Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Doxycycline and ivermectin reduce adult heartworms and immune cells
By Passeri, B et al.·Published in Veterinary parasitology·2014·Dipartimento di Scienze Medico Veterinarie, Italy·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The adulticide effect of a combination of doxycycline and ivermectin in Dirofilaria immitis-experimentally infected dogs is associated with reduction in local T regulatory cell populations.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs infected with heartworms (Dirofilaria immitis) was treated with a combination of two medications, doxycycline and ivermectin, to see if it would help eliminate the adult worms. The results showed that this combination was more effective than using either drug alone and worked similarly to a standard heartworm treatment. Additionally, the treatment led to a decrease in certain immune cells that help the parasites survive. This suggests that using both medications together can be a successful approach to treating heartworm infections in dogs.
People also search for: dog heartworm treatment · doxycycline and ivermectin for dogs · heartworm medication effectiveness
Abstract
In a previous study, dogs experimentally infected with Dirofilaria immitis were treated with either ivermectin or doxycycline or a combination of both. The adulticide effect was significantly higher in the dogs treated with both drugs and was similar to that observed in dogs treated with melarsomine hydrochloride. In the present study, lung tissue samples from these dogs were evaluated for the presence of T regulatory (Foxp3+) cells by immunohistochemistry. Cells were enumerated for each dog in the four groups and compared with untreated controls. There was a significantly lower number of Treg cells in those dogs treated with a combination of both drugs when compared either to the control group or to the other groups treated with either drug alone or with melarsomine. These results suggest that successful adulticide effects of doxycycline and ivermectin are associated with a decrease in immune regulation towards the parasite.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25027611/