A male 10-year-old mongrel dog with swelling of all the limbs and lameness was diagnosed clinically and radiographically as hypertrophic pulmonary osteoarthropathy, showing irregular border of the humerus, radius and ulna, periosteal proliferation of the femur, peritibial and perifibular new bone formation and an irregular surfaced mass in the thorax. Hypocalcemia, hyperphospheremia and lowered plasma vitamin D metabolites were revealed. Histopathology demonstrated the atrophied parathyroids, porosity of tibial compact bone and infiltration of bronchioloalveolar carcinoma in the lung, especially right diaphragmatic lobe, with heart worm embolism in some pulmonary arteries.
The effects of vitamin D (VD) deficiency on calcium (Ca) metabolism during pregnancy were evaluated in rats fed VD-repleted (VD-repleted rats) and VD-depleted (VD-depleted rats) diets. In the VD-depleted rats, the plasma concentrations of 1,25-dihydroxyvitamin D and Ca decreased severely, whereas the parathyroid hormone concentrations increased. The Ca contents of the feces of the VD-depleted rats were higher than those of the VD-repleted rats. The fetal Ca contents of the VD-repleted and VD-depleted rats increased continuously, but that of the VD-depleted rats was lower. These data reveal that VD deficiency during pregnancy induces severe hypocalcemia due to reduced intestinal absorption of Ca and elevated fetal demand for Ca.
The feed of 5 postpartum Japanese Black cows was changed from a low-starch ration (day 0) by the addition of 3kg per day of dent- corn silage. As a result of the change, calf fecesbegan showing preliminary signs' of scours between day 1 and day 3. Between day 5 and day 7, these calves suffered from watery white scours. Fat percent in the dams' milk increasedon the morning of the day on which preliminary symptoms developed and on the day on which scours appeared. Total Ca and Mg concentration in all dams' milk was high on the last evening of the preliminary-symptoms period. Milk pH changed remarkably on the day prior to theappearance of white scours. Palmitic and stearic acid in milk fat increased 1 day prior tothe appearance of white scours. Triglyceride and free fatty acid blood levels in calves were lower on the preliminary-symptoms day but returned to original levels 1 day prior to the appearance of white scours. It seems that calf white scours may be associated with lowered fat absorption in the digestive tract resulting from changes in dams' milk constituents. Further, these changes in dam milk constituents may have resulted from changes in the dams' rations.
The first occurrence of grass tetany in grazing beef cattle in Japan was describedand studied clinicohematologically. It was observed in the Sotoyama pasture in IwatePrefecture during a period from May to June, 1971.The results obtained are as follows.l) Ten Japanese Short Horn cows (beef cattle) were affected. All of them, exceptOIIC which was 2 months old, were from 4 to 12 years of age, nursing calves 37 to 77days old.These animals manifested the clinical signs of grass tetany 4 to 18 days after thestart of grazing in the pasture. They were in poor conditions. Two of them diedapparently of grass tetany.The mean temperature was about 1OC over a period of occurrence of this disease.Orchard grass was growing predominantly in this pasture at that time.2) The characteristic clinical signs consisted of excitement, hyperesthesia, tremblingof muscle in various parts of the body, stillness and staggering in the gait, and finalconvtulsion and tetany. In addition, salivaiton, tachypnea and dyspnea, cyanosis of thevisible mucous membranes, diarrhea and frequent urination were recognized.Moreover, hypomagnesemia, sliglat decrease in calcium, high value in the ratio ofCa 7 lNIg, and increase in S-GOT activity were detected hematologically.3) The concentrations of rumen ammonia in cows No. 3, 4, and 5 with hypo-magnesemic tetany were 23.0, 47.S, and 54.3 rug per 100 ml, respectively.4) A subcutaneous injection with TOO to 200 ml of a 25 percent solution of magne-slum sulfate per adult cow was very efficient for hypomagnesemic tetany in cattle.5) Blood examination was carried out on 47 beef cows grazing on the pasturewlaere grass tetany had occurred. The serum magnesium level was higher than 1 .51 rugper [00 ml in 22 cows, between 1.01 and 1.50 rug in 16 cows, and below 1.0 mg in 9 cows.The cattle with hypomagnesemia showed slight hypocalcemia, hypoproteinemia, and an increase in S-GOT activity, but no significant changes in serum chloride, sodium, or potassium concentration.6) The soil of the area where grass tetany had occu
In our previous study, it was demonstrated that the administration of anion salts, which slightly lower the dietary cation-anion difference (DCAD), in the prepartum period is safe and effective for preventing milk fever in multiparous cows. In the present study, several biomarkers, which might show activation of Ca metabolism, were analyzed using stored samples in the previous study to investigate the mechanism of the preventive effect on milk fever by lowering DCAD. Changes in bone-specific alkaline phosphatase activity, osteocalcin and insulin-like growth factor I concentrations in serum were almost the same among the three groups of multiparous cows with or without the oral administration of anion salts, while the levels of these serum biomarkers in the group of primiparous cows (heifer group) were much higher compared with those in the three multiparous groups throughout the experimental period. Urinary deoxypyridinoline excretion was not a useful biomarker for dairy cows because it hardly changed during the peripartum period in all groups. However, serum tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity, which is known as a biomarker of osteoclast activity, was well associated with the administration of anion salts lowering DCAD because among the three multiparous groups, only the group of multiparous cows fed the anion salts (anion group) showed an increased level, which rose to the level in the heifer group, and was markedly higher than those in the other control groups of multiparous cows. The increased activity of serum TRAP in the anion group suggested that Ca in the plasma pool was mobilized smoothly from bone-bound Ca via mature osteoclasts at parturition, which might be due to prior activation under mild acidosis induced by slightly lowering DCAD. Therefore, TRAP was the best biomarker to monitor the activation of Ca metabolism in dairy cows fed anion salts.
Examination of 17 cases of canine pyometra showed high levels of serum alkaline phosphatase (ALP) activities in 13 animals (the high ALP group) and normal levels in 4 animals (the normal group). Results concerning clinical symptoms and blood examinations for the two groups were compared. More clinical abnormalities were observed in the high ALP group than in the normal ALP group. But, with the exception of hypercholesterolemia in the high ALP group, differences in blood-examination results were obscure. Analysis of serum ALP Isoenzymes in eight individuals from the high ALP group showed that the liver ALP fraction, which was the highest of 3 fractions (liver, bone, corticosteroid-induced), accounted for an average of 88% of overall ALP activity. In two animals, changes in serum ALP activity were observed. Overall serum ALP activity decreased after ovario-hysterectomy. These changes resulted from decreased liver ALP activity.
The interaction between oral non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) and prednisolone administered concurrently for 30 days was studied in 18 healthy dogs divided into 3 groups of 6 dogs each: a drug-free negative control group (NC group) given 2 gelatin capsules; a group given meloxicam (0.1 mg/kg) and prednisolone (0.5 mg/kg) (MP group); and a group given a reduced dosage of ketoprofen (0.25 mg/kg, PO) and prednisolone (0.5 mg/kg, PO) (KP group). The dogs were periodically monitored by physical examinations, blood analyses, endoscopic examinations, fecal occult blood tests, renal function tests [effective renal plasma flow (ERPF) and glomerular filtration rate (GFR)], urinalyses [urinary sediments, and urinary micro-albumin to creatinine ratio (UAlb/Cre)], urinary enzyme indices, and haemostatic function tests [buccal mucosa bleeding time (BMBT), cuticle bleeding time (CBT)]. Significant changes were observed in the KP group, including a decrease of ERPF and GFR, an increased UAlb/Cre ratio, prolonged BMBT and CBT, as well as the presence of more severe grades of endoscopic lesions and fecal occult blood. In both the MP and KP groups, abnormal enzymuria with exfoliation of renal tubular epithelial cells in the urine was found. However, no significant changes in any of the other tests were observed in the MP group compared with the NC group. These findings suggest that the combination of NSAIDs, even selective COX-2 inhibitors, with prednisolone may be contraindicated due to the potential for serious adverse effects on the kidneys, the platelets, and the gastrointestinal tract.
Eight periparturient Holstein Friesian cows were examined for plasma tartrate-resistant acid phosphatase (TRAP) activity to assess the degree of bone metabolic activity and to evaluate the association between the change in calcium (Ca) concentration and bone metabolism during the periparturient period. Milk fever occurred in 1 of 8 cows just after parturition. Plasma TRAP activities did not markedly change in 5 of 8 cows during the experimental period. The changing rate of Ca between preparturition and just after parturition was under -20% in 3 of 8 cows, and low TRAP activities were observed in 2 of these 3 cows. This study suggests that cows with a low TRAP activity are at risk of developing milk fever in comparison to cows with high TRAP activity. Temporary increases of parathyroid hormone were observed in 7 cows, but not in the cow with milk fever.
