Giorgia Della Rocca

Tissue distribution and residue depletion of oxytetracycline in sea bream (Sparus aurata) and sea bass (Dicentrarchus labrax) after oral administration

Abstract Tissue distribution and residue depletion of oxytetracycline (OTC) following oral administration were evaluated in sea bream and sea bass under field conditions. Fish were held in floating cages placed in sea water and fed a commercial medicated diet containing 7.5 g/kg of OTC once daily for 14 days at a rate of 1.0% (75 mg a.i./kg) biomass per day. Muscle, liver, vertebrae, and skin with scales were sampled from fishes netted at different intervals during (2 nd , 4 th , 6 th ,10 th , and 14 th day) and after treatment (10 th , 20 th , 30 th , 40 th , 50 th , and 60 th day). OTC analyses were carried out by HPLC, after SPE extraction. In sea bream, a great variation in drug intake was evident from the inter-subject differences in OTC tissue concentrations. The highest recorded concentrations were in skin and pooled liver (7.70 ± 6.71 μg/g and 14.65 μg/g at the 6 th day, respectively). Vertebrae showed concentrations even six-fold higher than those in muscle, and reached steady state concentrations at the 40 th day after the end of treatment (1.73 ± 0.92 μg/g), lasting until the end of the study. OTC concentrations in muscle were lower than in all the other tissues throughout the entire experiment and declined under 0.1 μg/g 20 days after treatment ceased. In sea bass a high mortality not related to infectious diseases was observed and muscle samples had only traces or no detectable OTC levels even during medication.

Approaching phantom complex after limb amputation in the canine species

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to describe the presence, prevalence, clinical manifestations, and risk factors of phantom complex and its effect on the quality of life for dogs that underwent amputation of a limb. An online questionnaire was developed containing 3 sections with a total of 69 questions. Clinical cases were recruited from a web site for 3‐legged dog owners. Data were acquired from February to March 2015. Descriptive statistics and frequency distribution analyses were performed on the collected data. Chi‐squared test or Fishers exact test were used for assessment of the associations between categorical variables. One hundred seven questionnaires were completed by owners of dogs with limb amputation. The most frequent reason for amputation was related to neoplasia (54%). Pain after limb amputation was commonly experienced by dogs, and the time of onset and clinical manifestations of pain after limb amputation were found to resemble those of phantom complex. The duration of pre‐amputation pain and time between diagnosis and amputation were identified as risk factors for a higher frequency of post‐amputation pain episodes. This pilot study introduces previously unreported signs that may be interpreted as expressions of pain in amputee dogs.

Neuropharmacology of Animal Pain: A Mechanism-Based Therapeutic Approach

Neuropharmacology of Animal Pain: A Mechanism-Based Therapeutic Approach Pain is a dynamic phenomenon, in which the various pathophysiologic mechanisms can change its characteristics and its consequences. On this basis, pain can be classified as physiologic (protective, adaptive), inflammatory (acute - protective, adaptive - or persistent - maladaptive) and neuropathic (maladaptive, chronic, pathologic) pain.

An Overview of the Pathophysiology of VisceralPain

An Overview of the Pathophysiology of Visceral Pain Somatic pain has been extensively studied in the past, whereas the interest in visceral pain is relatively new. One explanation why visceral pain has rarely been studied is probably due to the major difficulties to reach internal organs rather than superficial structures, as well as the erroneous belief that the viscera were insensitive to pain. This review tries to summarize the most recent information regarding the pathophysiology of visceral pain, in order to offer to clinicians a thorough background for this complicated topic.