My Pet World: Research may soon lead to treatment for cats with FIP
It's hardly a stretch to argue that more discoveries about FIP have been made in the past 10 years than in all the previous decades since the disease was first recognized in the early 1960s.
"I thank the Winn Foundation for funding two of my studies and an FIP conference, and for making a difference for all cats," says Addie.
There's no doubt that Gingrich, the Bria Fund and its army of online followers have changed the course of FIP research. To start with, today there's simply a better understanding of the disease, which makes diagnosis more accurate. Still, Gingrich says, too many cats continue to be misdiagnosed.
Thus far, there is no 'magic pill' for FIP. The laundry list of failed medications range from human cancer drugs to -- according to a blogger in New Zealand -- chicken soup.
There are two types of FIP, one called the "wet," or effusive form, and another called the "dry," or non-effusive form. It turns out that a drug with study support from the Bria Fund -- Polyprenyl Immunostimulant -- might help some cats with the dry form extend their lives. However, like all drugs for FIP, the verdict remains unclear. The same can be said for a drug called feline interferon omega, which Addie supports, although this medication is expensive and hard to get in the U.S.
Now that FIP is better understood, the hope is a sure-fire drug therapy will eventually be discovered.
Pedersen may be the closest to finding the solution to FIP. He says increased interest in the human Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome (SARS) and Middle East Respiratory Syndrome (MERS) might help stir interest, since the two illnesses have corona viruses in common. It's even possible Pedersen's work may pave the way to helping people with SARS or MERS.
Pedersen is hopeful about an antiviral class of drugs called protease inhibitors, the same class of drugs widely used to treat HIV/AIDS and hepatitis C virus in humans.
"Ten years ago, when I began the Bria Fund, I had little real hope we'd find a treatment for FIP in my lifetime," say Gingrich. Today, I'm filled with hope. If by some miracle every cat owner just gave $10, a treatment would come along faster. I think we will do it!"
Learn more at www.winnfelinefoundation.org.
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