Gene/Protein Disease Symptom Drug Enzyme Compound
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Query: UMLS:C0022575 (keratoconjunctivitis sicca)
 772 document(s) hit in 31,850,051 MEDLINE articles (0.00 seconds)

The clinical and laboratory findings observed in 150 dogs naturally infected by Leishmania infantum, from a large endemic area of southern Italy, are described. There was a gradual onset of clinical signs and the course of the disease was progressive in almost all the cases. The majority of the dogs were mongrels (43.3 per cent), male (64.7 per cent), of medium size (50.6 per cent), three to seven years old (64.7 per cent), and living outdoors (60 per cent). They showed generalised (56.7 per cent) or symmetrical (32 per cent) lymphadenomegaly; the mucous membranes of 87 of the dogs (58 per cent) were pale and moderate or severe splenomegaly was diagnosed in 80 dogs (53.3 per cent); weight loss was observed in 32 per cent of the animals. Skin abnormalities were very common, and included dry exfoliative dermatitis (56 per cent), ulcers (40 per cent) periorbital alopecia ('lunettes') (18 per cent), diffuse alopecia (14 per cent) and onychogryphosis (24 per cent). Ocular signs were observed in 24 dogs (16 per cent) including 16 cases of keratoconjunctivitis (three with keratoconjunctivitis sicca), six cases of moderate uveitis and two cases of panophthalmitis. The acute form of the disease was diagnosed in only six dogs and was characterised by fever and generalised lymphadenomegaly, and by the absence of skin lesions. Another six dogs had severe renal failure without systemic clinical signs of leishmaniasis. The most important laboratory findings were a severe or moderate increase in gammaglobulins, hypoalbuminaemia, hyperproteinemia and anaemia. Cultures or cytology tests for L infantum parasites were positive in 134 of the dogs. Following the standard procedures developed for human lymph node and bone marrow cytology tests, the leishmania density in the dogs varied from 1+ to 2+. Leishmania antibody titres were high (> 1:160) in almost all the dogs. Immunological tests for autoantibodies were positive in 25 of 53 dogs tested in the antinuclear antibody (ANA) test, in 15 of 43 dogs tested in the latex test and in five of 24 dogs tested in the Coombs test.
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PMID:A retrospective clinical study of canine leishmaniasis in 150 dogs naturally infected by Leishmania infantum. 941 21

In dogs with symptomatic or asymptomatic leishmaniasis, Leishmania infantum appears to induce a mixed Th1/Th2 immune response that in the sick dog may eventually result in tissue damage via different pathomechanisms, notably granulomatous inflammation (eg, nodular dermatitis, osteomyelitis), immune complex deposition (eg, glomerulonephritis), and/or autoantibody production (eg, polymyositis). This is a compensatory but detrimental mechanism generated mainly because of the insufficient killing capacity of macrophages against the parasite in the susceptible dog. Clinical disease is typically exemplified as exfoliative and/or ulcerative dermatitis, with or without nasodigital hyperkeratosis and onychogryphosis, glomerulonephritis, atrophic myositis of masticatory muscles, anterior uveitis, keratoconjunctivitis sicca, epistaxis, and/or polyarthritis, appearing alone or in various combinations. The pathogenesis of these clinical conditions has recently been highlighted, to a greater or lesser extent. The usually subclinical conditions expressed as chronic colitis, chronic hepatitis, vasculitis, myocarditis, osteomyelitis, orchiepididymitis, and meningoencephalomyelitis, though uncommon, are of pathologic importance from a differential point of view. The leading cause of death among canine leishmaniasis patients is chronic proteinuric nephritis that may progress to end-stage kidney disease, nephrotic syndrome, and/or systemic hypertension. However, even the asymptomatic proteinuria, when profuse, may be a serious problem because it predisposes to arterial thromboembolism and eventually contributes to the deterioration of the body condition.
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PMID:Pathologic mechanisms underlying the clinical findings in canine leishmaniasis due to Leishmania infantum/chagasi. 2451 Sep 47