engleski

Neopterin values in dogs with babesiosis

Both humoral and cell-mediated processes play a role in immunity to babesial organisms. Cell-mediated immunity probably is of greater importance. Neopterin is a soluble immune marker which was found to be a useful indicator for activation of cellular immunity in diseases. It can be detected before the appearance of specific antibodies, and often precedes clinical manifestation of disease states. The levels of neopterin, specific biomarker of diseases activity, in body fluids are elevated in infections, autoimmune diseases, malignancies and parasitic infections. Hihg neopterin concentrations have been described in patients with Plasmodium falciparum and Plasmodium vivax. The present study was undertaken to determine the serum levels of neopterin during the babesiosis. Sixteen dogs presented at the Zagreb Veterinary Academic Hospital with clinical signs of acute babesiosis were prospectively studied. In all cases, Babesia Canis infection was confirmed by detection of the parasite using Romanowsky-stained thin blood smears. The control group consisted of 25 healthy dogs, clinically normal and aparasitaemic, from the same area as the dogs with babesiosis. Blood was collected before treatment with imidocarb dipropionat (''Imizol'', Shering-Plough, ) and on the 1st and 2nd day after treatment. Neopterin serum concentration was measured using a commercially available immunoassay (Elisa Kit, IBL) with a sensitivity of 0, 7 nmol/L neopterin. Serum levels above 10 nmol/L are regarded as elevated . Results were evaluated using an nonparametric ststistical analysis for comparing two independent samples and multiple depending samples. Our results suggest that babesiosis can lead to an elevation of serum neopterin. In addition, serum neopterin act as predictive factors for the occurrence of MODS and high mortality rate.

Dog; babesiosis; neopterin

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