A study was carried out on the infectivity to sandflies of 16 dogs naturally parasitized by Leishmania infantum. All dogs were seropositive and the parasite had been isolated from all except one. They were divided into 3 clinical groups: 5 asymptomatic, 4 oligosymptomatic, and 7 polysymptomatic dogs. The dogs were exposed to female Phlebotomus perniciosus from a local colony and 7 d later the fed females were dissected in order to determine their rate of infection. There was wide variability of the percentage of fed and infected sandflies within each clinical group of dogs, with no significant difference between the 3 groups; the infectivity to sandflies was independent of the extent of symptoms in the dogs.

Six naturally infected dogs [two with no signs of leishmaniasis (‘asymptomatic’), two with a few signs (‘oligosymptomatic’) and two with many signs (‘polysymptomatic’)] were studied before and after chemotherapy. Another two, non-infected dogs were kept as controls. The dogs were studied clinically, haematologically and parasitologically five times over 11 months and their infectivity to sandflies was evaluated before and after the treatment. The ‘asymptomatic’ dogs were as infective to sandflies as the ‘symptomatic’ before treatment but all dogs were un-infective for at least a few months following chemotherapy. Treatment led to a temporary improvement in the clinical and biochemical condition of most of the dogs, the symptomatic dogs becoming asymptomatic, but parasitological cure was uncommon after 10 months' follow-up. There was often no correlation between clinical condition, parasitological condition and infectivity to sandflies. Some dogs from both the ‘asymptomatic’ and ‘symptomatic’ groups became infective to sandflies several months post-treatment.

This study aimed to complete the scientific basis for the validation of a coffee silverskin extract (CSE) as a novel food ingredient according to European legislation. Nutritional value, safety, effects on biochemical biomarkers and excretion of short chain fatty acids (SCFAs) in vivo of CSE were assessed. Proteins, amino acids, fat, fatty acids, fiber, simple sugars and micronutrients were analyzed. For the first time, toxicological and physiological effects were evaluated in vivo by a repeated-dose study in healthy Wistar rats. Hormone secretion, antioxidant (enzymatic and no-enzymatic) and anti-inflammatory biomarkers, and dietary fiber fermentability of CSE (analysis of SCFAs in feces) were studied in biological samples. This unique research confirms the feasibility of CSE as a human dietary supplement with several nutrition claims: “source of proteins (16%), potassium, magnesium, calcium and vitamin C, low in fat (0.44%) and high in fiber (22%)”. This is the first report demonstrating that its oral administration (1 g/kg) for 28 days is innocuous. Hormone secretion, antioxidant or anti-inflammatory biomarkers were not affected in heathy animals. Total SCFAs derived from CSE fiber fermentation were significantly higher (p < 0.05) in male treated rats compared to male control rats. All the new information pinpoints CSE as a natural, sustainable and safe food ingredient containing fermentable fiber able to produce SCFAs with beneficial effects on gut microbiota.

Objective—To evaluate clinical variables, regional concentrations, and pharmacokinetics of vancomycin in the synovial fluid of distal forelimb joints of horses after IV regional limb perfusion. Animals—6 horses. Procedure—Vancomycin was administered via IV regional limb perfusion to the distal portion of the forelimbs of anesthetized horses. Drug (300 mg of vancomycin hydrochloride in 60 mL of saline [0.9% NaCl] solution) was infused into 1 forelimb, whereas the contralateral limb served as a control and was perfused with 60 mL of saline solution. Solutions were injected into the lateral digital vein after digital exsanguination. Synovial fluid from the metacarpophalangeal (MTCP) and distal interphalangeal (DIP) joints and systemic blood were collected prior to perfusion and 15, 30, 45, 65, and 90 minutes after initiation of the infusion. Synovial fluid from the MTCP joint and blood were also obtained at 4, 8, 12, and 24 hours after infusion. Plasma urea and creatinine concentrations, degree of lameness, and certain clinical variables involving the MTCP joint and infusion site were assessed for 7 days. Results were compared between the vancomycin treatment and control groups. Results—No complications or significant differences in renal function, lameness, or clinical variables were observed between groups. Vancomycin concentrations exceeded 4 µg/mL in MTCP joints for approximately 20 hours. Higher concentrations were reached in DIP joints than in MTCP joints. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance—IV regional limb perfusion with 300 mg of vancomycin as a 0.5% solution was safe and may be useful in horses as treatment for distal limb infections. (Am J Vet Res 2005;66:2107–2113)