send you the link whenit's live.
Michala Henriksen (23:14):
Something I do like with it is that I feel
like sometimes I can make reallycool figures for my papers.
So, I do like that.
I mean it's a good tool.
I just don't want it to takeover completely.
Sarah Wright (23:29):
Exactly you definitely still need people to
do certain things.
Michala Henriksen (23:32):
Yeah.
Sarah Wright (23:33):
And for those of you just joining us, we're
discussing the JAVMAophthalmology supplemental issue
with our guest MichelaHendrickson.
So, Michela, we were discussingyour advanced training and how
you did your residency atUniversity of Florida and
veterinary school at Universityof Copenhagen.
How did this training prepareyou to write these articles?
Michala Henriksen (23:53):
so I also also I did my PhD as a
combination, so it's fromUniversity of Copenhagen, but
some of it was done atUniversity of Florida too, and I
think, like I don't know, Ireally liked my PhD from
University of Copenhagen.
I know a lot of PhD students arelike pulling their hair hair
(24:14):
out when they're doing a PhD,but I really enjoyed it and I
think they just prepared me fordoing all this studies with not
too much money and I feel likethat's where that has benefited
me, because it's like bonding.
Finding money to do studies isreally hard and it's like I
don't think everyone knows thatwhen they're reading, like a
(24:36):
supplement like this, thatthere's a lot of going on in the
background to actually getstarted on this studies and the
whole thing about getting,unfortunately, funded research
is hard.
It research is hard.
(24:57):
So that's where it's like Ifeel like my PhD prepared me to
do a lot of good ground basicstudies but with not as much
money.
So, yeah, and then like myinterest for inflammation, as we
already talked about, fromUniversity of Copenhagen, so,
yeah, that's probably what Iwould say my background.
Sarah Wright (25:15):
Very practical skill to have and honestly, I
don't think anyone's actuallysaid that before as their answer
too.
Michala Henriksen (25:19):
So no, yeah, no, I think I mean it's always
fun when we were like doing ajournal club with the residents
and it's like you're goingthrough all this papers and
they're like, why didn't they dothis and this and this, this?
And I'm like, do you know howmuch that would cost?
And like, yes, we do need to doit correct.
(25:40):
Um, but we also just need tolike I mean, otherwise we will
not be able to do all thisresearch.
So, yeah, so it's wonderfulwhen people wants to support our
research, for sure.
Lisa Fortier (25:53):
When I was running my laboratory, it was always
something to say too, to say youknow, each of you think how
much you're paid per hour peryear or whatever it is, and add
65% on top of that, and that'show much money I need to raise.
It adds up super fast.
Michala Henriksen (26:11):
It really does.
I mean, it's insane, so yeah,so it's important to have good
sponsors and people who wants tosupport.
So that's also where it's likeit's really important what you
guys are doing to get our newinformation out.
Sarah Wright (26:29):
Definitely, and we believe in fostering the next
generation of researchers andeditors too.
So we actually have journalawards that do include like
discounted, like open accessfees and things like that to
help our early careerresearchers get more out there.
Michala Henriksen (26:42):
Yeah, and I think that's really important to
like the our junior researchers.
Like what I said with KatieJones, that was my.
I got involved with her at CSUwhen she was second year vet
student and then we've just donewe actually done quite a bit of
research together and I feellike it's just important to kind
(27:04):
of show the young investigatorsthat research is fun and but
you also need to show that youcan actually go all the way
right.
So you need to like do the study, apply for a grant and then
write your study up and orperform the study and then also
go to conferences.
So I was just aswand intern with me to the
European College of EnderMedicine or Ophthalmology in
(27:37):
Europe last year and I meanthat's just a great experience
for them to go to ECVO.
It's great to go to theAmerican conferences too, but
it's like they need to see howmuch fun it is to do research,
because it's also really hardand there's a lot of like
rejections and so on, so andthen you need to read, like
(28:00):
rewrite your paper and so, sothere's a lot of hard work to it
.
So I also just feel like it'simportant to show them the good
side so we actually get peopleinto academia to do research too
.
So that's one of my hit P2 thatI just want to show the young
investigators that it is a lotof fun and it's rewarding.
Sarah Wright (28:23):
So this next set of questions is going to be
really important for ourlisteners and, as we discussed,
you contributed three articlesto the supplemental issue, so
maybe we can focus oninflammation, which seems to be
the underlying theme for all ofthem.
So what's one piece ofinformation the veterinarian
should know about your articlesin the JAVMA ophthalmology
supplemental issue?
Michala Henriksen (28:44):
So take one each.
That's what you want, if youcan do one overall.
Sarah Wright (28:49):
To summarize all the information like what should
people know?
What should?
Michala Henriksen (28:55):
people know Well that, be aware of
inflammation, and there can beinflammation in so many
different ways and we just needto make sure we're diagnosing it
correct so we can actually dothe correct treatment of it.
Sarah Wright (29:14):
Excellent.
And then, on the other side ofthe relationship, what's one
thing clients should know about?
Your articles in the JAVMAOphthalmology Supplemental Issue
Again thinking aboutinflammation, umbrella.
Michala Henriksen (29:25):
The inflammation umbrella.
Well, that's a hard one becauseI actually wanted to like each
one.
That's a hard one because Iactually wanted to like each one
, but just be aware, it kind ofgoes to the CBD.
But I just don't want peoplejust to like use artificial
(29:45):
intelligence or Googling andthink that that's the final
answer.
I do think that it's importantto go to the vet because just
because they see that, oh, hehas a red eye and that's
probably because of wildfire,there could be something else
underlying that red eye.
So inflammation has a lot offaces and artificial
intelligence is not enough tolike diagnose that.
(30:07):
So I do want them to sometimesgo to the vet too.
Lisa Fortier (30:12):
Well summarized and don't go just to Dr Google.
Michala Henriksen (30:16):
Exactly.
Lisa Fortier (30:19):
Mikkel, it's been really great to have you and
again, thank you for thesewonderful contributions.
As we wind down a little bit,we like to ask a really fun
question, and our question foryou is what is your favorite
animal fact?
Michala Henriksen (30:41):
So, during COVID I wrote a paper about
octopus and ophthalmology and Ilearned some really fun facts
that I didn't know that theoctopus actually have a hole in
their cornea like as a normalthing, so the seawater actually
can run right through into theanterior chamber, which I find,
as an ophthalmologist, veryfascinating, because that seems
(31:04):
to be not the best thing.
I mean, there's probablysomething to do with pressure
that they're going up and down,but it's also just if they're in
water that has bacteria orsomething, then it just runs
right into the eye.
So I find that very fascinating.
It was a great paper to write.
Lisa Fortier (31:21):
I didn't know that .
Now I'm thinking of, like whenI go swimming or scuba diving or
snorkeling, and you see all theparticulate matter like how big
is that hole?
Michala Henriksen (31:29):
That is actually a good question and
there's not actually written upa lot about that area of a hole.
It's up dorsal and it's not all.
It says when you're reading theliterature that it's not all
octopus who has it, like all thespecies of them, but they don't
say which one has it and whichone do not have it, so that I
cannot answer you.
But yeah, but those likeparticles, that's like in the
(31:55):
water.
I'm guessing it could go intothe eye.
I don't know.
It's an area that would be veryinteresting to do some more
research.
Lisa Fortier (32:02):
Yeah, even more fascinating that some have it
and some don't, so thank you forthat great fact.
Yeah, that's cool.
Michala Henriksen (32:09):
Yeah, that was a good paper to write, doing
COVID.
Sarah Wright (32:13):
Well, Nicola, you're in a very fortunate spot
because you actually have one ofthe invert experts at NC State,
Greg Lubart, so maybe a projectyou guys can collaborate on in
the future Maybe I should Well,Nicola.
Thank you so much again forbeing here today and for
contributing your three articlesto the ophthalmology
supplemental issue.
Michala Henriksen (32:32):
Yeah well, thank you so much for having me.
Sarah Wright (32:34):
This was fun To our listeners.
You can read Nicola's articlesin JAPMA.
I'm Sarah Wright with LisaFortier.
Be on the lookout for nextweek's episode and don't forget
to leave us a rating and reviewon Apple Podcasts or whatever
platform you listen to.
Popular Podcasts
Boysober
Have you ever wondered what life might be like if you stopped worrying about being wanted, and focused on understanding what you actually want? That was the question Hope Woodard asked herself after a string of situationships inspired her to take a break from sex and dating. She went "boysober," a personal concept that sparked a global movement among women looking to prioritize themselves over men. Now, Hope is looking to expand the ways we explore our relationship to relationships. Taking a bold, unfiltered look into modern love, romance, and self-discovery, Boysober will dive into messy stories about dating, sex, love, friendship, and breaking generational patterns—all with humor, vulnerability, and a fresh perspective.
On Purpose with Jay Shetty
I’m Jay Shetty host of On Purpose the worlds #1 Mental Health podcast and I’m so grateful you found us. I started this podcast 5 years ago to invite you into conversations and workshops that are designed to help make you happier, healthier and more healed. I believe that when you (yes you) feel seen, heard and understood you’re able to deal with relationship struggles, work challenges and life’s ups and downs with more ease and grace. I interview experts, celebrities, thought leaders and athletes so that we can grow our mindset, build better habits and uncover a side of them we’ve never seen before. New episodes every Monday and Friday. Your support means the world to me and I don’t take it for granted — click the follow button and leave a review to help us spread the love with On Purpose. I can’t wait for you to listen to your first or 500th episode!
Dateline NBC
Current and classic episodes, featuring compelling true-crime mysteries, powerful documentaries and in-depth investigations. Follow now to get the latest episodes of Dateline NBC completely free, or subscribe to Dateline Premium for ad-free listening and exclusive bonus content: DatelinePremium.com