Photodynamic therapy in the treatment of cutaneous habronemosis in a horse: Case report.

This research is a case study about the successful treatment of a horse suffering from chronic skin condition, habronemiasis, using photodynamic therapy (PDT) combined with conventional treatments.

About the Condition and the Study

• Habronemiasis is a skin condition suffered by horses caused by the parasitic nematode Habronema muscae. The parasite is transmitted via flies and when the larvae of the parasite deposits in wounds, it leads to difficult-to-heal skin lesions (winter sores).
• The case study is focused on a 9-year old gelding horse that had recurrent habronemiasis. The horse had ulcerated, exudative wounds on its limbs and face that were proving to be beyond the scope of traditional treatments.

Treatment Approach

• The chronic skin condition was treated using Photodynamic Therapy (PDT) along with conventional treatments over a period of six months. The term ‘concurrent’ used here implies that both therapies were applied simultaneously.
• In PDT, Methylene Blue (MB), a type of dye that reacts to light, was used as a photosensitizer. This photosensitizer was combined with LED irradiation.
• Apart from PDT, the treatment approach also included the use of an ivermectin-based ointment and other healing agents. Ivermectin is an anti-parasitic medicine known for its effectiveness in the treatment of many types of parasite infections.

Results and Conclusion

• After two months into the therapy, a reduction in the size of the lesions was observed.
• By the fourth month, the thoracic wounds on the horse had healed completely, while the facial wounds healed completely after six months.
• Based on the successful healing of the horse, the research concludes that PDT can be an effective additional treatment for managing habronemiasis. However, since this is based on a single case study, it warrants further studies for validating its efficacy on a larger scale.