Photodynamic Therapy in Veterinary Medicine: From Basics to Clinical Practice

The book covers the principles and applications of the photodynamic therapy (PDT), a new promising platform for veterinarians, to treat intricate diseases like cancer and microbial infections. The therapy involves three combined fundamental elements: 1) the use of photosensitizer drugs; 2) light emitted by different sources and devices and 3) molecular oxygen. This association leads to microbial or cancer cells death obtained by oxidative stress. Antimicrobial PDT is a minimally invasive and cost-effective therapy, and due to its action mechanism, microbial resistance is not observed rendering it a huge differential when compared to antimicrobial drugs such as antibiotics. Antineoplastic PDT acts with high selectivity in cancer cells promoting their death with low adverse effects to the patient s health and immune integrity. The book is pioneer in introducing this therapeutic modality for veterinarians. It addresses from basics to clinical practice showing the PDT history and fundamentals for non-experts and reporting a collection of basic and clinical studies about PDT in cancer and infections to ensure its safe use by practitioners. Illustrations are provided to give the reader examples of successful procedure in treating pets or other animals. Future perspectives and innovative applications involving nanotechnology and advanced drug delivery are also presented. Photodynamic therapy is an innovative and advanced tool for veterinarian practitioners, students and researchers looking for expanding their competence in Veterinary Medicine.