title: Experimental Bothrops atrox envenomation: Efficacy of antivenom therapy and the combination of Bothrops antivenom with dexamethasone.
abstract: Bothrops atrox snakes are the leading cause of snake bites in Northern Brazil. The venom of this snake is not included in the antigen pool used to obtain the Bothrops antivenom. There are discrepancies in reports on the effectiveness of this antivenom to treat victims bitten by B. atrox snakes. However, these studies were performed using a pre-incubation of the venom with the antivenom and, thus, did not simulate a true case of envenomation treatment. In addition, the local lesions induced by Bothrops venoms are not well resolved by antivenom therapy. Here, we investigated the efficacy of the Bothrops antivenom in treating the signs and symptoms caused by B. atrox venom in mice and evaluated whether the combination of dexamethasone and antivenom therapy enhanced the healing of local lesions induced by this envenomation. In animals that were administered the antivenom 10 minutes after the envenomation, we observed an important reduction of edema, dermonecrosis, and myonecrosis. When the antivenom was given 45 minutes after the envenomation, the edema and myonecrosis were reduced, and the fibrinogen levels and platelet counts were restored. The groups treated with the combination of antivenom and dexamethasone had an enhanced decrease in edema and a faster recovery of the damaged skeletal muscle. Our results show that Bothrops antivenom effectively treats the envenomation caused by Bothrops atrox and that the use of dexamethasone as an adjunct to the antivenom therapy could be useful to improve the treatment of local symptoms observed in envenomation caused by Bothrops snakes.
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Fisiopatologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Gabriella Neves Leal
authors.initials: GN
authors.lastname: Santos Barreto
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Fisiopatologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Sâmella Silva
authors.initials: SS
authors.lastname: de Oliveira
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Fisiopatologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Isabelle Valle
authors.initials: IV
authors.lastname: Dos Anjos
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Pesquisas Zoológicas, Faculdades Integradas do Tapajós/Faculdade da Amazônia (FIT/UNAMA), Santarém, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Hipocrates de Menezes
authors.initials: HM
authors.lastname: Chalkidis
authors.affiliation: Laboratório de Bioprospecção e Biologia Experimental, Universidade Federal do Oeste do Pará, Santarém, Pará, Brazil.
authors.forename: Rosa Helena Veras
authors.initials: RH
authors.lastname: Mourão
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Imunopatologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ana Maria
authors.initials: AM
authors.lastname: Moura-da-Silva
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Fisiopatologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Ida Sigueko
authors.initials: IS
authors.lastname: Sano-Martins
authors.affiliation: Laboratorio de Fisiopatologia, Instituto Butantan, São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.
authors.forename: Luis Roberto de Camargo
authors.initials: LR
authors.lastname: Gonçalves
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D000997:Antivenins / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D017837:Bothrops; D003907:Dexamethasone / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D004195:Disease Models, Animal; D004359:Drug Therapy, Combination / Q000379:methods; D004487:Edema / Q000473:pathology; D007155:Immunologic Factors / Q000008:administration & dosage*; D051379:Mice; D009336:Necrosis / Q000473:pathology; D012909:Snake Bites / Q000188:drug therapy* / Q000473:pathology*; D016896:Treatment Outcome
chemical_list: D000893:Anti-Inflammatory Agents; D000997:Antivenins; D007155:Immunologic Factors; D003907:Dexamethasone