Antimicrobial activity of a standardized medical honey on bacterial isolates from infected skin lesions of non-traditional companion animals

: In recent years, due to the growing phenomenon of antimicrobial resistance, the search for alternative strategies to antibiotic treatments is increasing and a considerable interest for the use of medical honey in clinical practice has emerged. Honey has been used for the treatment of skin lesions, in both humans and animals. However, knowledge concerning the use of medical honey in non‑traditional companion animals is scarce. The aim of this study was to assess the antibacterial activity of a standardized medical honey (Revamil, BFactory) against bacterial strains isolated from skin lesions of non‑traditional companion animals. The minimum bactericidal concentration (MBC) of Revamil honey against seventeen clinical isolates and three reference strains was established.The medical honey showed antimicrobial activity against both Gram‑positive and Gram‑negative bacteria. Growth was inhibited for all the strains at concentrations of medical honey ranging from 10 to 40%. Pseudomonas oryzihabitans and Alcaligenes faecalis showed the lowest MBC (10%). The reference strain Staphylococcus aureus ATCC25923 showed a higher sensitivity to 20% honey compare to the corresponding clinical isolate (P = 0.001). The observed results suggest that Revamil could represent an effective therapeutic aid, useful for the reduction of antibiotic use, in case of pathological skin infections in non‑traditional companion animals

The prevalence of Pseudomonas aeruginosa and multidrug resistant Pseudomonas aeruginosa in healthy captive ophidian

Background Snakes are globally considered as pet animals, and millions of ophidians are bred in captivity. Pseudomonas aeruginosa is a ubiquitous Gram-negative bacterium that can act as an opportunistic pathogen of man and animals and is frequently present in the oral and cloacal microbiota of healthy ophidians. It can cause severe clinical diseases and often shows antibiotic resistance. The aim of this study was to evaluate the prevalence and antibiotic resistance profiles of P. aeruginosa isolated from the cloacal microbiota of a large population sample of healthy captive ophidians and to evaluate the statistical associations with farming conditions. Methods A total of 419 cloacal swabs were collected from snakes belonging to the Boidae (n = 45), Colubridae (n = 48) and Pythonidae (n = 326) families and inoculated onto complete culture media. Food, water and bedding samples were also analyzed. The antimicrobial susceptibility of P. aeruginosa isolates was evaluated through the Kirby-Bauer agar diffusion test. Statistical analyses were performed with the chi-square test. Results The prevalence of P. aeruginosa was 59.9%, and 35.5% of these strains were multidrug resistant (MDR). The prevalence of MDR P. aeruginosa was significantly higher in adult samples than in young samples, and widespread resistance to Cephalosporins, Polymyxins and Sulfonamides was observed. Statistically significant differences in the prevalence of P. aeruginosa were observed depending on the farm size and snake family. Feeding thawed prey was associated with a higher P. aeruginosa and MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. Moreover, snakes fed home-raised prey had a significantly higher MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence than snakes fed commercially available feed. Less frequent terrarium cleaning was associated with a higher MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. On the other hand, snake reproductive status was not significantly associated with P. aeruginosa or MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. All food, water and bedding samples were negative for P. aeruginosa presence. Discussion The overall P. aeruginosa prevalence found in this study was lower than that found by other authors, but a high proportion of the isolates were MDR. This study highlighted the presence of constitutive (such as age and taxonomic family) and managerial (farm size, cleaning cycle frequency and food type) factors associated with P. aeruginosa and/or MDR P. aeruginosa prevalence. Good breeding management and proper antibiotic treatment of P. aeruginosa infections could help reduce the presence of P. aeruginosa and MDR P. aeruginosa in the gut microbiota of snakes and consequently reduce the risk to public health

Bacteriophages and Their Immunological Applications against Infectious Threats

Bacteriophage therapy dates back almost a century, but the discovery of antibiotics led to a rapid decline in the interests and investments within this field of research. Recently, the novel threat of multidrug-resistant bacteria highlighted the alarming drop in research and development of new antibiotics: 16 molecules were discovered during 1983–87, 10 new therapeutics during the nineties, and only 5 between 2003 and 2007. Phages are therefore being reconsidered as alternative therapeutics. Phage display technique has proved to be extremely promising for the identification of effective antibodies directed against pathogens, as well as for vaccine development. At the same time, conventional phage therapy uses lytic bacteriophages for treatment of infections and recent clinical trials have shown great potential. Moreover, several other approaches have been developed in vitro and in vivo using phage-derived proteins as antibacterial agents. Finally, their use has also been widely considered for public health surveillance, as biosensor phages can be used to detect food and water contaminations and prevent bacterial epidemics. These novel approaches strongly promote the idea that phages and their proteins can be exploited as an effective weapon in the near future, especially in a world which is on the brink of a “postantibiotic era.

The Dysfunctional Mechanisms Throwing Tics: Structural and Functional Changes in Tourette Syndrome

Tourette Syndrome (TS) is a high-incidence multifactorial neuropsychiatric disorder characterized by motor and vocal tics co-occurring with several diverse comorbidities, including obsessive-compulsive disorder and attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder. The origin of TS is multifactorial, with strong genetic, perinatal, and immunological influences. Although almost all neurotransmettitorial systems have been implicated in TS pathophysiology, a comprehensive neurophysiological model explaining the dynamics of expression and inhibition of tics is still lacking. The genesis and maintenance of motor and non-motor aspects of TS are thought to arise from functional and/or structural modifications of the basal ganglia and related circuitry. This complex wiring involves several cortical and subcortical structures whose concerted activity controls the selection of the most appropriate reflexive and habitual motor, cognitive and emotional actions. Importantly, striatal circuits exhibit bidirectional forms of synaptic plasticity that differ in many respects from hippocampal and neocortical plasticity, including sensitivity to metaplastic molecules such as dopamine. Here, we review the available evidence about structural and functional anomalies in neural circuits which have been found in TS patients. Finally, considering what is known in the field of striatal plasticity, we discuss the role of exuberant plasticity in TS, including the prospect of future pharmacological and neuromodulation avenues

Microbial Isolates from Vegetable Foreign Bodies Inhaled by Dogs

Grass-seed inhalation is a common problem in canine patients, in particular during summer months, migrating in upper and lower respiratory tract. Grass awns can harbor bacteria and fungi, causing grass seeds foreign body-related disease (GSFBD). Aim of this study was to investigate the aerobic microbial flora isolated from grass awns extracted from 41 dogs with GSFBD and the antibiotic susceptibility of the isolated bacterial strains. Fifty-four grass awns were localized with diagnostic imaging tests and removed by endoscopy from respiratory tract. The most frequent localizations were in the left nostril and the right hemithorax. Only one grass awn was extracted from each patient except in 7 that had more than one. Bacteriological and mycological cultures, strains identification, and antibiotic susceptibility tests were performed. One or more bacterial strains were isolated from all grass awns. Fungal strains were isolated only in 4 cases. Staphylococcus sp. was the most frequent isolate in the upper respiratory tract (36.8%), while E. coli (24.4%) was the most frequent isolate in the lower tract. Fluoroquinolones and Doxycycline were the most effective antibiotics, while resistance was observed against Gentamicin (>93%), Cefapirin, and Clindamycin (>80%). These data are relevant in relation to the use of these antibiotics in both animals and humans, for the risk of transmission of antibiotic resistant bacteria or resistance genes

Low-dose interleukin 2 antidepressant potentiation in unipolar and bipolar depression:Safety, efficacy, and immunological biomarkers

Immune-inflammatory mechanisms are promising targets for antidepressant pharmacology. Immune cell abnormalities have been reported in mood disorders showing a partial T cell defect. Following this line of reasoning we defined an antidepressant potentiation treatment with add-on low-dose interleukin 2 (IL-2). IL-2 is a T-cell growth factor which has proven anti-inflammatory efficacy in autoimmune conditions, increasing thymic production of naïve CD4 + T cells, and possibly correcting the partial T cell defect observed in mood disorders. We performed a single-center, randomised, double-blind, placebo-controlled phase II trial evaluating the safety, clinical efficacy and biological responses of low-dose IL-2 in depressed patients with major depressive (MDD) or bipolar disorder (BD). 36 consecutively recruited inpatients at the Mood Disorder Unit were randomised in a 2:1 ratio to receive either aldesleukin (12 MDD and 12 BD) or placebo (6 MDD and 6 BD). Active treatment significantly potentiated antidepressant response to ongoing SSRI/SNRI treatment in both diagnostic groups, and expanded the population of T regulatory, T helper 2, and percentage of Naive CD4+/CD8 + immune cells. Changes in cell frequences were rapidly induced in the first five days of treatment, and predicted the later improvement of depression severity. No serious adverse effect was observed. This is the first randomised control trial (RCT) evidence supporting the hypothesis that treatment to strengthen the T cell system could be a successful way to correct the immuno-inflammatory abnormalities associated with mood disorders, and potentiate antidepressant response.</p

A Smart Space Application to Dynamically Relate Medical and Environmental Information

This paper presents a cross-domain application for ambient and health monitoring. The system architecture is intended to be openly extensible in order to fulfil unanticipated needs. Our implementation addresses several user groups, from those requiring heart related monitoring, which could be dependent on the environmental conditions, to those who need to maximize environmental comfort under specified energy consumption constraints. In this application the ambient information is used to nrich the biomedical data and provide a more complete picture to the information consumers, such as doctors and building superintendents. The cross-domain nature of the scenario requires data interoperability, which is ensured by a shared Smart Space. The Smart Space represents the information in Resource Description Framework and its semantics are ontology driven. A simple ontology for the addressed information domain is also presented. The Smart Space platform is provided by the JTI Artemis SOFIA project

Adding monoglycerides containing short and medium chain fatty acids to milk replacer: effects on health and performance of preweaned calves

The aim of this trial was to investigate the effects of a blend of monoglycerides of short- and medium-chain fatty acids (SMCFA) on health status and growth of preweaned male calves from 16 to 72 days of age. The in vivo study was conducted as a complete randomised block design. Twenty Italian Holstein calves received starter administered ad libitum and 6 L of milk replacer/ day (12% powder concentration) and were divided into treated (T) and control (C) groups. A preliminary in vitro antibiotic activity test of SMCFA was performed on several bacterial strains showing a minimum inhibiting concentration ranging from 0.8 to 12.5%. The group T received SMCFA (11 g/day) within the milk replacer while, to obtain isoenergetic liquid diets, the group C received additional 18 g/day of milk replacer powder. Body weight and morphological measurements of the calves were performed weekly. Health scores were checked daily. Faecal and blood samples were collected every two weeks for routine clinical investigations including serum concentration of non-esterified fatty acids and b-Hydroxybutyric acid. At the end of the trial calves were slaughtered and gastrointestinal tract (GIT) organs weighed. The group T reported a better health status and did not require Ab therapy. No differences in biometrical measurements, feed efficiency, blood parameters, and GIT measures were found between the two groups. At 44 days of age, group T showed higher b-Hydroxybutyric acid concentration compared to group C (p&lt;.05). The SMCFA improved the calf health status avoiding the use of antimicrobics