Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Muscle inflammation linked to Leishmania infection in male beagles
By Paciello, Orlando et al.·Published in Neuromuscular disorders : NMD·2009·Department of Pathology and Animal Health, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Canine inflammatory myopathy associated with Leishmania Infantum infection.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 15 male beagle dogs with leishmaniasis (a disease caused by a parasite) showed signs of muscle weakness and damage due to inflammatory myopathy. The dogs had muscle biopsies taken, which revealed severe muscle cell damage and inflammation. The study found that the muscle problems were linked to the presence of the Leishmania parasite and the immune response it triggered. This suggests that Leishmania infection can lead to significant muscle issues in dogs. Treatment options for the underlying leishmaniasis may help improve the muscle condition.
People also search for: dog muscle weakness leishmaniasis · beagle inflammatory myopathy treatment · Leishmania infection in dogs
Abstract
Inflammatory myopathy associated with several infectious diseases occurs in dogs including those caused by Toxoplasma gondii, Neospora caninum, Ehrlichia canis and Hepatozoon canis. However, muscle disease due to Leishmania infection has been poorly documented. The aim of this study was to examine the distribution and types of cellular infiltrates and expression of MHC class I and II in muscle biopsies obtained from 15 male beagle dogs from a breeder group with an established diagnosis of leishmaniasis. Myopathic features were characterized by necrosis, regeneration, fibrosis and infiltration of mononuclear inflammatory cells consisting of lymphocytes, plasma cells and histiocytes. The predominant leukocyte populations were CD3+, CD8+ and CD45RA+ with lesser numbers of CD4+ cells. Many muscle fibers had MHC class I and II positivity on the sarcolemma. There was a direct correlation between the severity of pathological changes, clinical signs, and the numbers of Leishmania amastigotes. Our studies provided evidence that: 1) Leishmania should be considered as a cause of IM in dogs; 2) Leishmania is not present within muscle fibers but in macrophages, and that 3) the muscle damage might be related to immunological alterations associated with Leishmania infection. Leishmania spp. should also be considered as a possible cause in the pathogenesis of human myositis.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19084398/