Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Trypanosoma infection effects on testicles and treatment in Nigerian
By Obi, C F et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2013·Department of Veterinary Parasitology and Entomology·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effects of Trypanosoma brucei infection and diminazene aceturate therapy on testicular morphology and function of Nigerian local dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of Nigerian male dogs infected with the Trypanosoma brucei parasite showed signs of testicular problems, including low testosterone levels and poor sperm quality. After treatment with diminazene aceturate, a medication used to combat this infection, the dogs' testicular function and sperm quality improved significantly. The treatment helped restore normal testicular structure and function, making it effective in reversing the damage caused by the infection.
People also search for: dog testicular problems · Trypanosoma brucei treatment for dogs · diminazene aceturate for dogs
Abstract
The effects of Trypanosoma brucei infection on testicular morphology and function and the changes associated with treatment of infected dogs with diminazene aceturate were studied using fifteen Nigerian adult male dogs. The dogs were randomly assigned into three groups A, B and C consisting of five dogs each. Groups A and B were infected with 1 × 10(6) trypanosomes and group C was the uninfected control. Following infection, parasitaemia levels were monitored daily whereas the rectal temperature, body weight, packed cell volume, scrotal circumference and serum testosterone levels were monitored weekly. At parasitaemia peak, dogs in group A were orchidectomised while dogs in group B were treated with 7.0mg/kg body weight of diminazene aceturate (DA). Dogs in groups B and C were later orchidectomised on day 73 of the experiment. The harvested testes and epididymides were weighed and the epididymal sperm reserves of all the dogs determined. Also the sperm quality (mass activity, sperm motility and sperm morphology) were determined. The testes were sectioned after processing and studied histomorphologically. Acute trypanosomosis was observed following infection. The low serum testosterone levels observed from day 14 post infection (pi) gradually improved following treatment. Testicular weight, epididymal weight and sperm quality were significantly low (p<0.05) in the infected dogs when compared to the control group but gradually improved following treatment. Histomorphological studies revealed testicular degeneration characterized by depopulation of seminiferous tubules and depletion of spermatogenic cells in dogs of group A whereas the tissue sections of the testes of dogs in group B were similar to those of the control group. It was therefore concluded that infection of dogs with T. brucei adversely affected testicular morphology and function. Treatment with diminazene aceturate reversed the reproductive abnormalities caused by the parasite.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23639198/