Antiparasitic drugs Flashcards
Pyrimethamine mechanism of action
- Pyrimethamine inhibits dihydrofolate reductase
- Ultimately interferes with folic acid synthesis, which is necessary for DNA and RNA synthesis
Formation of tetrahydrofolic acid
- Look on slide for the pathway
Spectrum of activity for pyrimethamine
- Toxoplasmosis in dogs and cats
- Neospora in dogs
- Sarcocystis (EPM) in horses
Toxicity of pyrimethamine
- Fairly safe
- Don’t need to be concerned as much with adverse effects
- Possibly bone marrow suppression
Pyrimethamine monitoring
- Recommend a CBC prior to treatment and one or two during the 6 months of treatment
Pyrimethamine length of time and use
- Combination with sulfadiazine for 30-180 days once a day
Amprolium mechanism of action
- Structural analog of thiamine, competing for thiamine uptake into protozoal organisms
- Parasites take up the amprolium instead of thiamine
Amprolium spectrum***
- Effects are greatest against the first-generation schizont stage, so its use is primarily as a preventative rather than therapeutic medication
- Only inhibits sexual stages
Amprolium usage
- Used in drinking water of poultry and cattle for prevention and treatment of coccidia
Toxicity of amprolium
- Polioencephalomalacia
- Polyneuritis
- Very uncommon
Polioencephalomalacia signs and species
- get from slide
Polyneuritis signs and species
- get from slide
Amprolium labeled use***
- Labeled for food animals
- ELDU in dogs, cats, and others
Clindamycin mechanism of action
- Long-term exposure to low concentrations of clindamycin reduces the level of replication of T. gondii
- Affects the protein synthesis of free parasites
- Impairs the ability of tachyzoites to infect host cells
Clindamycin spectrum of activity***
- AGENT OF CHOICE for treatment of toxoplasmosis
Route of clindamycin
- PO or IM (can be a disadvantage)
Length of treatment for clindamycin
- 3-6 weeks
Toxicity for clindamycin
- CAUTION is advised when treating cats with pulmonary toxoplasmosis because of several unexplained feline deaths in experimental drug trial
- have client sign a consent form
Clindamycin for anaerobic infection changes
- Oral or IM at higher doses than for anaerobic infections for 2-4 weeks
Mechanism of Metronidazole
- Intermediate metabolites affect DNA
- Alter essential metabolic pathways critical for protozoa survival
- Anti-protozoal action effect related to this mechanism
Spectrum of activity for Metronidazole**
- Often the first-line agent of treating giardiasis
- It is effective against trichomonas in cattle, but CANNOT be used in cattle
Toxicity of Metronidazole**
- Dose-dependent vestibular toxicity (generally slowly reversible)**
Metronidazole species use***
- While its use is considered extra-label in all veterinary species, its use in food-producing animals is prohibited
- Interesting that it’s prohibited in food animals but used in humans
Triazines
- Ponazuril (Marquis)
- Diclazuril (protazil)
Mechanism of triazines
- Believed to act on the apicoplast of protozoal organisms; but, downstream effects are not clearly defined
Triazines spectrum of activity**
- Class of drug has been used as a coccidiostat in poultry
- Most recent use as FDA-approved treatment and prevention for Sarcocystis neurona in horses orally for 30 days
- This is the only option approved by FDA for treatment and prevention
Triazines toxicity***
- Reported toxicities in horses include blisters on nose and mouth, rash/hives, colic, and diarrhea***
- Any drug given orally can cause adverse effects
When you incorporate a treatment it can change the microbiota and lead to adverse effects
Ponazuril vs Diclazuril relative adverse effects
- Ponazuril > diclazuril so far, but it has been on the market longer as well
Nitrothiazole example
- Nitrazoxanide = navigator
Nitrothiazole Mechanism of action***
- According to package insert, the compound undergoes reduction to free radicals inside the organism***
- These free radicals are then thought to interfere with cellular respiration of the target organism***
Spectrum of Nitrothiazole***
- More recent use as an FDA-approved treatment for Sarcocystis neurona in horses, and thought to be more effective than a pyrimethamine-sulfonamide combination
- Not approved for prevention***
Toxicity of Nitrothiazole
- Severe and potentially fatal enterocolitis
- Needs a consent form
- <5% occurrence
- because Nitrothiazole kills other intestinal parasites (bacterial, protozoal, and helminth), its use can interfere with normal intestinal flora - resulting in severe and potentially fatal enterocolitis
Sulfonamides used in US for treating protozoa
- Sulfadimetoxine
- Sulfadimetoxine with ormetoprim
- Sulfadiazine with trimethoprim
- Sulfametoxazole with trimethoprim
Sulfonamide agent spectrum
- SEE THE TABLE IN THE NOTES
- You must memorize this
Sulfonamide spectrum
- Coccidia
Sulfonamides + pyrimethamine
- Neospora
- Toxoplasma
- Sarcocystis
Amprolium spectrum
- Coccidia
Clindamycin spectrum
- Neospora
- Toxoplasma
Metronidazole spectrum
- Giardia
- Trichomona (Ronidazole in cats)
Fenbendazole/albendazole spectrum
- Giardia
Ponazuril/diclazuril spectrum
- Neospora (cattle)
- Sarcocystis
Nitrazoanide spectrum
- Sarcocystis
Anthelmintic resistance most affected species
- horses, sheep and goats
- Resistance to multiple classes of agents has been documented in cattle in New Zealand and South America
What are the three mechanisms of resistance to anthelmintics?***
- Failure to reach the site of action
- Altered target
- Inactivation of anthelmintic agent
Which anthelmintics have documented resistance?***
- All major families of broad-spectrum anthelmintics
- Benzimidazoles and macrocyclic lactones are the two main groups related with resistance (mostly because they are the most used)
What methods are being used to optimize the efficacy of available anthelmintics?**
- Combining or rotating drugs with different mechanisms of action
- Using as few treatments as possible (decrease exposure of parasites to anthelmintics)
- Use appropriate doses
How to use appropriate dose in a large animal?
- Try not to estimate the weight
- In practice he recommends since they are generally quite safe
- He recommends that we overestimate the dose
- Except for the drugs with a very narrow therapeutic window
Benzimidazole mechanism of action**
- Strongly binds to parasite free beta-tubulin molecules, affecting the tubulin polymerization and interfering microtubule-dependent processes including cell division, motility and transport
- May also inhibit enzymatic activity (fumarate reductase primarily**, succinate dehydrogenase, others) resulting in decreased energy production in parasites
Spectrum of activity of benzimidazoles***
Broad spectrum!
- Broadly: GI nematodes, protozoa (giardiasis), fungi, and mites
More info about benzimidazoles spectrum
- Look at the slides
Therapeutic margin of benzimidazoles***
- WIDE THERAPEUTIC margin
***Which drug in the benzimidazoles is most likely to cause toxicity?
- Albendazole
Toxicity of Albendazole in cats***
- Weight loss, neutropenia, mental dullness
Toxicity of Albendazole in dogs***
- Lethargy anorexia
- Bone marrow suppression
- Liver toxicity in dogs, mostly seen with prolonged or high-dose therapy (unknown mechanism)
- Might not use in combination with another drug that reduces bone marrow suppression**
Reproductive effects of albendazole***
- Teratogenic effects may be possible, therefore should not be used in pregnant animals
- Package insert of albendazole states that it is NOT TO BE USED IN FEMALE CATTLE DURING THE FIRST 45 DAYS OF PREGNANCY***
- Only described in cattle but probably don’t use in any pregnant animals
Clinical use of benzimidazoles
- At least 10 benzimidazoles marked for use in veterinary species
Fenbendazole efficacy***
- one of the broader spectrum agents with efficacy against: 1.) cestodes, intestinal nematodes (adults and 4th stage larvea); lungworms (adult and larval stages) in cattle, sheep, and goats
Methods of heard dosing for benzimidazoles and formulations**
- Incorporation of drug into water or feed blocks - no direct control
- Drenching/tubing but time consuming and expensive
- Ruminal devices - once delivered to the rumen, to coincide with prepatent period of major nematodes of cattle (up to 4 months)
Clinical use of benzimidazoles in SA
- Hookworms
- Whipworms
- Tapeworms
- Taenia but not Echinococcus
- Giardia
Clinical use of benzimidazoles in horses
- Large and small strongyles
- Pinworms
- At higher doses ascarids