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The efficacy of anthelmintic treatment at 1, 3, and 6 month intervals was evaluated in a prospective controlled field study with naturally exposed Lithuanian village dogs by monthly coproscopy during 1 year. A placebo-treated control group (C) (n = 202) and groups treated with two broad-spectrum anthelmintics, febantel/pyrantel-embonate/praziquantel (Drontal® Plus, Bayer) (D1, D3, D6; n = 113-117) and emodepside/praziquantel (Profender®, Bayer) (P1, P3, P6; n = 114-119), were included. At the beginning of the study, eggs of Toxocara canis (4.02%) and T. cati (0.44%) identified morphometrically and/or molecularly and eggs of taeniid- (0.78%) and Capillaria-like eggs (5.03%) were present in the feces without significant differences in prevalence between groups. Significant decreases in excretion of T. canis eggs was found 1 month after the treatment with Drontal® Plus in February (D1) and with Profender® in October (P1), November (P1), December (P3), February (P1), and March (P1, P3), as compared to controls in the same months. The incidence of egg excretion per dog at least once a year was significantly lower in group P1 for T. canis (4.24%; p < 0.01) and in groups D1, P1 for taeniid eggs (0%; p < 0.01 and p < 0.001), when compared to controls (16.96 and 6.70%, respectively). A critical analyses of factors possibly responsible for intestinal passage of canine helminth eggs revealed that chained dogs excreted T. canis eggs more frequently 1 month after treatment compared to dogs in pens, particularly from November to March (p = 0.01). The incidence of single detection of T. cati eggs was significantly increased in chained dogs (12.46%) as compared to fenced dogs (1.08%; p = 0.0001). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We report on the unusual behavior of coprophagia (eating one's own feces) in neurologic disorders. The Mayo Clinic Health Sciences-computerized clinical database was queried for all patients evaluated at our institution between 1995 and 2015 in which coprophagia was documented in the medical records. Twenty-six patients were identified of which 17 had coprophagia. Of the 17 patients, five were excluded due to age at onset less than 10 years, leaving 12 adult patients for this study. The median age at onset of coprophagia in the 12 patients was 55 years (range 20-88 years), and half were female. Additional behaviors were common including scatolia (fecal smearing), hypersexuality, aggression, and pica (eating objects of any kind). Coprophagia was associated with neurodegenerative dementia in six patients, developmental delay in two, and one each with seizures, steroid psychosis, frontal lobe tumor, and schizoaffective disorder. Brain imaging in the six patients with dementia showed moderate-to-severe medial temporal lobe atrophy, as well as mild frontal lobe atrophy. Autopsy examination was performed in one patient and revealed frontotemporal lobar degeneration pathology. Many different behavioral and pharmacologic therapies were implemented, yet only haloperidol was associated with discontinuation of the behavior. Coprophagia is associated with different neurologic disorders, particularly neurodegenerative dementias. The behavior may be related to medial temporal lobe atrophy, similar to the Klüver-Bucy syndrome. Haloperidol appears to be effective in treating the behavior, at least in some patients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Coprophagia refers to the deliberate ingestion of one's fecal matter. This brief report details the naturalistic inquiry, assessment, and treatment of coprophagia in an adult with developmental disabilities and autism. An assessment was completed which identified self-stimulation as the function of the behavior. The intervention consisted of providing highly spiced, flavorful foods with meals and snacks for the person. Frequency of coprophagia decreased, but by a variable amount, for the first 6 months following initiation of the intervention, and then reduced to zero instances for a period of 26 months. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

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Copyright of Rechtsmedizin is the property of Springer Nature and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder's express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract. (Copyright applies to all Abstracts.)

Although it is known that most herbivores produce methane (CH4), CH4 emissions in rodents are generally considered negligible and have rarely been measured in live animals. We measured CH4 emission in four captive juvenile nutria (Myocastor coypus) fed a diet of pelleted lucerne, as well as food intake, digestibility, and digesta mean retention time (MRT) of a solute and a particle marker. Marker excretion patterns revealed secondary peaks indicative of coprophagy, with MRTs of 30.2 ± 4.2 h and 24.2 ± 4.2 h for solutes and particles, respectively, and a resulting MRTsolute/MRTparticle ratio of 1.26 ± 0.07, which is still typical for a 'mucus-trap' colonic separation mechanism. At a dry matter intake of 28 ± 6 g kg body mass−0.75 d−1, the nutria digested organic matter and neutral detergent fibre at 59 ± 3% and 46 ± 3%, respectively, similar to what might be expected from horses on a diet with this fibre content. The respiratory quotient (CO2/O2) was 0.95 ± 0.02, the resting metabolic rate 266 ± 31 kJ kg body mass−0.75 day−1 and CH4 emissions averaged at 1.72 ± 0.17 L day−1 and 39.8 ± 11.3 L per kg dry matter intake; this at a CH4/CO2 ratio of 0.08 ± 0.04. Accordingly, methane yield was of a magnitude expected for a hypothetical ruminant of this body mass. While rodents' CH4 contributions to global budgets might be low due to their low body size, this should not give rise to the assumption that CH4 production is not a relevant part of their digestive physiology. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]