فصلنامه دامپزشکی ایران
سال بیستم شماره 84 (Autumn 2024)

Today, Oreochromis niloticus has become one of the most popular fish in the world. Due to the increasing prices of fishmeal and its limited availability, various protein sources, including poultry by-product meals (PBM) can substitute fishmeal in the aquatic diet. This study was thus intended to investigate the effect of replacing fishmeal with different ratios of PBM on the liver, and kidney tissue structure changes, growth performance, and some serum parameters of O. niloticus. To that end, 120 O. niloticus were randomly distributed into four groups: the control, 25, 50, and 100% PBM meal instead of fishmeal which was fed for 44 days. At the end of the treatment period, growth parameters, blood serum, liver enzymes, and histomorphology of the liver and kidney of all fish were evaluated. The results showed that the liver enzymes increased significantly in the groups with higher replacement (100% PBM) compared to the control group; and in the histological examinations of the liver, the liver tissue lost its normal structure and function with the increase in the amount of replacement diets and there were fat vacuoles accumulated in the cytoplasm of hepatocytes. The level of urea plasma also showed a significant difference with the increase in the amount of substitute diets among the groups with upward substitution compared to the control group. These changes were evident in the structure of tubules and glomeruli. Data suggests that 100% PBM meal is not recommended for fishmeal substitution in O. niloticus but PBMs up to 50% can replace fishmeal for O. niloticus diet without adversely affecting the growth performance and biochemical parameters of the fish.

Periodontal disease is one of the most common disorders seen in small animal practices. Oral bacteria play an important role in periodontitis. Fusobacterium spp. is one of the important bacterial agents in the progression of periodontitis. The aim of the present study was to investigate the association between the presence of fadA and leukotoxin genes in Fusobacterium spp. isolated in dogs with or without gingivitis/ periodontitis in districts of Tehran and Ahvaz. One hundred and fifty samples (75 dogs from Tehran and 75 from Ahvaz district), between 2 to 11 years old, 78 males and 72 females, were studied during ten months. The studied major breeds included White Terrier, Poodle, Pomeranian, Shih Tzu, Yorkshire terrier, Pug, Spitz, Maltese and the rest were other breeds. They were fed with dry, homemade or mixed food. Twenty samples had healthy gums (13.33 %), 32 cases periodontitis grade 1 (21.33%), 47 other cases periodontitis grade 2 (31.33%) and 51 samples periodontitis grade 3 (34%). Twenty-seven out of 150 samples were infected with Fusobacterium (18.0%; 95% CI: 11.8%-24.1%). The percentages of the relative frequency of these bacteria were 21.3% (95% CI: 12.0%-30.6%) and 14.6% (95% CI: 6.6%-22.6%) in Tehran and Ahvaz, respectively. Survey of leukotoxin gene in 18 samples of Fusobacterium necrophorum showed that 11 samples (61.11%) (9 cases from Tehran and 2 other cases from Ahvaz) had this gene; the observed difference in the presence of this gene, was not statistically significant (p-value=0.43; df=1; X2=0.62). samples (34.61%) had fadA virulence gene and the relationship between the presence of fadA gene and periodontitis grades was not statistically significant (p-value=0.41; df=1; X2=0.68). Multivariable logistic regression showed that age, gender, breed, periodontitis, district, and type of food explained 97.6% of the infection and only gender and periodontitis had a significant effect on infection. The presence of fadA gene in Fusobacterium nucleatum isolated from dental plaques of dogs suffering from periodontitis and leukotoxin gene in Fusobacterium necrophorum subspecies necrophorum were not significant in periodontitis in related to two different districts of Tehran and Ahvaz. In conclusion, the prevalence of Fusobacterium was 16% and 2% in periodontitis grade 3 and healthy gums, respectively.

Toxic effects of monensin, a polyether antibiotic mainly used as coccidiostat, have been described in a wide range of animals. The present study aimed to investigate the hematologic and electrocardiographic features of sub-acute monensin toxicosis in goats. For this purpose, seven adult goats were administered sodium monensin, 13 mg/kg, daily for 5 consecutive days via gastric gavage. Hematologic parameters including PCV, hemoglobin (Hb), total white blood cell (WBC) and differential count, total protein of plasma (TPP) and fibrinogen, were determined in baseline and daily blood samples for 10 days. Significant elevation of Hb at day 1, WBC at day 7, neutrophils percent at days 5 and 8, lymphocytes percent at days 5, 8 and 9, monocytes percent at days 1 and 3, absolute numbers of monocytes at days 1, 3, 6 and TPP at day 1, were observed in monensin exposed goats. At electrocardiography, sinus tachycardia, sinus bradycardia, S-T segment depression, and ventricular premature complexes and ventricular tachycardia were the most prominent findings. These findings suggest that sub-acute monensin toxicosis in goats, alters some hematologic parameters and causes a numbers of electrocardiographic abnormalities related to toxic cardiomyopathy in exposed goats.

The brain monoaminergic system is changed during heat stress condition. Research has shown that commercial poultry are very sensitive animals to heat stress. Hence, this study investigated the effects of L-tryptophan on diencephalic tryptophan hydroxylase type 1 and 2 (TH1 and TH2) gene expression in heat-stressed broiler chicks as animal model. Forty eight, seven-day old broiler chicks were divided into three groups. Chicks were intraperitoneally injected L- tryptophan (25 and 50 mg/Kg) and normal saline. Then they were exposed to the heat stress (39ºC) for 5 hours. After 5 hours of treatment, the birds were anesthetized with isoflurane before being euthanized. The brain samples were taken for gene expression evaluation. The data showed declined diencephalic gene expression of TH1 and TH2 in heat stress condition. Tryptophan administration at dose of 50 mg/kg significantly increased the expression levels of TH1 and TH2 in heat stress exposed chicks. It can be concluded that diencephalic serotonergic pathway may have an important role in tryptophan ameliorating effect during heat stress condition.

Mitomycin C (MMC) is an anti-cancer drug; but it has a side-effect which is bone marrow depression. Astragalus membranaceus is used in traditional Chinese medicine. This plant has various pharmacological effects, including hematopoietic, angiogenesis and immunostimulant effects. This study evaluated the effects of Astragalus root hydroalcoholic extract on the hematological and bone marrow cells after administering MMC. Twenty-eight male Sprague-Dawley rats (250±30 g) were divided into four groups: control (without treatment), Mitomycin group (MMC, 2 mg/kg, i.p.), Astragalus extract (Astragalus root extract, 500 mg/kg for 14 days) and treated group (MMC, 2 mg/kg, i.p. and Astragalus root extract, 500 mg/kg for 14 days). The hematological parameters (hematocrit, hemoglobin, red blood cell (RBC) count, red cells indices, total white blood cells (WBC), platelets, and differential leukocyte count) and bone marrow cells (erythroid and myeloid series) were measured. After receiving MMC, the hematological parameters and bone marrow cells were reduced. The results showed that hydroalcoholic extract of Astragalus membranaceus could increase significantly the hematological parameters including hematocrit, hemoglobin, RBC, WBC, and platelets as well as bone marrow cells. This study showed that Astragalus root hydroalcoholic extract positively affected anemia signs.

This study aimed to compare four pain scales, including simple descriptive scales (SDS), visual analog scale (VAS), the University of Melbourne Pain Scale (UMPS), and the short form of Glasgow Composite Pain Scale (GCPS-SF) to assess postoperative pain in dogs that underwent ovariohysterectomy (OHE). Twenty-two female mixed-breed dogs were allocated into three treatments to receive incisional (n=7), transverse abdominis plane (TAP, n=7), and rectus sheet (RS, n=8) blocks. After premedication with acepromazine (0.05 mg/kg) and morphine (0.5 mg/kg), anesthesia was induced (4 mg/kg) and maintained (0.4 mg/kg/min) with propofol. Each dog randomly received one analgesic method, and then OHE was performed. Postoperative analgesia was evaluated up to 6 hours after the operation with the above-mentioned pain scales. The results showed that with the GCPS-SF, the scores at 4, 5, and 6 hours after surgery in the Incisional and RSB were higher than the baseline. In the UMPS, in the RSB, at 2, 3, 4, 5, and 6 hours after surgery, the pain score was significantly higher than the baseline. With the VAS, the pain score in the RSB was higher than the baseline at 3, 4, 5, and 6 hours after surgery. In the SDS, the Incisional and RS pain scores were higher at 3, 4, 5, and 6 hours after surgery than the baseline values. In conclusion, the UMPS might detect pain earlier and is more sensitive than the other three methods. Further studies should be done to confirm the results.

Mastitis is an inflammatory disease of the mammary gland, caused by many infectious agents such as bacteria, fungi, and viruses. Streptococci are reported to be among the major pathogens causing bovine mastitis around the world, which may cause clinical and subclinical forms of mastitis. Mastitis is one of the primary diseases of dairy cows and is responsible for remarkable economic losses due to reduction in quantity and quality of milk, cost of treatment, and the early culling of the cows. Considering the existence of substantial industrial and traditional dairy cattle farms in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province and the fact that mastitis is the most common disease in dairy industries, this study aimed to identify the role of streptococci in subclinical mastitis in dairy cows in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province. For this purpose,134 subclinical mastitis milk samples were collected from 8 dairy farms in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province, based on the california mastitis test (CMT) results and screened for the streptococcal cause of mastitis. DNAs were extracted from collected specimens and PCR was performed with specific primers for Streptococcus agalactiae, Streptococcus uberis, and Streptococcus dysgalactiae. Out of 134 mastitis milk samples 10 (7.5%), 14 (10.4%), and 5 (3.7%) samples were positive for S. agalactiae, S. uberis, and S. dysgalactiae respectively. The result of this research shows that 21.6 (29:134) percent of mastitis in dairy cattle farms in the studied region may be due to streptococci. The obtained data can be used in management and prevention strategies for cattle mastitis control in Chaharmahal and Bakhtiari province.

Skeletal disorders are included in companion animals relatively significant percentage between referred cases to the Hospital or Clinic in every region. The major skeletal problems have been reported among growing young dogs and large breeds; while small breed dogs are prone to some bone diseases. Lack of balanced nutrition (especially for calcium and phosphorus) is one of the effective factors in the arising of bone disorders. The aim of the present study was to determine the incidence and types of bone defects such as fractures, infections, neoplasia and other skeletal acquired complications in the limb organs, head and vertebral column. The present survey was done during eleven years (2004 to 2014), based on the prepared radiographs in Veterinary Hospital of Shahid Chamran University of Ahvaz; in the following, factors such as age, gender, breed and location were detected for their relationship with bone complications. In this study, bone disorders were detected such as fractures, osteomyelitis and osteoarthritis, neoplasias, dislocations in dogs and other complications like panosteitis, osteochondrosis and osteodystrophy in young animals. The results are presented as descriptive statistics. A total of 4355 referred cases to Radiology Department, 1054 cases (24.20%) were related to dogs. Out of these, 425 cases (40.32%) had skeletal disorders, out of which 46.59% and 53.41% were related to large and small breeds respectively. Skeletal disorders included fractures, luxations and other complications. The most important of these cases were radial fracture (26.71%), femur (28.34%), tibia (22.46%) and ulna (27.95%). The age of the studied animal, were in the range of two months to nine years-old. In term of gender, 62.35% of the dogs were male and 37.65% female. No significant difference was seen for age between mature (51.29%) and immature (48.71%), gender, location and breeds (large and small) statistically. In conclusion, the highest incidence of skeletal disorders was femural (28.34%) and ulna (27.95%) fractures, respectively. The obtained results showed that radiography is a valuable method to recognize skeletal disorders and the detection of the frequency in dogs.

This study aimed to evaluate the restorative effect of chitosan hyaluronic acid scaffold (CHAS) with and without mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) on the wound healing process in rats. The different wound treatment groups were as follows: no treatment or control (C), wound treatment with CHAS, wound covering with CHAS with MSCs. The wound healing effect was measured by measuring the wound area in each mouse on days 3, 5, 9, and 14. Then, for histopathological evaluation in the above days, each wound and 5 mm of normal skin tissue around each wound were separated and fixed. The results demonstrated that on the third and fifth days after the wound formation, the area of the remaining wound in the CHAS group was significantly smaller than the CHAS with MSCs but no significant difference was observed in the group C. Also, the area of the remaining wound on the ninth and fourteenth days in the studied groups did not show a significant difference. However, on day 14, the mean wound area in the CHAS group with MSCs was smaller than the other two groups. Histological examinations of the wound site were studied in terms of collagen arrangement, inflammation, vascular formation, granulation tissue, and epithelial regeneration. Studies in terms of collagen arrangement, granulation tissue formation, and vascular formation showed that on the third day. There was a significant difference between the groups, while no statistically significant difference was found between the groups in terms of inflammation and epithelial regeneration on the studied days. All these results demonstrate that there is no significant difference between the CHAS group and the CHAS group with MSCs as well as in group C.

Despite the many therapeutic advances, gastric ulcers continue to be prevalent. Natural compounds have been found to play a crucial role in preventing gastric ulcers in various phytochemical studies. The study aimed to investigate the protective effect of alpha-pinene against ethanol-induced gastric ulcers in rats by evaluating its impact on pro-inflammatory cytokines and oxidative stress markers. Male Wistar rats were orally administered alpha-pinene (50 and 100 mg/kg) prior to being induced with gastric ulceration using ethanol, and the gross morphological lesions, pro-inflammatory cytokine levels, and oxidative stress markers in gastric tissues were evaluated. Alpha-pinene treatment reduced gross morphological lesions in comparison to untreated animals. In ethanol-treated rats, alpha-pinene at 50 and 100 mg/kg also reduced oxidative stress, as verified by a decrease in tissue myeloperoxidase activity and malondialdehyde levels. In addition, alpha-pinene at both doses increased GSH and CAT levels compared to the untreated group. Alpha-pinene at both doses also lowered IL-1β and TNF-α production compared to the untreated group. Alpha-pinene may have a beneficial therapeutic role in gastric damage induced by ethanol as it reduces oxidative stress and pro-inflammatory factors.

One of the most serious emergency situations in dogs is esophageal obstruction. Bones are mostly reported as foreign bodies which cause obstruction. This study reports two similar situations where dogs had a bone stuck in their esophagus. The dogs showed symptoms such as regurgitation, respiratory distress, salivation, and retching. The endoscopy had been attempted to migrate the bone orally in the previous veterinary clinics, but it failed and both cased were referred to the Veterinary Teaching Hospital of Shiraz University. Plain radiography was repeated to confirm the presence of the foreign body. Initially, our treatment plan involved moving foreign objects toward the stomach before proceeding with a gastrostomy procedure. Due to the fact that both foreign bodies were lodged in the esophageal mucosa and the esophagus should not be incised as much as possible, a long fine-tips alligator forceps was used to pull out both foreign bodies from the gastrotomy incision. In both patients, the foreign bodies were removed from the esophagus without causing any mucosal damage. After wo weeks, the cases showed no complications.

Some of avian orthopedic problems occur as a result of trauma (ceiling fan injuries, flying into a window or mirror, or getting stepped on); others occur from nutritional imbalances or as a result of genetic or developmental problems. An adult female golden eagle (Aquila chrysaetos) was presented to the clinic of faculty of veterinary medicine of Razi University (Kermanshah, Iran) with a history of being unable to fly. Physical examination revealed some abnormality in the left wing. Radiographic examination showed radius and ulna midshaft fracture angular malunion. The bird was prepared for aseptic surgery and so malunion part of the bone was cut. After correction and aligning of the bones, both ulna and radius were fixed with intramedullary pin. The bird was discharged without any complication. Case follow up showed an uneventful improvement and 6 weeks later the ulna pin was removed, but the radius pin was remained. Most of the orthopedic techniques developed for mammals can be applied to birds, taking into account the anatomical differences in avian species, and whether or not the bird can have flight restored. Fracture malunion in raptors can compromise muscle and tendon function and adversely affect normal activities that are essential for survival of these species. Malunion can be acutely corrected by osteotomy techniques, followed by bone fixation that provides sufficient stability to allow unimpeded healing with minimal soft tissue injury.