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Canis Infection (canis + infection)
Selected AbstractsAnti-inflammatory, analgesic and anti-oedematous effects of Lafoensia pacari extract and ellagic acidJOURNAL OF PHARMACY AND PHARMACOLOGY: AN INTERNATI ONAL JOURNAL OF PHARMACEUTICAL SCIENCE, Issue 9 2006Alexandre P. Rogerio Lafoensia pacari St. Hil. (Lythraceae) is used in traditional medicine to treat inflammation. Previously, we demonstrated the anti-inflammatory effect that the ethanolic extract of L. pacari has in Toxocara canis infection (a model of systemic eosinophilia). In this study, we tested the antiinflammatory activity of the same L. pacari extract in mice injected intraperitoneally with ,-glucan present in fraction 1 (F1) of the Histoplasma capsulatum cell wall (a model of acute eosinophilic inflammation). We also determined the anti-oedematous, analgesic and anti-pyretic effects of L. pacari extract in carrageenan-induced paw oedema, acetic acid writhing and LPS-induced fever, respectively. L. pacari extract significantly inhibited leucocyte recruitment into the peritoneal cavity induced by ,-glucan. In addition, the L. pacari extract presented significant analgesic, anti-oedematous and anti-pyretic effects. Bioassay-guided fractionation of the L. pacari extract in the F1 model led us to identify ellagic acid. As did the extract, ellagic acid presented anti-inflammatory, anti-oedematous and analgesic effects. However, ellagic acid had no anti-pyretic effect, suggesting that other compounds present in the plant stem are responsible for this effect. Nevertheless, our results demonstrate potential therapeutic effects of L. pacari extract and ellagic acid, providing new prospects for the development of drugs to treat pain, oedema and inflammation. [source] Serum Cardiac Troponin I Concentration in Dogs with EhrlichiosisJOURNAL OF VETERINARY INTERNAL MEDICINE, Issue 5 2008P.P.V.P. Diniz Background: Ehrlichiosis is a multisystemic disease with the potential to cause cardiomyocyte injury in naturally infected dogs. Hypothesis: Myocardial injury occurs in dogs infected with Ehrlichia canis. Animals: One-hundred and ninety-four dogs from Brazil with clinical and laboratory abnormalities indicative of ehrlichiosis. Sixteen healthy dogs served as controls. Methods: Electrocardiogram, echocardiogram, noninvasive blood pressure measurement, and serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations were evaluated. Serologic assays and PCR determined the exposure and infection status for E. canis, Anaplasma spp., Babesia canis vogeli, Bartonella spp., Borrelia burgdorferi, Dirofilaria immitis, Ehrlichia chaffeensis, Ehrlichia ewingii, Leishmania chagasi, and spotted-fever group Rickettsia. Dogs were assigned to groups according to PCR status: E. canis infected, infected with other vector-borne organisms, sick dogs lacking PCR evidence for infection, and healthy controls. Results: E. canis -infected dogs had higher serum cTnI concentrations than controls (median: 0.04 ng/dL; range 0.04,9.12 ng/dL; control median: 0.04 ng/dL; range: 0.04,0.10 ng/dL; P= .012), and acute E. canis infection was associated with myocardial injury (odds ratio [OR]: 2.67, confidence interval [CI] 95%: 1.12,6.40, P= .027). Severity of anemia was correlated with increased risk of cardiomyocyte damage (r= 0.84, P < .001). Dogs with clinical signs of systemic inflammatory response syndrome (SIRS) were at higher risk for myocardial injury than were other sick dogs (OR: 2.55, CI 95%: 1.31,4.95, P= .005). Conclusions and Clinical Importance: Acute infection with E. canis is a risk factor for myocardial injury in naturally infected Brazilian dogs. Severity of anemia and SIRS might contribute to the pathophysiology of myocardial damage. [source] Influence of maternal infection on offspring immune response in murine larval toxocariasisPARASITE IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 7 2003K. Reiterová SUMMARY The impact of Toxocara canis infection on the proportion of CD4+ and CD8+ T splenocytes, the serum concentrations of cytokine IFN-, and IL-5, and the production of Toxocara -specific antibodies were studied in two C57BL6/J mouse groups and their offspring. The mice were infected with 1000 T. canis eggs on the day of mating (early infection) and on day 14 of pregnancy (late infection). Early infection resulted in a significant increase of CD4+ T-cell subtype, however, a decline in CD8+ in comparison with late infection, as well as with non-infected control. The IFN-, serum concentrations decreased in infected mothers after the birth when compared with non-infected mothers, while in the offspring this cytokine was barely or not detectable. In the mothers of both infected groups, the humoral immune response included both parasite-specific IgM and IgG2 antibodies. While IgG1 levels remained constant throughout the whole experiment in mothers with early infection, late-infected mothers became seropositive only 3 weeks after delivery. IgM was not detectable in any offspring. Pups from early-infected mothers had IgG1 antibodies. Conversely, IgG2 was detectable in pups of both experimental infection groups. A significant difference was observed in the amounts of pups/litter of the infected mothers in comparison with the non-infected ones. Only 56% of females after early infection and 79% of those after late infection had a successful pregnancy. However, all mice of the control group produced a litter. The first T. canis larvae were detected in the muscles of the offspring of both groups on day 5 after the birth. These data show the changes in regulatory and cytotoxic immunity mechanisms of the infected mothers and their offspring and the high level of pregnancy loss as a result of larval toxocariasis. [source] In vivo inhibition of inducible nitric oxide synthase decreases lung injury induced by Toxocara canis in experimentally infected ratsPARASITE IMMUNOLOGY, Issue 11-12 2002Elsa Y. Espinoza SUMMARY The direct effect of nitric oxide (NO) on the viability of Toxocara canis larvae was studied. We observed that the nitric oxide donors, SIN-1 and SNOG, exert no cytotoxic effect on the in vitro viability of T. canis larvae. In addition, we developed a model in rats to elucidate the role of NO during T. canis infection. We evaluated different indicators in four experimental groups: morphological parameters, the total number cells and cell types recovered, nitrite and protein concentration, lactate dehydrogenase and alkaline phosphatase enzymatic activity in the bronchoalveolar lavage fluid, lung index and detection of anti- T. canis specific antibodies. We observed significant differences between non-infected and infected groups. The infected animals treated with the inducible nitric oxide synthase (iNOS) inhibitor aminoguanidine were less damaged than infected, non-treated animals. Our results suggest that the in vivo inhibition of the synthesis of NO triggered by iNOS diminishes the deleterious effects of the parasite upon the host, especially the vascular alterations in the lungs. We could show that in vivo production of NO induced by infection with T. canis results in direct host damage. Thus, this induction may constitute an evasion/adaptation mechanism of the parasite. [source] Serological survey for Ehrlichia canis in urban dogs from the major population centres of northern AustraliaAUSTRALIAN VETERINARY JOURNAL, Issue 8 2001RJ MASON Objective To detect evidence of Ehrlichia canis infection of dogs from the major population centres of northern Australia, if present. Design Serological investigation for E canis. Procedure The sera of 316 domestic dogs, collected from the northern Australian population centres of Townsville, Cairns, Darwin, Kununurra and Broome from May 1997 to August 1999, were investigated for evidence of infection with E canis. Samples were tested for antibodies to E canis using an indirect fluorescent antibody (IFA) test. The buffy coats from blood of dogs whose serum reacted in the IFA test were subsequently tested with a nested PCR to detect E canis DNA. When available, blood from these dogs was injected into suckling mice, which were then examined for clinical disease and tested for the presence of E canis antibodies. Results Of the 316 samples tested seven reacted in the IFA test for E canis. None of the dogs from which these samples were obtained exhibited clinical signs of acute or chronic ehrlichiosis. The six positive samples available for testing were negative when tested with the nested PCR. Suckling mice inoculated with blood from three of the dogs whose serum was positive by IFA test showed no signs of clinical disease nor did their give positive reactions in the IFA test. Conclusions No evidence of E canis infection was confirmed in any of the dogs examined. Northern Australia would appear to remain free of this obligate parasite. [source] Toxocara canis infection: an important and neglected environmental risk factor for asthma?CLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL ALLERGY, Issue 4 2008This editorial discusses the findings of the paper in this issue by E. Pinelli et al. [19], pp 64 No abstract is available for this article. [source] Toxocara canis: egg presence in Melbourne parks and disease incidence in VictoriaCLINICAL & EXPERIMENTAL OPHTHALMOLOGY, Issue 2 2003Susan M Carden FRANZCO Abstract Purpose:,Toxocara canis can cause blinding eye disease. This study assessed the presence of T. canis eggs in soil from parks in Melbourne and also the incidence of presumed ocular toxocariasis in Victoria. Methods:,One hundred and eighty soil samples were collected from nine suburban locations in Melbourne, Australia. These were analyzed for the presence of T. canis eggs. A search of laboratory records of T. canis serology requests from Victorian patients over an 8-year period was performed. Results:,Only one soil sample was positive for T. canis eggs. Positive T. canis serology was reported in 13 samples from patients. These patients all had ocular features suggestive of T. canis infection. Conclusion:,Toxocara canis eggs are rare in public parks in Melbourne and symptomatic ocular toxocariasis is uncommon in the Victorian population. The acquisition of the disease is unlikely to be from public parks. [source] |