The Use of Infrared Thermography (IRT) as Stress Indicator in Horses Trained for Endurance: A Pilot Study

The aim of this pilot study was to document the effects of endurance training at different intensities on heart rate (HR), blood count, serum cortisol, and maximal temperatures of different body locations, namely eye, crown, pastern pasterns, gluteus and longissimus dorsi muscle (mm), measured by infrared thermography technique (IRT) in horses trained for endurance. Possible associations among the studied parameters were also investigated. Our hypothesis was that temperature, measured by IRT after endurance training of different intensities would vary depending on the intensity and would be positively correlated with HR and serum cortisol. Eight horses were tested before and after training of different intensities (low, moderate, and high). The results partially supported our hypothesis; all the studied parameters increased after training (p < 0.05), eye temperature (ET) correlated positively with HR (p < 0.01), and crown temperature (CT) correlated positively with cortisol (p < 0.01). However, only HR and white blood cells increased with the intensity of the exercise (p = 0.0016 and p = 0.0142, respectively). Our findings suggest the evaluation of ET and CT may become a useful non-invasive tool to detect physiological stress during training and to evaluate how the horses cope with the training. Infrared thermography technique may also become a useful tool for the early identification of horses that are not fit to compete or to continue the competition. However, further studies should be conducted on a larger number of horses and during competitions to ascertain our preliminary findings

Libro “Malattie dell’apparato respiratorio e del mediastino”pag. 308, Cuzzolin Editore 2002

Sono trattate le malattie dell'apparato respiratorio e del mediastino di interesse medico e chirurgico

Farmacoterapia dell'asma bronchiale

Principali aspetti dei farmaci antiasmatici, dal meccanismo d'azione molecolare al razionale d'impiego clinico, si propone di offrire al medio specialista ed all'internista di base un utile strumento di consultazione ed aggiornamento

Protective effect of levodropropizine against cough induced by inhalation of nebulized distilled water in patients with obstructive lung disease.

Levodropropizine is a recently developed, peripherally active antitussive agent which is widely used in clinical practice. In order to obtain further information on the spectrum of activity of this compound in experimental clinical models, a double-blind controlled study was carried out to evaluate the potential effect of the drug against cough and bronchoconstriction induced by inhalation of an ultrasonically nebulized solution of distilled water in patients with obstructive lung disease. Twenty patients were randomly divided into two groups, which received levodropropizine (60 mg t.i.d.) or placebo respectively for 7 consecutive days. Parameters evaluated at baseline and on the last day of treatment included (i) results of respiratory function tests (FEV1, IVC, FVC, TIFF, PEF, MEF75, MEF50, MEF25) performed before the stimulation test with nebulized water; (ii) total number of coughs during a 2-hour period after the stimulation test; (iii) bronchial responsiveness, quantified by calculating the volume of nebulized water required to induce a 20% reduction of FEV1 below the basal level. At pretreatment, the tussive response was very similar in the two groups. A significant decrease in number of coughs (from 34.4 +/- 8.4 at baseline to 15.6 +/- 4.9 post-treatment, p < 0.01) was observed after administration of levodropropizine, whereas placebo treatment produced no significant effect (number of coughs: 29.6 +/- 4.9 at baseline vs 24.8 +/- 9.6 post-treatment, N. S.). Bronchial responsiveness decreased significantly (compared to baseline) in both treatment groups, without any significant difference between drug and placebo. Respiratory function tests were not significantly affected by either treatment. It is concluded that levodropropizine effectively antagonizes the cough response induced by inhalation of distilled water without affecting bronchial responsiveness in patients with chronic obstructive lung disease