Review of triazine antiprotozoal drugs used in veterinary medicine

Triazines are relatively new antiprotozoal drugs that have successfully controlled coccidiosis and equine protozoal myeloencephalitis. These drugs have favorably treated other protozoal diseases such as neosporosis and toxoplasmosis. In this article, we discuss the pharmacological characteristics of five triazines, toltrazuril, ponazuril, clazuril, diclazuril, and nitromezuril which are used in veterinary medicine to control protozoal diseases which include coccidiosis, equine protozoal myeloencephalitis, neosporosis, and toxoplasmosis.     

Effect of heat stress on the behavioral and physiological patterns of Small-tail Han sheep housed indoors

Tropical Animal Health and Production - This study was conducted to investigate the effects of heat stress on the behavioral and physiological patterns in Small-tail Han sheep housed indoors in...     

Association between bovine digital dermatitis and annual periods of lower pluviometric precipitation in Central Brazil

Tropical Animal Health and Production - We aimed to follow the epidemiologic evolution of bovine digital dermatitis (BDD) and other podal diseases grouped in a dairy farm in Central Brazil between...     

The influence of rapid growth on sodium salicylate pharmacokinetics in male turkeys

The aim of this study was to assess the influence of growth on the pharmacokinetics of sodium salicylate (SS) in male turkeys. SS was administered intravenously at a dose of 50 mg/kg. Plasma drug concentrations were assessed by high‐performance liquid chromatography, and pharmacokinetic parameters were calculated by noncompartmental analysis. As the age increased from 6 to 13 weeks (body weight increase from 2.35 to 9.43 kg), median body clearance decreased from 1.34 to 0.87 ml/min/kg. This caused a significant increase in the median mean residence time from 3.42 to 4.44 hr. Elimination phase proved to be biphasic and two elimination half‐lives (T_1/2el) were distinguished. Whereas T_1/2el1 was found to increase with age by 128%, T_1/2el2 represented a later but faster and less age‐dependent phase of elimination (increase by 56% in the respective groups). Volume of distribution decreased with age. These effects may lead to different therapeutic response to SS in turkeys of different age and body weights.     

A comparative study between responses of isolated bovine and equine digital arteries to vasoactive mediators

Hemodynamic perturbations, partly resulting from abnormal vasoconstriction of digital vessels, have been implicated in the pathogenesis of bovine and equine laminitis. This study compared the responsiveness of isolated bovine (BDA) and equine (EDA) digital arteries to pharmacological agents that stimulate receptor systems involved in the regulation of normal vessel tone. The role of the endothelium and the short‐ and longer‐term effects of an experimentally induced endothelial damage were also evaluated. Species‐related differences were found in the vessel reactivity to all of the receptor agonists tested. In intact BDA, as compared to intact EDA, norepinephrine was a more effective vasoconstrictor, 5‐hydroxytryptamine a more effective but less potent vasoconstrictor, isoproterenol a less effective vasodilator and carbamylcholine a less potent vasodilator. In BDA, but not in EDA, the contractile responses to norepinephrine and 5‐hydroxytryptamine were enhanced immediately after endothelium removal. However, the contractile reactivity of denuded BDA returned to basal values following overnight incubation. The differences suggest species specificity for the pathophysiology of digital vasomotor tone and function in horses and cattle.     

A long term feed supplementation based on phosphate binders in Feline Chronic Kidney Disease

Chronic kidney disease (CKD) is a very common disorder in elderly cats. A proper renal diet represents the most efficient therapeutic intervention to improve survival and life quality in feline patients with 3 and 4 International Renal Interest Society (IRIS) stages. Twenty cats were selected in this study. Ten were administered the dietary supplementation for 360 days and the other ten, whose owners did not give consent for any supplemental therapies apart from the renal diet, were selected from a clinical database and used as control group. The present study is a long term study (360 days) aiming to evaluate the efficacy and palatability of a dietary supplementation containing calcium carbonate, calcium-lactate gluconate, chitosan and sodium bicarbonate in cats diagnosed with 3 and 4 IRIS stages of CKD. The owners were asked to fill in questionnaires to get information on the cat’s appetite, the palatability of the given supplement, the presence of vomit and/or diarrhoea, general health and vitality. Hematochemical, biochemical and urinary analyses were performed on day 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 150,180 and 360. GraphPad Prism® software was used to perform statistical analysis. Our study shows that the given dietary supplement reduced serum phosphorus and increased serum bicarbonate values in cats with CKD. In turn, this supplement could be used as a support therapy in cats with advanced CKD improving their clinical conditions without any adverse reaction. Finally, it is important to underline that all the animals completed the study and the owners reported a good palatability of the feed supplement.