Hierarchical modelling of immunoglobulin coated bacteria in dogs with chronic enteropathy shows reduction in coating with disease remission but marked inter-individual and treatment-response variability

Chronic enteropathies are a common problem in dogs, but many aspects of the pathogenesis remain unknown, making the therapeutic approach challenging in some cases. Environmental factors are intimately related to the development and perpetuation of gastrointestinal disease and the gut microbiome has been identified as a contributing factor. Previous studies have identified dysbiosis and reduced bacterial diversity in the gastrointestinal microbiota of dogs with chronic enteropathies. In this case-controlled study, we use flow cytometry and 16S rRNA sequencing to characterise bacteria highly coated with IgA or IgG in faecal samples from dogs with chronic enteropathy and evaluated their correlation with disease and resolution of the clinical signs. IgA and IgG-coated faecal bacterial counts were significantly higher during active disease compared to healthy dogs and decreased with the resolution of the clinical signs. Characterisation of taxa-specific coating of the intestinal microbiota with IgA and IgG showed marked variation between dogs and disease states, and different patterns of immunoglobulin enrichment were observed in dogs with chronic enteropathy, particularly for Erysipelotrichaceae, Clostridicaceae, Enterobacteriaceae, Prevotellaceae and Bacteroidaceae, families. Although, members of these bacterial groups have been associated with strong immunogenic properties and could potentially constitute important biomarkers of disease, their significance and role need to be further investigated.

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Isolation of the anaerobic intestinal spirochaete Brachyspira pilosicoli from long-term residents and Indonesian visitors to Perth, Western Australia

Journal of Medical Microbiology ◽

10.1099/jmm.0.004770-0 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 58 (2) ◽

pp. 248-252 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

K. Rini Margawani ◽

Ian D. Robertson ◽

David J. Hampson

Keyword(s):

Western Australia ◽

Gastrointestinal Disease ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Pathogenic Potential ◽

Brachyspira Pilosicoli ◽

Faecal Samples ◽

History Of ◽

The City ◽

Culture Positive

Brachyspira pilosicoli is an anaerobic spirochaete that colonizes the large intestine of humans and various species of animals and birds. The spirochaete is an important enteric pathogen of pigs and poultry, but its pathogenic potential in humans is less clear. In the current study, the occurrence of B. pilosicoli in faecal samples from 766 individuals in two different population groups in Perth, Western Australia, was investigated by selective anaerobic culture. Of 586 individuals who were long-term residents of Perth, including children, elderly patients in care and in hospital and individuals with gastrointestinal disease, only one was culture positive. This person had a history of diverticulitis. In comparison, faeces from 17 of 180 (9.4 %) Indonesians who were short- or medium-term visitors to Perth were positive for B. pilosicoli. The culture-positive individuals had been in the city for between 10 days and 4.5 years (median 5 months). Resampling of subsets of the Indonesians indicated that all negative people remained negative and that some positive individuals remained positive after 5 months. Two individuals had pairs of isolates recovered after 4 and 5 months that had the same PFGE types, whilst another individual had isolates with two different PFGE types that were identified 2 months apart. Individuals who were culture-positive were likely to have been either colonized in Indonesia before arriving in Perth or infected in Perth following contact with other culture-positive Indonesians with whom they socialized. Colonization with B. pilosicoli was not significantly associated with clinical signs at the time the individuals were tested, although faeces with wet-clay consistency were 1.5 times more likely (confidence interval 0.55–4.6) than normal faeces to contain B. pilosicoli.

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Effect of Saccharomyces boulardii in dogs with chronic enteropathies: double-blinded, placebo-controlled study

Veterinary Record ◽

10.1136/vr.104241 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 182 (9) ◽

pp. 258-258 ◽

Cited By ~ 6

Author(s):

Simona D’Angelo ◽

Federico Fracassi ◽

Francesca Bresciani ◽

Roberta Galuppi ◽

Alessia Diana ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Body Condition Score ◽

Activity Index ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Saccharomyces Boulardii ◽

Controlled Study ◽

Clinical Activity ◽

Short Term ◽

Chronic Enteropathies ◽

Healthy Dogs ◽

Double Blinded

Saccharomyces boulardii is used to treat acute and chronic enteropathies in humans, but to date, no studies have evaluated the use of this yeast in dogs. The current study, a prospective non-randomised, double-blinded, placebo-controlled study, evaluated the effects of S boulardii in healthy dogs and dogs with chronic enteropathies (CE). Four healthy dogs and 20 dogs with CE were included. In healthy dogs, S boulardii was administered for 10 days. Possible short-term adverse effects were recorded, and quantitative stool cultures for yeasts were performed. In dogs with CE, S boulardii or a placebo was administered in addition to standard treatment protocols. Canine Chronic Enteropathy Clinical Activity Index, abdominal ultrasonography, gastroenteroscopy and histology were performed at the time of diagnosis and after 60 days of treatment. In healthy dogs, S boulardii reached a steady state in five days and was completely eliminated on day 4 after administration. No short-term side effects were seen. Clinical activity index, stool frequency, stool consistency and body condition score improved significantly in dogs with CE receiving S boulardii versus the placebo. In conclusion, S boulardii can be safely used in dogs with CE and seems to achieve better control of clinical signs than standard therapy alone.

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Nutritional management of feline chronic enteropathy

Companion Animal ◽

10.12968/coan.2021.0031 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 26 (8) ◽

pp. 204-212

Author(s):

Ellie Groves

Keyword(s):

Dietary Intervention ◽

Gastrointestinal Disease ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Chronic Enteropathy ◽

Food Sensitivity ◽

Dietary Antigens ◽

Undigested Food ◽

Protein Diets ◽

Novel Protein

Feline chronic enteropathy covers a heterogeneous range of conditions, including food responsive enteropathies, inflammatory bowel disease and antibiotic-responsive diarrhoea. Dietary management can be extremely helpful, both as a diagnostic and therapeutic tool, when managing many of these patients. A high proportion of cats with chronic enteropathy are thought to be either food-sensitive or food-responsive, and appropriate nutritional support can help to optimise the short- and longer-term management of gastrointestinal disease. Three key dietary options exist: highly digestible gastrointestinal diets, hydrolysed diets and novel protein diets. Highly digestible diets and help to reduce exposure to dietary antigens, minimise complications associated with undigested food and aid nutrient absorption. Novel protein diets, based on a protein source a cat has not previously eaten, or a hydrolysed diet, where protein sources have been reduced in size to below the molecular weight of most food allergens, can help support cats with an underlying food sensitivity (allergy or intolerance), and may also benefit individuals in cases where a true food sensitivity does not underlie the clinical signs. Improvements with appropriate dietary intervention can be dramatic and rapid, with resolution of clinical signs within 2 weeks. This article explores the rationale for each of the three types of diet that can be considered for a diet trial, and the current evidence supporting their use. It also briefly covers recommendations for diet introduction and advice to support clients when considering a diet trial.

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Cryptosporidium myocastoris n. sp. (Apicomplexa: Cryptosporidiidae), the Species Adapted to the Nutria (Myocastor coypus)

Microorganisms ◽

10.3390/microorganisms9040813 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 9 (4) ◽

pp. 813

Author(s):

Jana Ježková ◽

Zlata Limpouchová ◽

Jitka Prediger ◽

Nikola Holubová ◽

Bohumil Sak ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Phylogenetic Analyses ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Prepatent Period ◽

Cryptosporidium Species ◽

The Novel ◽

Myocastor Coypus ◽

The Czech Republic ◽

Molecular Analyses ◽

Cryptosporidium Spp ◽

Faecal Samples

Cryptosporidium spp., common parasites of vertebrates, remain poorly studied in wildlife. This study describes the novel Cryptosporidium species adapted to nutrias (Myocastor coypus). A total of 150 faecal samples of feral nutria were collected from locations in the Czech Republic and Slovakia and examined for Cryptosporidium spp. oocysts and specific DNA at the SSU, actin, HSP70, and gp60 loci. Molecular analyses revealed the presence of C. parvum (n = 1), C. ubiquitum subtype family XIId (n = 5) and Cryptosporidium myocastoris n. sp. XXIIa (n = 2), and XXIIb (n = 3). Only nutrias positive for C. myocastoris shed microscopically detectable oocysts, which measured 4.8–5.2 × 4.7–5.0 µm, and oocysts were infectious for experimentally infected nutrias with a prepatent period of 5–6 days, although not for mice, gerbils, or chickens. The infection was localised in jejunum and ileum without observable macroscopic changes. The microvilli adjacent to attached stages responded by elongating. Clinical signs were not observed in naturally or experimentally infected nutrias. Phylogenetic analyses at SSU, actin, and HSP70 loci demonstrated that C. myocastoris n. sp. is distinct from other valid Cryptosporidium species.

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Serum cobalamin concentrations and small intestinal ultrasound changes in 75 cats with clinical signs of gastrointestinal disease: a retrospective study

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery ◽

10.1177/1098612x15598184 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 19 (1) ◽

pp. 48-56 ◽

Cited By ~ 5

Author(s):

Maria C Jugan ◽

John R August

Keyword(s):

Small Intestine ◽

Gastrointestinal Disease ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Small Animal ◽

Abdominal Ultrasound ◽

Wall Layer ◽

Normal Serum ◽

Definitive Diagnosis ◽

Albumin Concentration ◽

Small Intestinal

Objectives The aim of the study was to evaluate ultrasonographic changes in the small intestine of cats with clinical signs of gastrointestinal disease and low or low–normal serum cobalamin concentrations. Methods Records for client-owned cats presenting to the small animal hospital with signs of gastrointestinal disease and in which serum cobalamin concentrations were measured from 2000–2013 were reviewed. Inclusion criteria were cobalamin concentrations <500 ng/l, abdominal ultrasound within 1 month of cobalamin testing and definitive diagnosis. Results Of 751 serum cobalamin measurements, hypocobalaminemia or low–normal cobalamin was identified in 270 cats, abdominal ultrasound was performed in 207 of those cats and a diagnosis was available for 75 of them. Small intestinal ultrasound changes were detected in 49/75 (65%) cats. Abnormalities included thickening, loss of wall layer definition, echogenicity alterations and discrete masses. Serum cobalamin concentrations <500 ng/l were observed with diagnoses of inflammatory disease, neoplasia, infectious disease and normal histopathology. Cobalamin concentration was significantly lower in cats with lymphoma or inflammatory bowel disease compared with other gastrointestinal neoplasia ( P = 0.031). No difference was found between cobalamin concentration and the presence of ultrasound abnormalities, specific ultrasound changes or albumin concentration. Conclusions and relevance One-third of symptomatic cats with hypocobalaminemia or low–normal cobalamin concentrations may have an ultrasonographically normal small intestine. For the majority of cats in this study, histopathologic abnormalities were observed in the small intestine, regardless of ultrasound changes. These findings suggest gastrointestinal disease should not be excluded based on low–normal cobalamin concentrations, even with a concurrent normal ultrasound examination. Additional studies are needed in cats with low–normal serum cobalamin concentrations, as a definitive diagnosis was not pursued consistently in those cats. However, data from this study suggest that careful monitoring, histopathologic evaluation and future cobalamin supplementation may be warranted.

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Comparison of Three Rapid Commercial Canine Parvovirus Antigen Detection Tests with Electron Microscopy and Polymerase Chain Reaction

Journal of Veterinary Diagnostic Investigation ◽

10.1177/104063870902100306 ◽

2009 ◽

Vol 21 (3) ◽

pp. 344-345 ◽

Cited By ~ 35

Author(s):

Silke Schmitz ◽

Christina Coenen ◽

König Matthias ◽

Thiel Heinz-Jürgen ◽

Reto Neiger

Keyword(s):

Electron Microscopy ◽

Polymerase Chain Reaction ◽

Chronic Diarrhea ◽

Gastrointestinal Disease ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Canine Parvovirus ◽

Chain Reaction ◽

Group A ◽

Polymerase Chain ◽

Group B

Different antibody-based tests for rapid detection of Canine parvovirus antigens in feces are commercially available, allowing quick diagnosis in a clinical setting. However, the diagnostic accuracy of these tests compared with standard methods has not been evaluated so far. In the current study, 3 commercial tests were compared with immune-electron microscopy (IEM) and polymerase chain reaction (PCR). Dogs were divided into 3 groups: group A, samples from dogs with acute hemorrhagic diarrhea ( n = 50); group B, dogs with chronic diarrhea ( n = 10); and group C, dogs with no evidence of gastrointestinal disease ( n = 40). Specificity of all 3 commercial tests versus PCR and IEM was good to excellent (92.2–100%). Sensitivity, in contrast, was poor: 15.8–26.3% versus PCR and 50–60% versus IEM. In group A, 10 dogs were positive by IEM and 24 dogs were positive by PCR. Positive PCR results were also obtained from animals in control groups (group B, 1 dog; group C, 5 dogs). No dog in group B or C was positive by IEM. In conclusion, the rapid tests are useful to diagnose canine parvoviral enteritis, but they do not rule out parvovirus infection in an animal with typical clinical signs. In addition, a small percentage of healthy dogs and dogs with chronic diarrhea showed positive PCR results; this may be due to asymptomatic/persistent infection or intestinal passage of virus. The significance of this finding remains unclear.

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Lungworms (Metastrongylus Spp.) Demonstrated in Domestic Pigs with Respiratory Disease - What was the True Relevance of that?

10.21203/rs.3.rs-1188679/v1 ◽

2021 ◽

Author(s):

Per Wallgren ◽

Emelie Pettersson

Keyword(s):

Respiratory Disease ◽

Pasteurella Multocida ◽

Ascaris Suum ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Mycoplasma Hyopneumoniae ◽

Disease Outbreak ◽

Domestic Pigs ◽

Faecal Samples ◽

Routine Inspection ◽

The Impact

Abstract BackgroundAn outdoor pig herd was affected by severe respiratory disease in one out of three pastures. At necropsy, Mycoplasma hyopneumoniae and Pasteurella multocida were detected in the lungs, as well as the lung worm Metastrongylus apri. The life cycle of Metastrongylus spp. includes earth worms as an intermediate host, and since domesticated pigs mainly are reared indoors lungworms has not been diagnosed in domestic pigs in Sweden for decades, not even in pigs reared outdoors. Therefore, this disease outbreak was scrutinised from the view of validating the impact of Metastrongylus spp..ResultsAt the time of the disease outbreak, neither eggs of Metastrongylus spp. nor Ascaris suum were detected in faeces of pigs aged ten weeks. In contrast, five-months-old pigs at the pasture with respiratory disease shed large amounts of eggs from Ascaris suum, whereas Ascaris suum not was demonstrated in healthy pigs aged six months at another pasture. Low numbers of eggs from Metastrongylus spp. were seen in faecal samples from both these age categories.At slaughter, seven weeks later, ten normal weighted pigs in the preceding healthy batch were compared with ten normal weighted and five small pigs from the affected batch. Healing Mycoplasma-like pneumonic lesions were seen in all groups. Small pigs had more white spot liver lesions, and all small pigs shed eggs of Ascaris suum in faeces, compared to around 50% of the pigs in the normally sized groups. Metastrongylus spp. were demonstrated in 13 of the 25 pigs (52%), %), representing all groups included.ConclusionAs Metastrongylus spp. were demonstrated regardless of health status, and in another healthy outdoor herd, the impact of Metastrongylus spp. on the outbreak of respiratory disease was depreciated. Instead, Metastrongylus spp. was suggested to be common in outdoor production, although rarely diagnosed. The reason for this is because they will escape detection at routine inspection at slaughterhouses, and that they appeared to generally not induce clinical signs of respiratory disease. Instead, a possible association with a high burden of Ascaris suum was suggested to have preceded the severe outbreak with respiratory disease.

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Bacterial community associated with worker honeybees (Apis mellifera) affected by European foulbrood

PeerJ ◽

10.7717/peerj.3816 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 5 ◽

pp. e3816 ◽

Cited By ~ 20

Author(s):

Tomas Erban ◽

Ondrej Ledvinka ◽

Martin Kamler ◽

Bronislava Hortova ◽

Marta Nesvorna ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Apis Mellifera ◽

Clinical Symptoms ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Illumina Miseq ◽

Amplicon Sequencing ◽

Rrna Gene ◽

Melissococcus Plutonius ◽

European Foulbrood ◽

Bacterial Groups ◽

V3 Region

BackgroundMelissococcus plutoniusis an entomopathogenic bacterium that causes European foulbrood (EFB), a honeybee (Apis melliferaL.) disease that necessitates quarantine in some countries. In Czechia, positive evidence of EFB was absent for almost 40 years, until an outbreak in the Krkonose Mountains National Park in 2015. This occurrence of EFB gave us the opportunity to study the epizootiology of EFB by focusing on the microbiome of honeybee workers, which act as vectors of honeybee diseases within and between colonies.MethodsThe study included worker bees collected from brood combs of colonies (i) with no signs of EFB (EFB0), (ii) without clinical symptoms but located at an apiary showing clinical signs of EFB (EFB1), and (iii) with clinical symptoms of EFB (EFB2). In total, 49 samples from 27 honeybee colonies were included in the dataset evaluated in this study. Each biological sample consisted of 10 surface-sterilized worker bees processed for DNA extraction. All subjects were analyzed using conventional PCR and by metabarcoding analysis based on the 16S rRNA gene V1–V3 region, as performed through Illumina MiSeq amplicon sequencing.ResultsThe bees from EFB2 colonies with clinical symptoms exhibited a 75-fold-higher incidence ofM. plutoniusthan those from EFB1 asymptomatic colonies.Melissococcus plutoniuswas identified in all EFB1 colonies as well as in some of the control colonies. The proportions ofFructobacillus fructosus,Lactobacillus kunkeei,Gilliamella apicola,Frischella perrara, andBifidobacterium coryneformewere higher in EFB2 than in EFB1, whereasLactobacillus melliswas significantly higher in EFB2 than in EFB0.Snodgrassella alviandL. melliventris,L. helsingborgensisand,L. kullabergensisexhibited higher proportion in EFB1 than in EFB2 and EFB0. The occurrence ofBartonella apisandCommensalibacter intestiniwere higher in EFB0 than in EFB2 and EFB1.Enterococcus faecalisincidence was highest in EFB2.ConclusionsHigh-throughput Illumina sequencing permitted a semi-quantitative analysis of the presence ofM. plutoniuswithin the honeybee worker microbiome. The results of this study indicate that worker bees from EFB-diseased colonies are capable of transmittingM. plutoniusdue to the greatly increased incidence of the pathogen. The presence ofM. plutoniussequences in control colonies supports the hypothesis that this pathogen exists in an enzootic state. The bacterial groups synergic to both the colonies with clinical signs of EFB and the EFB-asymptomatic colonies could be candidates for probiotics. This study confirms thatE. faecalisis a secondary invader toM. plutonius; however, other putative secondary invaders were not identified in this study.

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Oral cobalamin supplementation in cats with hypocobalaminaemia: a retrospective study

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery ◽

10.1177/1098612x16689406 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 19 (12) ◽

pp. 1302-1306 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Linda Toresson ◽

Joerg M Steiner ◽

Gunilla Olmedal ◽

MajBritt Larsen ◽

Jan S Suchodolski ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Retrospective Study ◽

Gastrointestinal Disease ◽

Oral Treatment ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Reference Interval ◽

Inclusion Criteria ◽

Promising Alternative ◽

Once Daily ◽

Oral Supplementation ◽

Number Of Patients

Objectives The objective of the study was to evaluate whether oral cobalamin supplementation can restore normocobal-aminaemia in cats with hypocobalaminaemia and clinical signs of gastrointestinal disease. Methods This was a retrospective study based on a computerised database search for client-owned cats treated at Evidensia Specialist Animal Hospital, Helsingborg, Sweden, during the period December 2013 to August 2016. Inclusion criteria were cats with clinical signs of chronic enteropathy, an initial serum cobalamin concentration ⩽250 pmol/l (reference interval 214–738 pmol/l) and oral treatment with cobalamin tablets. Results Twenty-five cats met the inclusion criteria. The cats were treated with 0.25 mg cyanocobalamin tablets once daily. Serum cobalamin concentration was rechecked 27–94 days after continuous oral cobalamin supplementation. All cats had serum cobalamin concentrations above the reference interval after oral cobalamin supplementation. Median (range) serum cobalamin concentration was 128 pmol/l (111–250 pmol/l) prior to treatment and 2701 pmol/l (738–16,359 pmol/l) after supplementation. This difference was statistically significant ( P <0.0001). Conclusions and relevance Our results suggest that oral cobalamin supplementation is effective in increasing serum cobalamin to supranormal concentrations in cats with hypocobalaminaemia. Thus, oral cobalamin supplementation is a promising alternative to parenteral administration. Prospective comparative studies in cats being treated with parenteral vs oral cobalamin supplementation in a larger number of patients are warranted before oral supplementation can be recommended for routine use.

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Are we failing clinical trials? A case for strong aggregate outcomes

Psychological Medicine ◽

10.1017/s0033291717001726 ◽

2017 ◽

Vol 48 (2) ◽

pp. 177-186 ◽

Cited By ~ 2

Author(s):

D. W. Joyce ◽

D. K. Tracy ◽

S. S. Shergill

Keyword(s):

Clinical Trials ◽

Clinical Signs ◽

Disease State ◽

Disease States ◽

Geometric Concepts ◽

Underlying Disorder ◽

Clinical Instrument ◽

Based Medicine ◽

The Impact ◽

Underlying Pathology

Clinical trials in psychiatry inherit methods for design and statistical analysis from evidence-based medicine. However, trials in other clinical disciplines benefit from a more specific relationship between instruments that measure disease state (e.g. biomarkers, clinical signs), the underlying pathology and diagnosis such that primary outcomes can be readily defined. Trials in psychiatry use diagnosis (i.e. a categorical label for a syndrome) as a proxy for the underlying disorder, and outcomes are defined, for example, as a percentage change in a univariatetotal scoreon some clinical instrument. We label this approach to defining outcomesweak aggregationof disease state. Univariate measures are necessary, because statistical methodology is both tractable and well-developed for scalar outcomes, but we show that weak aggregate approaches do not capture disease state sufficiently, potentially leading to loss of information about response to intervention. We demonstrate how multivariate disease state can be captured using geometric concepts of spaces defined over routine clinical instruments, and show how clinically meaningful disease states (e.g. representing different profiles of symptoms, recovery or remission) can be defined as prototypes (geometric locations) in these spaces. Then, we show how to derive univariate (scalar) measures, which capture patient's relationships to these prototypes and argue these representstrong aggregatesof disease state that may be a better basis for outcome measures. We demonstrate our proposal using a large publically available dataset. We conclude by discussing the impact of strong aggregates for analyses in traditional and novel trial designs.

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