Effectiveness of photo-ozone therapy against equine Pythium insidiosum.

This research study investigated the use of photo-ozone therapy as a potential treatment against the life-threatening infectious disease, Cutaneous pythiosis, in horses. The scientists specifically sought to examine the therapy’s ability to combat equine Pythium insidiosum and measure any potential cytotoxic effects on keratinocytes—cells that produce keratin in horses.

Methodology

• Specimens of equine Pythium insidiosum were isolated from 10 horses with cutaneous pythiosis, a disease which causes a life-threatening infection.
• The researchers then tested four different treatment approaches on the hyphae—branching filaments common to fungal organisms—of the isolated pathogens: low-level laser therapy (LLLT); ozone (O); a combination of LLLT and O (LLLT-O); and a control group in which hyphae plugs received no treatment.
• A total of 120 hyphae plugs were used for the testing, distributed equally across the four treatment groups.
• The growth of the hyphae was measured over a period of 14 days following the respective treatments. If no growth was observed, the hyphae plug was recultured for an additional 7 days to confirm the result.

Results

• The combined LLLT-O treatment was found to be the most effective, inactivating 92.3% of the treated hyphae samples. Treatment with O alone inactivated 30% of samples.
• The control and LLLT-treated groups showed hyphae growth in all samples. This confirms the ineffectiveness of the laser treatment as a standalone therapy in this case.
• The study also investigated potential cytotoxic (cell damaging) effects of the different treatments. This was done with reference to HaCaT keratinocytes, a type of cell responsible for producing keratin, a protective protein in the skin.
• The treatments showed no significant signs of cytotoxicity when applied in isolation. However, the combined LLLT-O treatment exhibited a slight cytotoxic effect (20%) in comparison to the control group.

Conclusion

• The study concluded that photo-ozone therapy (LLLT-O), with its capacity to inactivate a substantial percentage of equine Pythium insidiosum hyphae, could serve as a potential treatment for cutaneous pythiosis in horses.
• While the combined therapy did show a mild cytotoxic effect on the keratinocytes, the researchers deemed this risk to be minimal, particularly when considering the life-threatening implications of cutaneous pythiosis.