Effect of age on the pharmacokinetics of meloxicam in ISA Brown chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus) : a thesis presented in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Physiology at Massey University, Palmerston North, New Zealand

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Date
2015
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Massey University
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Abstract
The Non-Steroidal Anti-Inflammatory drug (NSAID) meloxicam has been deemed a safe and effective treatment for numerous inflammatory conditions and injuries from extensive pharmacokinetic and pharmacodynamic studies in various mammalian species. However, there is a lack of meloxicam pharmacokinetic information in avian species. This leads to pharmacokinetic data being extrapolated from mammals in order to administer and treat birds. This often leads to ineffective pain relief or overdoses that can be fatal for birds. Due to this void in literature this study was designed to increase the basic pharmacokinetic knowledge in birds but to also determine if age affects the pharmacokinetics of meloxicam in ISA Brown chickens. Meloxicam was injected intravenously (IV) at 2 mg/kg in 20 healthy ISA Brown chickens (Gallus gallus domesticus). One group consisted of 10 ISA brown chickens that were 18 weeks old, the second group consisted of 10 ISA Brown chickens that were 24 months old. Serial blood samples were withdrawn from a catheterised vein from each ISA Brown chicken into a heparinised vial at 0, 10, 20, 30 minutes, 1, 4, 8, 10, 12 hours after the administration of meloxicam. The pharmacokinetics for ISA Brown chickens were calculated using the non-compartmental model, which was analysed using the mean data from each group of ISA Brown chickens. The elimination half-life, steady state volume of distribution and mean resident time were significantly higher in the 24 month old ISB Brown chickens compared to the 18 week old ISA Brown chickens. Overall, the results indicate that as an ISA Brown chicken ages the pharmacokinetics of meloxicam show some significant changes in crucial pharmacokinetic parameters. The differences in the pharmacokinetic parameters may ultimately affect the efficacy of meloxicam when treating ‘geriatric’ birds due to possible age-related health issues in the liver and kidneys, which are major organs involved in processing drugs.
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Chickens, Effect of drugs on, Age, Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory agents, Analgesics, Pharmacokinetics, Veterinary pharmacology, Research Subject Categories::VETERINARY MEDICINE::Pharmacological research
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