Our publications span a wide range of topics in translational research on pain and behavior in companion animals. The TRiP Lab investigates pain, behavior, cognition, affective states, and welfare in dogs and cats.

Check out the recent articles and abstracts below to learn more!

Recent publications

Researchers Identify Potential Disease Marker, Therapeutic Target for Cats with Osteoarthritis

“With relatively limited options for managing chronic pain in cats, if we can understand more about how the sensation of pain is being generated in cats themselves, then we will be a step closer to developing therapies that are effective in cats,” said Dr. Duncan Lascelles

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Veterinarians’ Brief Guide to Confidence Intervals, Standardized Effect Size, and Number Needed to Treat: Understanding the Impact of Treatments and Disease

A ‘Pain Journal Club’, led by Dr. Lascelles, and part of the CBS graduate program at NC State College of Veterinary Medicine, resulted in a practical learning experience, and this easy-to-read guide for clinicians looking to understand the clinical benefit of treatments that are reported – benefit beyond the p-value! Check out our Instagram to learn more!

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Artemin/GFRA3 Axis and TRP Channels: Molecular Insights from a Feline Model of Osteoarthritis

A collaborative team of scientists at North Carolina State University has identified a critical molecular pathway involved in osteoarthritis pain in cats—an advance that could improve clinical care for feline patients while also shedding light on similar pain mechanisms in humans. 

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A Noninferiority Trial Evaluating the Efficacy of Bedinvetmab Compared to Grapiprant for Osteoarthritis-pain in Dogs Using Force Plate Gait Analysis

This research provides the first objective, force‑plate–based evidence that bedinvetmab, an anti-nerve growth factor monoclonal antibody, effectively improves mobility in dogs with osteoarthritis and works just as well as the NSAID grapiprant for pain relief. These findings provide further confidence that bedinvetmab is an effective option for managing chronic joint pain in dogs

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Early Postoperative Analgesic Evaluation of Intravenous Lidocaine Infusion or a Combination of Intraperitoneal and Incisional Lidocaine Splash in Female Dogs Undergoing Ovariohysterectomy

Both IV lidocaine and intra-peritoneal/wound installation lidocaine block techniques provided similarly good pain control after spay surgery in dogs, meaning that veterinarians can choose either method based on what is easiest and most practical in their clinic. Because IV lidocaine is simpler to perform yet works just as well, it may help more general‑practice clinics offer effective postoperative pain relief

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Tailoring Treatment: Dog Breed Status Influences Pain Assessment and Treatment in Emergency Veterinary Care

Certain dog breeds were consistently scored as experiencing more or less pain in the emergency room despite no evidence of actual differences in pain severity, indicating that clinicians’ breed‑based assumptions can bias both pain assessment and treatment. These findings highlight the need to refine veterinary pain education and decision‑making to ensure equitable, evidence‑based care for all canine patients

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Pharmacological Blockade of TRPM8 Ion Channels Fails to Reduce Behavioral and Biological Markers of Acute Oral Pain in Irradiated C57BL/6J Mice

Radiation-induced glossitis in mice caused significant pain‑related behaviors, but blocking the TRPM8 channel with the inhibitor PBMC did not meaningfully reduce these symptoms. Instead of the expected increase in TRPM8, irradiated mice showed downregulated TRPM8 expression, and females displayed greater pain sensitivity than males. These findings suggest that TRPM8 inhibition is unlikely to be an effective treatment for radiation‑associated pain in this model and that other mechanisms may be driving the response.

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Moving Beyond Measures of Pain Intensity in Preclinical Models

Preclinical pain research is moving toward a broader, more nuanced understanding of pain by expanding beyond simple reflex‑based tests to include behavioral, psychological, and biological measures. Incorporating diverse methodologies—such as advanced technologies, computational tools, biomarkers, and human tissue studies—can better capture individual variability and improve translation to clinical pain conditions. The article highlights recent advances and recommends interdisciplinary, multimodal approaches to strengthen the relevance and impact of preclinical pain models.

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Cross-sectional Associations of Radiographic Multiple Joint Osteoarthritis and Symptoms, Laboratory Values and the Gut Microbiota: A Multimodal Study in Humans and Pet Dogs

Humans and dogs showed a similar prevalence of radiographic multiple‑joint osteoarthritis (about 20%), supporting dogs as a useful model for naturally occurring MJOA. While overall microbial diversity did not differ by MJOA status, several bacterial taxa were moderately associated with greater pain severity, including lower Christensenellaceae R‑7 and Lachnoclostridium in humans and lower Faecalibacterium with higher Escherichia‑Shigella in dogs. These findings suggest potential links between gut dysbiosis and osteoarthritis‑related pain that warrant further investigation.

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Advancing Outcome Measure Development and Analytical Approaches: Pain in Animals Workshop 2023

The workshop emphasized the growing need for better ways to measure and treat pain in both humans and animals, especially as reliance on opioids becomes increasingly problematic. Experts highlighted advances in validated pain‑assessment tools, study‑design strategies for clinical trials, and the importance of viewing pain through a biopsychosocial lens, while also exploring emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence for pain measurement. The meeting’s discussions underscore the value of interdisciplinary collaboration to improve analgesic development and deepen understanding of the complex pain experience.

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Comparison of Lidocaine Incisional Block Techniques on Early Postoperative Pain Scores in Dogs Undergoing Ovariohysterectomy

Both lidocaine techniques—incisional infiltration and incisional splash, each combined with an intraperitoneal splash—provided effective postoperative analgesia for dogs undergoing ovariohysterectomy. Dogs receiving the incisional splash had slightly lower pain scores at 120 minutes, even though all dogs remained below the threshold requiring rescue analgesia. The findings support incisional splash as a simpler method that offers equal or better early pain control.

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Physical Activity Monitors in Companion Animal Chronic Pain Research: A Review Focused on Osteoarthritis Pain

Accelerometry‑based activity monitors are increasingly used in companion‑animal chronic pain research, but their interpretation is complicated by differences in device technology and by biological factors such as age, body condition, and species. This review outlines how PAMs collect and process movement data, highlights the technical and biological variables that influence those outputs, and summarizes their current applications in osteoarthritis and other chronic pain studies. It also points to the growing potential of PAMs to improve pain assessment as the field gains a clearer understanding of what these activity metrics mean biologically.

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Force Plate Gait Analysis in Dogs After Femoral Head and Neck Excision

Dogs of all sizes showed similar recovery after femoral head and neck excision, with no significant differences in peak vertical force or lameness scores between the operated and non‑operated limbs by about three to four months post‑surgery. Both lighter (≤20 kg) and heavier (>20 kg) dogs achieved comparable functional outcomes over the 12‑month follow‑up period. These results support FHNE as a suitable surgical option for medium‑ and large‑breed dogs, not just small dogs.

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Global Pharmacovigilance Reporting of the First Monoclonal Antibody for Canine Osteoarthritis: A Case Study with bedinvetmab (Librela™)

Bedinvetmab has been administered more than 18 million times worldwide since 2021, with rare to very rare adverse events reported across global pharmacovigilance data. The most frequently reported signs—such as lack of efficacy, polydipsia, ataxia, urinary changes, anorexia, lethargy, death, and vomiting—each occurred at 1–10 events per 10,000 treated dogs, while all other events were even less common. Reporting patterns varied widely by country and did not track with market size, and most reported cases involved older dogs with existing health concerns, supporting that the product’s overall safety profile aligns with expectations for its target population.

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Quantitative Sensory Testing in Dogs with Spontaneous Osteoarthritis

Dogs with spontaneous osteoarthritis did not show consistent or predictable changes in somatosensory sensitivity across most quantitative sensory testing measures, and the few differences observed did not match prior reports. Novel non‑noxious tests suggested possible hypoesthesia in dogs with OA pain, but the overall feasibility of QST in a clinical setting was low and variable across dogs. These findings indicate that practical challenges in performing QST may obscure true sensory changes associated with naturally occurring OA.

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Outcome Assessment in Veterinary Pain studies: A Pain in Animals Workshop (PAW) Perspective

The 2023 Pain in Animals Workshop highlighted how collaborative, cross‑species research has advanced the field’s ability to recognize and measure pain, and Dr. Dottie Brown’s inaugural Michele Sharkey Lecture reflected on this progress and the continued evolution of outcome assessment in veterinary pain studies. The article emphasizes how PAW meetings have shaped current knowledge, identified persistent gaps, and guided the development of more rigorous, clinically meaningful pain‑assessment tools. It underscores the workshop’s role in uniting experts across academia, industry, and government to keep moving the “yellow brick road” of pain‑measurement science forward.

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Qualitative Exploration of the Hidden Curriculum in Communicating Dog Breed Stereotypes During Veterinary Clinical Training

Veterinary students were exposed to mixed, sometimes contradictory messages about canine pain during clinical training, and these interactions often included implicit or explicit breed‑based stereotypes. Three patterns emerged: inconsistent instruction about pain, rotation‑specific norms that shaped how pain was discussed, and direct breed‑linked cues about how much pain certain dogs were assumed to feel or show. As students navigated these microcultures, they appeared to internalize these stereotypes, underscoring the need for training approaches that promote evidence‑based, breed‑neutral pain assessment.

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A Randomised, Parallel-Group Clinical Trial Comparing bedinvetmab to meloxicam for the Management of Canine Osteoarthritis

Dogs treated with bedinvetmab or meloxicam both showed meaningful improvements in osteoarthritis pain, with no significant difference in overall efficacy, though pain scores continued to improve over time in both groups. Bedinvetmab was associated with fewer adverse events and had a higher study‑completion rate, largely due to fewer gastrointestinal issues compared with meloxicam. These findings suggest that while both treatments are effective, bedinvetmab may offer a safer and better‑tolerated option for long‑term OA pain management in dogs.

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Exploring Associations Among Pro-Inflammatory Cytokines, Osteoarthritis, and Gut Microbiome Composition in Individuals with Obesity Using Machine Learning

Dogs with obesity‑related osteoarthritis showed distinct gut‑microbiome “enterotypes,” and three of these were inversely associated with both OA status and levels of OA‑related cytokines, suggesting potentially protective microbial patterns. These enterotypes—dominated by Akkermansia, Bacteroides, or Ruminococcus/Phascolarctobacterium—were linked to lower concentrations of key inflammatory cytokines, while no relationships were found with circulating LPS. The findings point toward possible cytokine‑mediated pathways through which gut composition may influence OA in obese adults and provide a foundation for future mechanistic studies.

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Factors Influencing, and Associated with, Physical Activity Patterns in Dogs with Osteoarthritis-Associated Pain

Dogs with osteoarthritis showed lower activity during peak times of the day when factors such as older age, hindlimb joint pain, and hindlimb muscle atrophy were present, and these were the only variables with statistically significant effects on activity patterns. Other factors—like higher body condition score, worse owner‑reported pain scores, and greater overall joint pain—also trended toward reduced activity but did not reach significance. Understanding how these characteristics shape daily activity helps refine the use of accelerometry as an objective outcome measure in canine OA pain studies.

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Ice Water Immersion Does Not Activate Diffuse Noxious Inhibitory Controls of Spinal Reflexes in Sedated or Anaesthetised Dogs (Canis familiaris): A Pilot Study

Ice‑water immersion reliably cooled the limb in sedated and anesthetized dogs, but it did not reduce electromyographic responses to a nociceptive stimulus, meaning the protocol failed to induce diffuse noxious inhibitory controls (DNIC). Differences in temperature change and EMG magnitude across sedation protocols suggested physiological effects of the drugs themselves, but none produced the expected inhibitory response. The findings indicate that this cold‑based conditioning stimulus was likely not strong enough to activate DNIC in dogs, and a more robust or alternative method will be needed for future DNIC assessments in spontaneous canine OA models.

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Proteomic Profiling of Serum in Cats with Naturally Occurring Degenerative Joint Disease and Co-morbid Conditions

Cats with degenerative joint disease, DJD‑associated pain, and chronic kidney disease showed distinct patterns of differentially abundant serum proteins, many of which mapped to pathways involved in inflammation and lipid signaling, including the acute phase response, LXR/RXR and FXR/RXR activation, and the complement system. When DJD co‑occurred with CKD, additional immune‑related pathways—most notably IL‑12 signaling in macrophages—were implicated. These proteomic findings highlight potential biomarker candidates and therapeutic targets for feline DJD, pain, and CKD, with possible relevance to human disease biology.

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Emerging Evidence of Artemin/GFRα3 Signaling in Musculoskeletal Pain

Chronic musculoskeletal pain remains difficult to treat, and limitations of NSAIDs and opioids highlight the need for safer, more effective options. Growing evidence shows that GDNF‑family ligands (GFLs) and their signaling pathways play key roles in inflammatory and chronic musculoskeletal pain, making them promising therapeutic targets. This review summarizes current knowledge of GFL biology and pain mechanisms and discusses how modulating this system could lead to new analgesic strategies.

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