Research in Veterinary Medicine
Michael Herrtage
Position(s): Reader in Small Animal Medicine; Dean of the Cambridge Veterinary School; Deputy Head of Department
Email: mh10001@cam.ac.uk
Tel.: +44 (0)1223 337621
Research description
Mike Herrtage and his group have concentrated most of his research in the field of small animal endocrinology.
He has worked extensively on hyperadrenocorticism in the dog and the cat, mainly centring on improving the diagnosis and treatment of this disease. His group pioneered the use of ACTH stimulation testing to monitor the treatment in canine hyperadrenocorticism in the UK and developed the use of endogenous ACTH concentrations and adrenal ultrasonography to distinguish the underlying cause of canine hyperadrenocorticism. Most recently, he joined a multicentre study which compared the survival time in dogs treated with trilostane or mitotane and was able to demonstrate that the survival curves for both treatments in pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism were remarkably similar.
His work on diabetes mellitus in dogs and cats has centred mainly on the aetiology of the disease and improved monitoring during therapy. His group pioneered the use of continuous glucose monitoring in dogs and cats to improve the management of their diabetes.
His current work on the endocrine responses in critical illness has led to a number of new discoveries including some simple predictors of mortality.
Main collaborators
- Dr Ian Ramsey (University of Glasgow)
- Dr Brian Catchpole (Royal Veterinary College)
- Dr Johan Schoeman (University of Pretoria)
Key publications since 2001
- Schoeman, J.P., Goddard, A. & Herrtage, M.E. Serum cortisol and thyroxine concentrations as predictors of death in critically ill puppies with parvoviral diarrhea. Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association (2007) 231, 1534-1539
- Watson, P.J., Roulois, A.J., Scase, T., Johnston, P.E., Thompson, H. & Herrtage, M.E. Prevalence and breed distribution of chronic pancreatitis at post-mortem examination in first-opinion dogs. Journal of Small Animal Practice (2007) 48, 609-618
- Schoeman, J.P., Rees, P. & Herrtage, M.E. Endocrine predictors of mortality in canine babesiosis caused by Babesia canis rossi. Veterinary Parasitology (2007) 148, 75-82
- Barker, E., Campbell, S., Tebb, A., Neiger, R., Herrtage, M., Reid, S.W. & Ramsey, I. A comparison of survival times of dogs treated with mitotane or trilostane for pituitary-dependent hyperadrenocorticism. Journal of Veterinary Internal Medicine (2005) 19, 810-815
- Ristic, J.M., Herrtage, M.E., Walti-Lauger, S.M., Slater, L.A., Church, D.B., Davison, L.J., Catchpole, B. Evaluation of a continuous glucose monitoring system in cats with diabetes mellitus. Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery (2005) 7, 153-162
- Davison, L.J., Herrtage, M.E. & Catchpole,B. Study of 253 dogs in the United Kingdom with diabetes mellitus. Veterinary Record (2005) 156, 467-471
- Gear, R.N.A., Neiger, R., Skelly, B.J. & Herrtage, M.E. Primary hyperparathyroidism in 29 dogs: diagnosis, treatment, outcome and associated renal failure. Journal of Small Animal Practice (2005) 46, 10-16
- Bohm, M., Thompson, H., Weir, A., Hasted, A.M., Maxwell, N.S. & Herrtage, M.E. Serum antibody titres to canine parvovirus, adenovirus and distemper virus in dogs in the UK which had not been vaccinated for at least three years. Veterinary Record (2004) 154, 457-463