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Clinical and Immunological Response in Dogs Naturally Infected by L. infantum Treated with a Nutritional Supplement

2019; Multidisciplinary Digital Publishing Institute; Volume: 9; Issue: 8 Linguagem: Inglês

10.3390/ani9080501

2076-2615

Pietro Lombardi, Anna Teresa Palatucci, Angela Giovazzino, Vincenzo Mastellone, Giuseppina Ruggiero, Valentina Rubino, Nadia Musco, Rosalia Crupi, Monica Isabella Cutrignelli, Domenico Britti, Giuseppe Vassalotti, Giuseppe Terrazzano, Laura Cortese,

Trypanosoma species research and implications

The use of nutraceuticals as immunomodulators in the treatment of visceral leishmaniasis has generated interest in the current approaches to treat the disease. In this clinical and immunological study, we investigated whether the administration of a nutritional supplement mediates the immune-modulatory response in canine leishmaniosis (CL) and improves the clinical outcome of the disease. With this purpose, we analysed T lymphocyte subsets in peripheral blood (PB) of 12 dogs naturally infected by Leishmania infantum, following treatment with a nutritional supplement. The regulatory T (Treg) cells and the T helper (Th) 1 population were specifically evaluated. The animals underwent complete clinical examination and blood sample collection for haematological, biochemical, serological and immunological analysis before treatment (T0), one month (T30) and 3 months (T90) after the onset of the nutraceutical supplementation. We observed that nutraceutical supplementation was associated with immunomodulation of Th1 response and significant clinical improvement of the animals. No side effects were observed. Therefore, a potential supportive role for the nutraceutical supplement during canine leishmaniasis is proposed.