Treatment of pseudopregnancy in the bitch with cabergoline, an ergoline derivative

Cabergoline, a new prolactin inhibitor, was evaluated clinically in 143 bitches with pseudopregnancy and, or, false lactation, 14 cases of lactation after ovariohysterectomy for the removal of dead fetuses, 12 cases of persisting lactation after early weaning, and five cases of eclampsia. The drug was administered as a once-daily oral treatment (on food) in 139 cases or as subcutaneous injections at 48 hour intervals (maximum four injections) at a dose of 5, 2–5 or 1–5 μg/kg bodyweight in 35 cases. Improvement was evident within three to four days, and in 80 per cent of the cases clinical signs (abnormal behaviour, mammary gland swelling. milk secretion) had been significantly reduced or had disappeared within seven days. Treatment was successful in 95 per cent of the cases. Emesis was the only objectionable clinical side effect, being seen in 3 per cent of orally treated animals and necessitated withdrawal of one dog from the study. Vomiting occurred after the first (65-7 per cent) and second (22-9 per cent) injection only.     

Comparative toxicity of coniine, an alkaloid of Conium maculatum (poison hemlock), in chickens, quails, and turkeys

Coniine, an alkaloid of Conium maculatum (poison hemlock), was administered by gavage to immature chickens, quails, and turkeys at 0, 25, 50, and 100 mg/kg body weight. At 25 mg coniine/kg body weight, clinical signs were observed only in quails (2/10) and consisted of excitement, depression, hypermetria, seizures, opisthotonos, and flaccid paralysis. Chickens (9/10) and quails (8/10) dosed at 50 mg/kg body weight were affected, and several birds of each species died (2/10 and 5/10, respectively). Turkeys (7/10) were affected only when dosed at 100 mg/kg body weight, and quails (6/10), turkeys (4/10), and chickens (10/10) died at this dose. There were no gross or microscopic lesions. Coniine was detected in skeletal muscle and liver of birds dying after ingestion and was present in some survivors 7 days post-treatment.     

Outbreak of bovine abortion attributed to ergot poisoning

Eleven out of 36 suckler cows, all in late pregnancy, aborted seven to 10 days following introduction to a rye grass pasture heavily infested with ergot. On the basis of known heavy exposure to ergot infested grass and negative findings in a range of other investigations, details of which are given, a diagnosis of ergotism was made.     

The toxicity and kinetics of larkspur alkaloid,methyllycaconitine, in mice

Larkspur poisoning sporadically kills from 5 to 15% of the cattle on North American mountain rangelands. Of the 40 different diterpenoid larkspur alkaloids, the one that is thought to be responsible for much of the toxicity has been identified as methyllycaconitine (MLA). Little is known of MLA toxicokinetics or excretion. The purpose of this study was to further characterize the clinical effects of MLA toxicity in mice and determine the toxicokinetics of MLA excretion. Eight groups of mice were dosed intravenously with 2.0 mg/kg of BW of MLA, killed, and necropsied at 0, 1, 2, 5,10,15, 30, and 60 min after injection. Treated animals were reluctant to move, trembled, and developed dyspnea, muscular twitches, and convulsions. Within several minutes, the clinical signs abated and behavior slowly returned to normal over approximately 20 min. At necropsy serum, brain, liver, kidney, and skeletal muscle were collected and frozen. Blood and tissues were extracted and analyzed for MLA with HPLC and electron spray mass spectrometry. Blood MLA elimination followed a normal biphasic redistribution and excretion pattern (r = 0.99) with a K of elimination of 0.0376 and half-life of 18.4 min. Other tissues had similar clearance rates. These data indicate the MLA is rapidly distributed and excreted. In mice, the clinical effects of poisoning seem to affect the central nervous system, causing dyspnea and "explosive" muscular twitches and convulsions. Because livestock commonly eat larkspur at subclinical doses, they are likely to have larkspur alkaloids in many tissues. These results suggest that animals exposed to larkspur should rapidly excrete MLA (within several hours) and that the residues in animal tissues are not likely to be a problem if animals are given several days to allow toxin clearance.     

Treatment of canine aural hematoma with an indwelling drain

Aural hematomas in 9 dogs were managed by manual expression through stab incisions in the pinna and placement of indwelling silicone rubber drains, without compression bandaging. The drains were well tolerated. Seromas developed in 2 ears when the drains were removed at 7 and 10 days, but the seromas resolved when the drains were replaced. Healing without deformation of the pinna was obtained when the drains were maintained 13 to 28 days.     

Some consequences of the ingestion by young and growing pigs of feed contaminated with ergot.

Growing pigs were fed freshly milled ergot sclerotia (Claviceps purpurea Fr (Tul)) from North American wheat containing 0-31 per cent of total alkaloids of which 30 per cent was ergotoxine, 30 per cent ergosine, 20 per cent ergotamine and 20 per cent other ergot alkaloids. Pigs were induced to ingest a diet heavily contaminated with ergot (10 per cent w/w). The presence of ergot reduced feed intake and growth of the pigs, but there was no evidence of peripheral necrosis, of internal or external haemorrhage, or of changes in haemotological characteristics. Balance experiments in which the diet was contaminated with 4 per cent (w/w) of ergot showed that 90 per cent of the alkaloids were absorbed by the pigs, but none could be detected in tissues or urine. The ingestion of ergot did not affect the digestibility of the diet, but the urinary excretion of nitrogen was increased and the retention of nitrogen reduced. The presence of ricinoleic acid was shown to be a useful diagnostic feature of ergot contamination of diets, digesta and faeces; it was not found in body tissues.     

紫外分光光度法测定盐穗木生物碱含量

探讨盐穗木中有效成分生物碱含量测定方法,用紫外分光光度法测定盐穗木中生物碱的含量,选定波长为280 nm。结果显示,测定在0.079-0.573 mg/mL范围内线性关系良好,回归方程为A=69.20 C＋0.019,R=0.999（n=5）。采用紫外分光光度法测定盐穗木中生物碱含量具有精度高、稳定性好、操作简便的特点,是提取盐穗木全草生物碱的有效测定方法。     

Treatment of an acromegalic cat with the dopamine agonist L-deprenyl

Acromegaly was diagnosed in a 14-year-old domestic short hair cat presented for investigation and management of apparently insulin-resistant diabetes mellitus. Treatment with L-deprenyl and high doses of insulin was commenced. The L-deprenyl did not reduce the requirement for high doses of insulin and did not appear to reduce the clinical signs associated with the disease. The cat was euthanased one year after initial presentation.     

Semiquantitative determination of ergot alkaloids in seed, straw, and digesta samples using a competitive enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay.

Ergot alkaloids present in endophyte-infected (E+) tall fescue cause fescue toxicosis and other toxic effects in livestock that consume infected plant tissue, leading to significant financial losses in livestock production each year. The predominant method currently in use for quantifying ergot alkaloid content in plant tissue is through high-performance liquid chromatography (HPLC), which quantifies the amount of ergovaline, one of many ergot alkaloids in E+ plant tissue. The enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) method used in this study detects quantities of nonspecific ergot alkaloids and therefore accounts for greater amounts of the total ergot alkaloid content in E+ tissue than does HPLC. The ELISA can also be used to more expediently analyze a larger number of forage samples without sophisticated and costly analytical equipment and therefore could be more desirable in a diagnostic setting. The purpose of this study was to evaluate the between-day and within-run variability of the ELISA and to determine the binding efficiency of 6 ergot alkaloids to the 15F3.E5 antibody used in the competitive ELISA to ascertain its feasibility as a quick analysis tool for ergot alkaloids. Straw samples had an average coefficient of variation (CV) for concentration of 10.2% within runs and 18.4% between runs, and the seed samples had an average CV for concentration of 13.3% within runs and 24.5% between runs. The grass tissue-based lysergic acid standard curve calculated from the ELISA had an average r2 of 0.99, with a CV of 2.1%. Ergocryptine, ergocristine, ergocornine, and ergotamine tartrate did not bind strongly to the 15F3.E5 antibody because of the presence of large side groups on these molecules, which block their binding to the antibody, whereas ergonovine and ergonovine maleate were bound much more efficiently because of their structural similarity to lysergic acid. Clarified rumen fluid was tested as an additional matrix for use in the ergot alkaloid competitive ELISA to determine whether future livestock metabolism experiments on the postingestion fate of ergot alkaloids in ruminants could utilize this assay as a quick screening tool for the presence of nonspecific ergot alkaloids in rumen fluid. HPLC and ELISA procedures were compared for their ability in determining ergot alkaloid toxicity based on the repeatability of the procedures and on the specific compounds they measure. The ratio of ELISA concentration to HPLC concentration (ergovaline) varied from 2.00 to 2.81 in seed samples and from 0.62 to 8.66 in straw samples, showing no consistent pattern between the 2 methods. Based on the lack of data at present for the identity of the toxin causing endophyte toxicosis and the lack of agreement between the ergovaline HPLC and ELISA analyses for ergot alkaloids, each method is equally valid as an indicator of toxicityand is the best means for determining the quantity of the specific toxin(s) they measure.     

Intake, digestion, and N metabolism in steers fed endophyte-free, ergot alkaloid-producing endophyte-infected, or nonergot alkaloid-producing endophyte-infected fescue hay

A digestion and N balance trial was conducted to compare effects of traditional endophyte-infected (E+), endophyte-free (E-), and nontoxic endophyte infected (NE; MaxQ; Pennington Seed, Inc., Madison, GA) Jesup tall fescue (Festuca arundinacea Schreb.) hay on digestion and N retention in steers. Hay composition (DM basis) was as follows: E+ (10.8% CP, 59.9% NDF, and 29.4% ADF), E- (11.8% CP, 58.5% NDF, and 28.4% ADF), and NE (11.6% CP, 58.6% NDF, and 28.3% ADF). Eight Polled Hereford steers (initial BW 240 +/- 9 kg) were used in a replicated, 3 x 3 Latin square design, with an extra steer allotted to each square. Steers were fed ad libitum for 14 d, followed by a 9-d adaptation to restricted intake (based on the animal with the lowest ad libitum intake for the square) and a 5-d fecal and urine collection. Water intake (20.2 L/d) and urine output (7.40 L/d) did not differ (P > 0.10) during the collection period. Plasma prolactin concentration was less (P < 0.05) for steers on the E+ hay (8.83 ng/mL) than for those on the E- hay (18.03 ng/mL) and intermediate for steers on the NE hay (12.65 ng/mL). Endophyte-infected hay differed (P < 0.05) from E- and NE in ad libitum DMI (5.02 vs. 5.62 and 5.61 kg/d, respectively) and ad libitum DMI as a percentage of BW (1.86 vs. 2.06 and 2.06%, respectively). Restricted DMI during the fecal and urine collection was lower (P < 0.05) for E+ hay than for E- (5.04 vs. 5.24 kg/d), and NE was intermediate (5.19 kg/d). Dry matter digestibility was lower (P < 0.05) for E+ compared with E- and NE (62.3 vs. 67.0 and 65.9%, respectively). Digestibility of ADF was lower (P < 0.05) for E+ than for E-, and was intermediate for NE (61.5, 66.0, and 63.9%, respectively). There were no differences for NDF, cellulose, or hemicellulose digestibilities among hay types. Crude protein digestibility was higher (P < 0.05) for E- and NE than for E+ (54.3 and 52.5 vs. 48.1%, respectively). Nitrogen retention was lower (P < 0.01) for E+ than for E- or NE (15.6 vs. 22.7 or 23.0 g/d, respectively). Hay type did not influence plasma urea N, urine urea N output, or urine urea N as a percentage of urinary N. Results from this study indicate that E+ tall fescue hay was lower in ad libitum DMI, DM digestibility, and N retention than NE or E- hays with similar chemical composition. Hay from NE and E- fescue had nearly identical composition, and did not differ for any variable measured.