scholarly journals Comparative preventive efficacy of ProHeart® 12, Heartgard® Plus and Interceptor® Plus against a macrocyclic lactone-resistant strain (JYD-34) of heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) in dogs

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Tom L. McTier ◽  
Susan Holzmer ◽  
Kristina Kryda ◽  
Sean Mahabir ◽  
John W. McCall ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The current studies compared ProHeart® 12, Heartgard® Plus and Interceptor® Plus for preventive efficacy against JYD-34, a macrocyclic lactone (ML)-resistant strain of Dirofilaria immitis in dogs. Methods In two studies, each using 24 adult beagles, dogs were allocated to four treatment groups (n = 6): placebo-treated control; ProHeart 12 as per label (0.5 mg/kg moxidectin); Heartgard Plus (HGP) as per label (minimum 6 µg/kg ivermectin); and Interceptor Plus (INP) as per label (minimum 0.5 mg/kg milbemycin oxime). In both studies, ProHeart 12 was administered as a single subcutaneous dose on day 0, and HGP and INP were administered orally on days 0, 30, 60, 90, 120 and 150. In Studies 1 and 2, dogs were inoculated with 50 third-stage heartworm larvae (JYD-34 strain) on days −30 and 165, respectively. In Study 2, treatment for both HGP and INP was continued on days 180, 210, 240, 270, 300 and 330. Adult heartworm recoveries were performed on day 185 in Study 1 and on day 360 in Study 2. Results In Studies 1 and 2, all placebo-treated dogs developed adult heartworm infections (geometric mean, 29.9 and 34.9 worms/dog, respectively). A single dose of ProHeart 12 was 100% effective in preventing the development of adult JYD-34 heartworms when treatment was initiated 30 days after heartworm inoculation, while six consecutive monthly doses of HGP and INP were only 10.5% and 14.6% effective, respectively. The mean worm count for the ProHeart 12-treated group was significantly lower (P < 0.0001) than that for the placebo control, HGP- and INP-treated groups. In Study 2, the dogs treated with ProHeart 12 had an efficacy of 98.3%. All dogs treated with HGP and INP for 12 consecutive months had adult heartworms with efficacies of 37.7% and 34.9%, respectively. The mean worm count for the ProHeart 12-treated dogs was significantly lower (P < 0.0001) than those for the control group, HGP- and INP-treated groups. Conclusions A single administration of ProHeart 12 was 98–100% effective in preventing the development of the ML-resistant JYD-34 heartworm strain and was significantly better than multiple consecutive monthly doses of either Heartgard Plus or Interceptor Plus in both studies. Graphic Abstract

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Katharina Raue ◽  
Nadja Rohdich ◽  
Daniela Hauck ◽  
Eva Zschiesche ◽  
Simone Morelli ◽  
...  

Abstract Background The feline lungworm Aelurostrongylus abstrusus affects the lower respiratory tract in cats worldwide. As infections may lead to chronic respiratory changes or even death, preventive treatment in cats with outdoor access is warranted. Methods The preventive efficacy of a spot-on solution (Bravecto® Plus spot-on solution for cats, MSD) against cat aelurostrongylosis was evaluated using three different preventive treatment regimes in a negative controlled, randomized and partially blinded laboratory efficacy study with 31 purposed-bred cats. The minimum recommended dose of 2.0 mg moxidectin + 40 mg fluralaner/kg bodyweight was applied once 12 (Group [G]1), 8 (G2) or 4 (G3) weeks before experimental infection with 300 third-stage larvae (L3) of A. abstrusus. Another group served as untreated control (G4). Individual faecal samples were analysed as of day 30 post infection (pi) to monitor larvae excretion. Necropsy was performed at days 47–50 pi. The lungs were examined macroscopically for pathological findings and (pre-)adult worms were counted to assess preventive efficacy. Results Beginning at day 32–40 pi, all cats of the control group were constantly shedding larvae of A. abstrusus, whereas only one animal of G1 excreted larvae at several consecutive days. In addition, two cats of G1 and G3 and three of G2 were positive on a single occasion. The geometric mean (GM) of the maximum number of excreted larvae was 7574.29 in the control group compared to 1.10 (G1), 1.19 (G2) and 0.53 (G3), resulting in a GM reduction of > 99.9% in all treatment groups. All lungs of the control animals showed severe or very severe alterations at necropsy, while in 94.44% of the treated cats lung pathology was rated as absent or mild. The GM number of (pre-)adult A. abstrusus retrieved from the lungs was 26.57 in the control group, 0.09 in G1 and 0.00 in G2 and G3. Thus, GM worm count reduction was 99.66% in G1 and 100% in G2 and G3. Conclusions A single application of Bravecto® Plus spot-on solution at a dose of 2.0 mg moxidectin + 40 mg fluralaner/kg bodyweight reliably prevents cat aelurostrongylosis for at least 12 weeks.


Parasite ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 25 ◽  
Author(s):  
Joe Prullage ◽  
Christine Baker ◽  
Abdelmoneim Mansour ◽  
Scott McCall ◽  
David Young ◽  
...  

Esafoxolaner, a purified enantiomer of afoxolaner with insecticidal and acaricidal properties, is combined with eprinomectin and praziquantel in NexGard® Combo, a novel topical endectoparasiticide product for cats. The efficacy of this novel formulation was assessed in two experimental studies against induced infestations with Amblyomma americanum, a tick species of major importance, highly prevalent in a large southeastern quarter of the United States. In each study, 10 cats were randomly allocated to a placebo control group and 10 cats to a novel formulation treated group. Infested cats were treated topically once at the minimum recommended dose. Both studies were designed to test curative efficacy on existing infestation, 72 h after treatment, and to test preventive efficacy, 72 h after subsequent weekly (Study #1) or fortnightly (Study #2) infestations for one month. For each infestation, all cats were infested with 50 unfed adult A. americanum. At each tick count, in both studies, at least 8 in 10 placebo control cats were infested with 13 (26%) or more live ticks, demonstrating adequate infestation throughout the studies. Curative efficacy of the novel formulation was 99% in both studies; preventive efficacy was 92% and 100% for at least one month.


Parasite ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 28 ◽  
pp. 24 ◽  
Author(s):  
Eric Tielemans ◽  
Anthony Pfefferkorn ◽  
Alta Viljoen

Esafoxolaner is a purified enantiomer of afoxolaner with insecticidal and acaricidal properties. It is combined with eprinomectin and praziquantel in a novel topical endectoparasiticide formulation for cats. The efficacy of this novel formulation was assessed in an experimental study against induced infestation of Rhipicephalus sanguineus ticks. Twenty cats were randomly allocated to either a placebo control group or a treated group in a 1:1 ratio. Infested cats were treated topically once at the minimum recommended dose. The study was designed to assess curative efficacy 48 h after treatment and to test preventive efficacy 48 h after weekly infestations for 2 months. At each weekly infestation, all cats were infested with 25 male and 25 unfed female R. sanguineus ticks. At each tick count, at least 6 in 10 control cats had a retention of 13 (26%) or more live ticks, demonstrating adequate infestation throughout the study. Curative efficacy on existing tick infestation was 90%; preventive efficacy over the following 6 weeks was at least 96%.


Author(s):  
Ashraf Albrakati

Tramadol, a broadly in recent years, is an effective analgesic agent for the treatment of moderate to acute pain. Its metabolites are excreted by the kidney which may cause nephrotoxicity. Moringa oleifera leaves are commonly used to provide herbal and plant-derived medicinal products especially in developing nations. The present study was carried out to determine the biochemical and histopathological changes in the kidney of tramadol-treated albino mice and to evaluate the possible protective role of Moringa oleifera leaves against tramadol-induced nephrotoxicity. Twenty adult albino mice were divided into four groups. Control group (group i) received daily intraperitoneal injection of normal saline only, group ii received oral dose of Moringa oleifera leaves extract (20 mg/kg/bw) for three weeks, group iii received daily intraperitoneal dose of tramadol (0.3 mg/kg/bw) for the same period, group iv, received daily oral dose of Moringa oleifera leaves extract, (20 mg/kg/bw) three hours before injecting intraperitoneal dose of tramadol (0.3 mg/kg/bw), for the same period. Blood samples were withdrawn at the end of the experiment for kidney function tests and specimens from the kidney were processed for histological study. No significant differences in the mean values of the kidney function tests were noticed between Moringa oleifera group and control group. However, there was highly significant increase in the mean values of serum, urea and creatinine in tramadol-treated group as compared to the control group. Although tramadol + Moringa oleifera group revealed significant difference in the mean values of urea and creatinine when compared with tramadol-treated group. So, Moringa oleifera leaves extract have been shown to attenuate the renal dysfunction, improve the renal architecture, with nearly normalization of serum urea and creatinine levels which indicate improvement of renal function. In conclusion, in the light of biochemical results and histological findings, co-administration of Moringa oleifera leaves lessened the negative effects of tramadol-induced nephrotoxicity; possibly by its antioxidant action. Further investigation of these promising protective effects of Moringa oleifera leaves against tramadol-induced renal injury may have considerable impact on developing an adjunct therapy aiming to improve the therapeutic index of some nephrotoxic drugs.


2020 ◽  
Vol 8 (1) ◽  
pp. 209-228
Author(s):  
Layla Parast ◽  
Priscillia Hunt ◽  
Beth Ann Griffin ◽  
David Powell

AbstractIn some applications, researchers using the synthetic control method (SCM) to evaluate the effect of a policy may struggle to determine whether they have identified a “good match” between the control group and treated group. In this paper, we demonstrate the utility of the mean and maximum Absolute Standardized Mean Difference (ASMD) as a test of balance between a synthetic control unit and treated unit, and provide guidance on what constitutes a poor fit when using a synthetic control. We explore and compare other potential metrics using a simulation study. We provide an application of our proposed balance metric to the 2013 Los Angeles (LA) Firearm Study [9]. Using Uniform Crime Report data, we apply the SCM to obtain a counterfactual for the LA firearm-related crime rate based on a weighted combination of control units in a donor pool of cities. We use this counterfactual to estimate the effect of the LA Firearm Study intervention and explore the impact of changing the donor pool and pre-intervention duration period on resulting matches and estimated effects. We demonstrate how decision-making about the quality of a synthetic control can be improved by using ASMD. The mean and max ASMD clearly differentiate between poor matches and good matches. Researchers need better guidance on what is a meaningful imbalance between synthetic control and treated groups. In addition to the use of gap plots, the proposed balance metric can provide an objective way of determining fit.


2001 ◽  
Vol 95 (2) ◽  
pp. 179-189 ◽  
Author(s):  
Hans-Peter Richter ◽  
Erich Kast ◽  
Rainer Tomczak ◽  
Werner Besenfelder ◽  
Wilhelm Gaus

Object. Failed-back syndrome is still an unsolved problem. Use of ADCON-L gel, already commercially available, has been proven to reduce postoperative scarring in animal experiments. The authors of two controlled clinical studies have also shown positive results when applying the gel. They did not, however, establish patient-oriented endpoints. The authors report a study of ADCON-L in which they focus on patient-oriented endpoints. Methods. Patients with lumbar disc herniation were randomized to an ADCON-L—treated or control group. Therapeutic success was evaluated using the validated Hannover Questionnaire on Activities of Daily Living (FFbH) 6 months after surgery. The study took place between November 14, 1996, and April 20, 1998, in eight neurosurgical centers in Germany. A total of 398 patients was recruited; 41 patients dropped out during follow up. The mean functional FFbH score (100 points = all activities are possible without problem; 0 points = no activity is possible) was 78.5 points in the ADCON-L—treated group compared with 80 points in the control group. Furthermore, in terms of secondary outcome variables, the ADCON-L group did not have an advantage over the control group. Only the mean magnetic resonance imaging score showed a slight advantage of ADCON-L over the control group. Conclusions. The authors found no positive effect of treatment with ADCON-L gel in patients in whom one-level lumbar microdiscectomy was performed. Because of its rather large sample size and its homogeneity, the study had sufficient power to detect even small differences between the two groups.


1987 ◽  
Vol 32 (6) ◽  
pp. 171-172 ◽  
Author(s):  
G.R. Nimmo ◽  
M.J. Ryan ◽  
N. Chalmers ◽  
A.W. Patrick

A neurological history was obtained and examination performed on 62 outpatient epileptics on anticonvulsant therapy. Blood counts, folate and B12 assays were performed on all patients and on a control group of 59 adult non-epileptic neurological outpatients. None of the anticonvulsant treated group had clinical peripheral neuropathy; there was one patient with microcytic anaemia and one with normochromic, normocytic anaemia. In 5 of this group the mean corpuscular volume (MCV) was slightly raised but there was no significant overall difference from the control group. In 17 patients serum folate was subnormal and in 7 the red cell folate was subnormal and this was significantly different to the control group (P <0.001). Vitamin B12 levels were normal in all subjects. It is concluded that despite subnormal measured folate levels, there is no increased incidence of clinical peripheral neuropathy or of significant macrocytosis. In view of this, we recommend that folate replacement should not be given to non anaemic asymptomatic patients, with subnormal folate levels, on anticonvulsant therapy.


2019 ◽  
Vol 10 (1) ◽  
pp. 73-81
Author(s):  
Faezeh Nemati Karimooy ◽  
Alireza Ebrahimzadeh Bideskan ◽  
Abbas Mohammadi Pour ◽  
Seyed Mahmoud Hoseini

AbstractStanozolol is an anabolic-androgenic steroid which is commonly abused by athletes for improved energy, appearance, and physical size. It has been previously shown to cause changes in behaviour and has various physical effects. Studies have previously been conducted on its neurotoxic effect on the central nervous system (CNS), which are typically psychological in nature. This study was performed to investigate the apoptotic effect of stanozolol on different parts of the rat hippocampus. Sixteen male Wistar rats were divided randomly into two groups (experimental and control). The experimental group received subcutaneous injections of stanozolol (5mg/kg/day) for consecutive 28 days, whereas the control group received saline using the same dosing schedule and administration route. After routine procedures, coronal sections of rat brain were stained with Toluidine blue and TUNEL for pre-apoptotic and apoptotic cell detection, respectively. In order to compare groups, the mean number of TUNEL-positive and pre-apoptotic neurons per unit area were calculated and analysed. Histopathological examination revealed that the mean number of pre-apoptotic and apoptotic neurons in the CA1, CA2, CA3 and DG areas of the hippocampus were significantly increased in the stanozolol treated group. In conclusion, stanozolol abuse may induce pre-apoptotic and apoptotic cell formation in different regions of the hippocampus.


Author(s):  
Mirthes Ueda ◽  
Eide Dias Camargo ◽  
Adelaide José Vaz ◽  
Ana Maria Carvalho de Souza ◽  
Regina Maria Figueiredo ◽  
...  

A passive haemagglutination test (PHA) for human neurocysticercosis was standardized and evaluated for the detection of specific antibodies to Cysticercus cellulosae in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). For the assay, formaldehyde-treated group O Rh-human red cells coated with the cysticerci crude total saline extract (TS) antigen were employed. A total of 115 CSF samples from patients with neurocysticercosis was analysed, of these 94 presented reactivity, corresponding to 81.7% sensitivity, in which confidence limit of 95% probability (CL95%) ranged from 74.5% to 88.9%. Eighty-nine CSF samples derived from individuals of control group presented as nonreactive in 94.4% (CL95% from 89.6% to 99.2%). The positive and negative predictive values were 1.4% and 99.9%, respectively, considering the mean rate of that this assay provide a rapid, highly reproducible, and moderately sensitive mean of detecting specific antibodies in CSF samples.


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