Herpesvirus diseases of domestic animals and game species in the Slovak Republic.

Herpesviruses are DNA viruses that cause serious latent infections in humans and animals. These pathogens significantly influence the animal health and economy of animal husbandry. The reduction of production parameters, abortions, birth of weak individuals and by costs associated with the elimination and monitoring of herpesvirus diseases are among the most serious harms caused by herpesviruses. In our review we focused mainly on herpesvirus diseases in pigs and cattle (Aujeszky's disease, bovine infectious pustular vulvovaginitis and balanoposthitis, infectious bovine rhinotracheitis) and herpesvirus diseases in red deer, dogs, and carps. In the past, these herpesvirus diseases have caused considerable economic losses in livestock. At present, several of these diseases are eliminated in the Slovak territory. Currently, a continuous monitoring is carried out not only in populations of domestic animals, but also in wild animals, which are the main reservoirs of the mentioned herpesviruses. Keywords: herpesvirus; Aujeszky's disease; animals; fish; eradication; Slovak Republic.

Status of nutrition and cardiovascular system in children from the south Moravian region of the Czech Republic: a pilot study.

Nutritional status, its assessment and its influence on numerous diseases is currently still being discussed. The aim of this study was to determine the current state of nutrition by various research methods in school children. Also, to verify the accuracy of body mass index (BMI) determination in school environment and to compare the nutritional status in two different types of school. We used a quantitative questionnaire method in 64 children from schools in the South Moravian Region. We have verified the weight and height measurement in the same group by sophisticated instruments. We have determined the basic parameters of the cardiovascular system (non-invasive continuously blood pressure recording; mutual spectral analysis for estimation of baroreflex sensitivity; applanation tonometry and cardiac polygraphy for arterial stiffness evaluation). The indicative questionnaire method encountered a problem with the weight of almost 40 % of the population approached - both obesity (14.3 %) and malnutrition (25.2 %). Cardiovascular parameters were in physiological range for the given age categories. We found increased values in BMI, % of body fat and heart rate in children from countryside type of school, respectively. We concluded that obesity/malnutrition are both common phenomena in the children population in the Czech Republic.

Detection of rabies antibodies in dog sera.

In the presented work, we compared the results of determination of rabies antibodies using three in vitro methods: rapid fluorescent focus inhibition test (RFFIT), fluorescent antibody virus neutralisation test (FAVNT) and the immunoenzymatic assay (ELISA). 196 dog sera samples were examined with FAVNT, RFFIT methods and the ELISA test. Sera with low and sufficiently high titre of antibodies had a similar result in determining by all methods. A critical level of rabies antibodies close to the required protection level (0.5 IU/cm3) was seen in sera of 18 dogs (9.18%); these were the sera obtained after primary vaccination of dogs. At this level, even small differences can cause a change in the assessment of the patient's serum seronegativity or seropositivity. Therefore, it is important to choose the appropriate method that has sufficiently strict criteria while having a good reproducibility.

Arterial peculiarities of the thoracolumbar spinal cord in rabbit.

The aim of this study was to investigate the arterial blood supply of the thoracolumbar spinal cord in rabbit. The study was carried out on twenty adult New Zealand white rabbits. Ten rabbits were used in the corrosion technique and ten rabbits in the dissection technique. After the killing, the vascular network was perfused with saline. Batson's corrosion casting kit no. 17 © was used as a casting medium. After polymerisation of the medium, in ten rabbits the maceration was carried out in KOH solution, and in ten other rabbits, formaldehyde was injected by the dissection technique into the vertebral canal. We found high variability of segmental arteries supplying blood to the spinal cord. There are 12 intercostal arteries and 1 costo-abdominal artery. Dorsal branches arising from the dorsal surface of the aorta thoracica were found as follows: in 70% of the cases, 9 pairs were present; in 20% of the cases 8 pairs; and in 10% of the cases 10 pairs. The paired arteriae lumbales were present in 6 pairs in 90% of the cases and in 5 pairs in 10% of the cases. On the dorsal surface of spinal cord, we found two irregular longitudinal arteries in 70% of the cases, no longitudinal arteries in 20% of the cases and three irregular longitudinal arteries in 10% of the cases receiving dorsal branches of rami spinales. Among the dorsal branches observed in the thoracic region, 60.5% were left-sided, 39.5% right-sided and in the lumbar region, 52.5% were left-sided and 47.5% right-sided.

[Polypharmacy and drug interactions]. / Polypragmazie a lékové interakce.

The growing consumption of drugs and other numerous factors relates to the increasing incidence of polypharmacy. The proportion of patients currently treated with 5 or more medicines at the elderly population in particular is 30-60% of patients. Repeatedly has been proven the dependence between the number of concomitant drugs and occurrence of adverse effects, patients requiring hospitalization, or incidence of moderate and serious drug interactions. Some works show that it is possible to satisfactorily address the issues of polypharmacy, but it requires great courage and an interdisciplinary approach involving modern information technology.

[Drug interactions of selected drugs used by patients with diabetes mellitus]. / Lékové interakce vybraných léku uzívanýh pacienty s diabetes mellitus.

Many patients with diabetes mellitus are treated by various medicinal products, which can in some cases lead to drug interaction. In this paper drug interactions of antidiabetics are summarised and most important drug interactions of other drugs frequently prescribed to diabetics are mentioned: drugs acting on the renin-angiotensin system and statins.

[Effectiveness of TNF antagonists in routine clinical practice and costs]. / Ucinnost anti-tNF-alpha léciv v bezné klinické praxi a náklady na tato léciva.

A comparison of effectiveness of TNF antagonists adalimumab, infliximab and etanercept in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis (RA) was made, which was derived from studies provided abroad based on routine clinical practice. The calculation of cost-effectiveness of each TNF antagonist for Czech Republic was made on the basis of Dutch DREAM registry of patients with RA (Kiewit et al, 2008). The prices of therapy of all three TNF antagonists are similar in the first year of treatment of patients with average weight, in the second year the price of infliximab is lower, but only in the case of patients where the doses do not reach 4 amp. of infliximab. Clinical effectiveness was evaluated in DAS28 and HAQ units. Cost-effectiveness of all TNF antagonists was similar, when 2 amp. of infliximab per dose phycician considered sufficient, but when patients were given higher doses of infliximab the trend to lower cost-effectiveness of infliximab compared to adalimumab and etanercept was observed.

Philometra ovata (Nematoda: Philometroidea): a potential sentinel species of heavy metal accumulation.

To assess the bioindicator value of parasites, the concentrations of six heavy metals (Cr, Cu, Pb, Cd, Ni and Zn) were analyzed by atomic absorption spectrometry in gravid females of the nematode Philometra ovata, body cavity parasites of gudgeon (Gobio gobio) and muscle samples of infected and uninfected hosts. The concentration of heavy metals was significantly higher in specimens of P. ovata compared to the host muscle tissue. The parasite-to-muscle ratio of heavy metals varied from 3.2 to 121.7, in increasing concentrations for Cr, Cd, Cu, Pb, Ni and Zn. The presence of parasites did not influence the heavy metal content of the hosts, and no significant differences were found between muscle tissues of parasitized and non-parasitized fishes. The bioconcentration factor (BF = Cparasite/Csediment)varied between 0.4 and 25.8, in increasing order for Cd, Zn, Cu, Pb, Ni and Cr. These results indicate that P. ovata may serve as sensitive indicator species of heavy metal pollution in freshwater ecosystems.

Seasonal dynamics of Proteocephalus sagittus in the stone loach Barbatula barbatula from the Hana River, Czech Republic.

The seasonal cycle of the cestode Proteocephalus sagittus (Cestoda: Proteocephalidae) was studied for the first time in the stone loach Barbatula barbatula from the Hana River, Czech Republic. A total of 180 loaches were examined monthly from January to December 2001. The parasite occurred in loaches throughout the year but infection parameters differed significantly among seasons, with the highest values of prevalence and abundance from the late winter to the early summer. Parasite recruitment took place in the winter and early spring and the worms sexually matured in the late spring and early summer. In contrast to P. torulosus, the gravid worms of which laid eggs only at the end of the spring/beginning of the summer, gravid worms of P. sagittus were also found, although in low numbers, in the autumn and early winter. The rate of infection of loach with P. sagittus was neither dependent on the sex nor on the size of its fish host.

Raphidascaris acus (Bloch, 1779) larvae infections of the stone loach, Barbatula barbatula (L.), from the River Haná, Czech Republic.

The stone loach, Barbatula barbatula (L.), is a typical and dominant intermediate host of Raphidascaris acus in lowland streams of Central Europe. The prevalence of infection of R. acus in B. barbatula from the River Haná ranged throughout the year from 73.3 to 100%. The abundance and the mean intensity of infection also varied throughout the year with a peak in September. Larvae were located mainly in the liver parenchyma. High numbers of larvae and their migration through the tissue caused cyst- or abscess-like formations in the host parenchyma. The severity of the disease condition ranged from mild to severe. We speculate that the infection of stone loach by R. acus larvae regulates the population density and abundance of the intermediate host in lowland streams where natural predators are absent.

[Economic aspects of osteoporosis]. / Ekonomické aspekty osteoporózy.

BACKGROUND: The objective of this study was to evaluate expenditures and efficacy of osteoporosis treatment in the Czech Republic (CZ) (1.38 million women and 0.99 million men > 55 years of age). METHODS AND RESULTS: Demographic data, incidence of hip fractures and prevalence of osteoporosis and osteopenia in Czech women and men, cost burden to healthcare agencies due to hip fractures and costs of diagnostic procedures, preventive measures and therapies of osteoporosis were obtained from published data and from database of the main health insurance agency (VZP) and the State Institute for Drug Control. The direct costs for treatment of hip fractures in the CZ in 1997 averaged Kc (Czech Crown) 2.5 billion, diagnosis of osteoporosis, Kc 150 million, prevention of osteoporosis using hormone replacement therapy, Kc 66 million, and treatments of osteoporosis which has been applied to less than 5% of osteoporosis patients, 482 million. However, despite the continuously increasing expenditures for treatments of osteoporosis, the incidence of hip fractures doubled in the last 10 years. This is mainly due to increased life expectancy in Czech women and men. CONCLUSIONS: The results of this first economic evaluation of diagnosis, treatment and consequences of osteoporosis in the CZ indicate a need for conceptual decisions in both treatment and prevention of osteoporosis.

Length-weight relationship of Ligula intestinalis plerocercoids in adult silver bream and discussion on estimation of the parasite age.

The paper comprises an evaluation of Ligula intestinalis infection in adult silver bream (Blicca bjoerkna), from the Nové Mlýny Reservoirs (Czech Republic), from 1991 to 1993. The prevalence (mean 4.39%) and intensity (mean 1.39 spec.) of infection were very low, ranging from 1.48% (1.11 spec.) in April-May to 11.52% (1.36 spec.) in November-December. The length-weight relationship of single infection plerocercoids was characterized by the regression and correlation coefficients of linear and exponential regressions. The lowest weight and mean lengths of plerocercoids were found in April-May. According to the length and weight of plerocercoids in our collection those specimens were preliminary separated into 0+ to 5+ age classes. It is supposed that the longevity of the longest specimens of L. intestinalis plerocercoids attain the same age as their intermediate host (silver bream). The longest plerocercoid attained the body length of 1,006 mm and the weight of 32.0 g.