The study of kidney injury's pathogenesis in dogs with visceral leishmaniasis.

• Grant number: 11/09819-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: July 01, 2011
• End date: June 30, 2012
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Animal Clinics and Surgery
• Principal Investigator: Mary Marcondes
• Grantee: Amanda Mariano de Araújo
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Odontologia (FOA). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araçatuba. Araçatuba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Canine visceral leishmaniasis is an infectious disease that affects several organs, among them the kidneys. Based on the hypothesis that most dogs with visceral leishmaniasis have an impaired renal function, which can lead to the development of arterial hypertension, the aim of this study is to evaluate renal function of dogs with visceral leishmaniasis. For this purpose, 40 dogs aged between six months and three years, regardless of sex and race, naturally affected by visceral leishmaniasis, will be divided into two groups: the first represented by 20 dogs with clinical and laboratory evidence of renal impairment, and the second represented by 20 animals without clinical and laboratory evidence of renal impairment. On each dog we'll perform determination of blood pressure, determination of serum urea, creatinine, urine physical and chemical evaluation, urinary protein to creatinin (UPC), histopathological and immunohistochemical evaluation of the kidneys, in an attempt to better understand the pathophysiology of the disease.