Amelioration of oxidative stress using N‐acetylcysteine in canine parvoviral enteritis

Abstract

Previously, antioxidants have not been evaluated for treatment of parvoviral diarrhea in dogs. In this study, antioxidant potential of N-acetylcysteine (NAC) in dogs infected with canine parvovirus with a nonblinded randomized clinical trial has been carried out. A total 18 parvo-infected dogs were randomly divided into two groups: nine parvo-infected dogs were treated with supportive treatment and nine parvo-infected dogs were treated with NAC along with supportive treatment. Simultaneously, nine healthy dogs were kept as healthy control. In parvo-infected dogs, marked hemoconcentration, leucopenia, neutropenia and oxidative stress were noticed compared to healthy dogs. The NAC treatment progressively improved the leukocyte, neutrophil, monocyte, and eosinophil counts over the time in parvovirus-infected dogs compared to dogs that received only supportive treatment. In addition, NAC treatment significantly improved glutathione S-transferase (GST) activity and decreased nitrite plus nitrate (NOx) and malondialdehyde (MDA) concentrations on day 3 and 5 compared to supportive treatment in parvo-infected dogs. However, supportive treatment alone failed to ameliorate oxidative stress in the infected dogs till day 5. The results of this study suggest that NAC represents a potential additional treatment option that could be considered to improve the health condition and minimize the duration of hospitalization in case of canine parvoviral diarrhea.

Antioxidant supplementation during illness in dogs: effect on oxidative stress and outcome, an exploratory study

“…However, no clinical benefit was identified in the group of dogs with parvovirus enteritis that were supplemented with NAC (Gaykwad et al . ). As these studies suggest, the clinical benefits of antioxidant supplementation during illness in dogs remains unclear.…”

“…, Viviano & VanderWielen , Gaykwad et al . ). Previous work has demonstrated that hospitalised dogs experience antioxidant depletion and increased lipid peroxidation (Viviano et al .…”

“…, Gaykwad et al . ). Given the data in people, it is tempting to speculate that AS may ameliorate oxidative stress in dogs.…”

“…In contrast, oxidative stress and the effect of AS in ill dogs has been less well characterised (Viviano et al 2009, Viviano & VanderWielen 2013, Gaykwad et al 2018. Previous work has demonstrated that hospitalised dogs experience antioxidant depletion and increased lipid peroxidation (Viviano et al 2009;Viviano & VanderWielen 2013).…”

Parvoviral Enteritis: What's New?

“…N-acetylcysteine [(NAC) 70 mg/kg IV q24h × 5 days], a precursor to glutathione and potent antioxidant, was recently found to help ameliorate oxidative stress in CPV dogs when compared to supportive treatment alone. 5 CPV dogs treated with NAC also experienced a more rapid return of leukocyte counts during the first 5 days of hospitalization, although the larger benefits of NAC (e.g., shorter duration of hospitalization) have yet to be established.…”