Cisternal and intraventricular cerebrospinal fluid pressures in chronic bovine hypervitaminosis A.

Abstract Eighteen Holstein male calves, average age 96 days and average plasma vitamin A 6.4μg per 100ml, were fed daily vitamin A intakes of either 18, 54, 4,000, or 12,000μg per 454g of live weight for 12 wk. Feed intake and growth were less in calves fed the two higher intakes. Clinical signs of hyper-vitaminosis A were observed in calves fed the 12,000 intake, but only hyperemia of the inguinal skin in calves fed 4,000. Total weight as well as weight per unit of live weight of the adrenals were greater in calves fed the two highest intakes. Cisternal and intraventricular cerebrospinal fluid pressures were lower in calves fed the two higher intakes, but within the individual calves the pressures at the two sites were not appreciably different. It is tentatively concluded that the lower pressures observed in the hypervitaminotic A calves were not due to obstruction or blockage, or both, between the ventricles and the cisternal subarachnoid space.