Toxicopathological overview of analgesic and anti-inflammatory drugs in animals.

Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drugs (NSAIDs) have been commonly used in both human and veterinary medicine to reduce pain and inflammation in different arthritic and postoperative conditions due to their three major activities, viz., anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, and analgesic. Phenylbutazone, diclofenac, meloxicam and some other NSAIDs are being used as therapeutic measures for pain, inflammation and fever in clinical veterinary medicine. Antiinflammatory effect is mainly due to their ability to inhibit the activities of cyclooxygenases, enzymes those mediate the production of prostaglandins from arachidonic acid, a dietary fatty acid. Cyclooxygenase- 2 (COX-2) is the inducible form of the enzyme and is involved in inflammation. The widespread use of NSAIDs has meant that the adverse effects of these drugs have become increasingly prevalent. The two main adverse drug reactions (ADRs) associated with NSAIDs relate to gastrointestinal (GI) effects and renal effects of the agents. The most common is a propensity to induce gastric or intestinal ulceration that can sometimes be accompanied by anemia from the resultant blood loss. Large variety of compounds with similar actions but varying kinetics in different species thus varying risk of toxicity and variety of toxic effects. Review research relating to these adverse drug reactions, focusing on histopathological findings, which may contribute to the comprehension and possible avoidance of drug-induced disease.

Prion diseases: A challenge to animal health.

Prion diseases are known as transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSE), a group of rare, rapidly progressive, and fatal neurologic diseases. The agents responsible for human and animal prion diseases are abnormal proteins (prion or proteinaceous infectious particle) that can trigger chain reactions causing normal proteins in the brain to change to the abnormal protein. These abnormal proteins are resistant to enzymatic breakdown, and they accumulate in the brain, leading to damage. All have long incubation periods followed by chronic neurological disease and fatal outcomes, have similar pathology limited to the CNS include convulsions, dementia, ataxia (balance and coordination dysfunction), and behavioral changes, and are experimentally transmissible to some other species.

Growth promoting use of antimicrobial agents in animals.

The antimicrobial growth promoter includes varieties of chemotherapeutics agent to be used for improving feed conversion efficiency, body weight gain and overall health. Now a day due to increased pressure of augmenting productivity, the animal husbandry industry is favorably inclined to professional use of antimicrobial growth promoters. AGP are administered at very low dose and they modify the bacterial quality and quantity in animal body towards favorable outcome with respect to reduced incidence of some diseases and infections. Today, non inophore group of compounds are being used widely for the purpose. These compounds alter the cell membrane permeability and causes death of bacterial cells. Wide varieties of compounds are available with specific purpose. The most ideal characteristic of AGP desired is minimum tissue residue and no cross resistance with human pathogens. The total amount of AGP used is difficult to estimate. The present review discusses the detail aspect of AGP at length.