Abstract
BACKGROUND: Immunotherapeutic drugs, such as domperidone, have been shown to be promising treatments against canine leishmaniosis (CanL), but limited data are available. The aim of this pilot study (therapeutic, prospective and non-controlled) was to evaluate the effect of domperidone on serum antibody titers of Leishmania infantum, globulins, gamma globulins, acute-phase proteins (e.g. C-reactive protein [CRP]), big endothelin-1 (big ET-1), serum creatinine (SC) and proteinuria in dogs with leishmaniosis affected by chronic kidney disease (CKD). METHODS: Dogs were recruited if "exposed" to or "infected" with L. infantum and affected by CKD (IRIS stage 1 [proteinuric] or IRIS stage 2-3a [SC < 3.5 mg/dl; proteinuric or non-proteinuric]). After inclusion, an oral suspension of domperidone was administered, and the dogs were followed up for 180 days, with checks at 30, 60, 90 and 180 days after initial treatment. RESULTS: Of the 14 recruited dogs, nine showed a statistically significant reduction in SC (χ(2) = 9.1, df = 3, P = 0.028), but not in the urine protein/creatinine ratio (χ(2) = 6.43, df = 3, P = 0.092). All dogs showed a significant reduction in antibody titers for L. infantum (χ(2) = 9.56, df = 2, P = 0.008), globulins (χ(2) = 11.08, df = 3, P = 0.011) and gamma globulins (χ(2) = 12.38, df = 3, P = 0.006) during the study period. There was also a statistically significant reduction in CRP (χ(2) = 16.7, df = 3, P = 0.001), but not in big ET-1 (χ(2) = 2.04, df = 3, P = 0.563). CONCLUSIONS: This study provides preliminary results on the ability of domperidone to improve SC and reduce anti-L. infantum antibody titers, globulins, gamma globulins and CRP in dogs with leishmaniosis and CKD.