Tolerance to the Nephrotoxic Component of Narthecium ossifragum in Sheep: The Effects of Repeated Oral Doses of Plant Extracts

Young adult sheep were dosed with extracts of Narthecium ossifragum plants by the oral or parenteral routes and the resulting nephrotoxicity was assessed from the increases in the concentrations of creatinine and urea in the serum. Following single intraruminal or intraperitoneal doses of extracts derived from 30 g N. ossifragum (wet weight) per kg live weight (kg lw), serum creatinine concentrations increased from about 100 mol/L to between 260 and 510 mol/L. The serum urea concentrations increased from about 5–8 mmol/L to between 11 and 66 mmol/L in individual sheep. Daily intraruminal administration of 5–30 g/kg lw to three sheep over a 10- or 15-day period increased creatinine concentrations from 100 mol/L to 300–760 mol/L, and urea concentrations from 5–8 mmol/L to 35 mmol/L. A single intraperitoneal challenge dose of 30 g/kg lw, delivered 7 or 12 days after the final intraruminal dose, did not lead to increased serum creatinine or urea concentrations, indicating that oral treatment had apparently resulted in an increased tolerance to the nephrotoxic principle(s) in N. ossifragum.     

The life cycle of Dichelyne (Cucullanellus) minutus (Nematoda: Cucullanidae)

Mature specimens of the nematode Dichelyne (Cucullanellus) minutus (Rudolphi, 1819) (Ascaridida, Cucullanidae, Seuratoidea) were obtained from the intestine of flounder Platichthys flesus (L.) caught in the Oresund, Denmark. Plaice Pleuronectes platessa L. and common goby Pomatoschistus microps (Kr?yer) also harbour this species. The eggs embryonate on the seabottom. Larvae about 440 microm long, and believed to be in their third stage, hatch from the eggs. These larvae are not directly infective to flounders or gobies. The polychaete Nereis diversicolor O.F. Muller acts as obligatory intermediate host. Experimental infections showed that larvae >600 microm long and provided with achitinous tooth survived in flounder and common goby. The third-stage larvae moult to fourth-stage larvae in the fish gut wall. Mature worms occur in the lumen of the anterior part of the intestine. All developmental stages may be transferred from one flounder to another; thus the flounder may acquire the parasite also by devouring infected gobies.     

A pharmacokinetic study including some relevant clinical effect of medetomidine and atipamezole in lactating dairy cows

Medetomidine is the most potent and selective alpha2-agonist used in veterinary medicine and its effects can be antagonized by the alpha2-antagonist atipamezole. The pharmacokinetics of medetomidine and atipamezole were studied in a cross-over trial in eight lactating dairy cows. The animals were injected intravenously (i.v.) with medetomidine (40 microg/kg) followed by atipamezole i.v. (200 microg/kg) or saline i.v. after 60 min. Drug concentrations in plasma were measured by HPLC. After the injection of atipamezole, the concentration of medetomidine in plasma increased slightly, the mean increment being 2.7 ng/mL and the mean duration 12.1 min. However, atipamezole did not alter the pharmacokinetics of medetomidine. It is likely that the increase in medetomidine concentration is caused by displacement of medetomidine by atipamezole in highly perfused tissues. The volume of distribution at steady state (Vss) for medetomidine followed by saline and medetomidine followed by atipamezole was 1.21 and 1.32 L/kg, respectively, whereas the total clearance (Cl) values were 24.2 and 25.8 mL/min x kg. Vss and Cl values for atipamezole were 1.77 mL/kg and 48.1 mL/min x kg, respectively. Clinically, medetomidine significantly reduced heart rate and increased rectal temperature for 45 min. Atipamezole reversed the sedative effects of medetomidine. However, all the animals, except one, relapsed into sedation at an average of 80 min after injection of the antagonist.     

A retrospective evaluation of a Bovine Herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) antibody ELISA on bulk-tank milk samples for classification of the BHV-1 status of Danish dairy herds

Bulk-tank milk samples analysed in a Bovine Herpesvirus-1 (BHV-1) blocking ELISA are still in use in the Danish BHV-1 programme as a tool to classify dairy herds as BHV-1 infected or BHV-1 free herds. In this retrospective study, we used data from the Danish BHV-1 eradication campaign to evaluate performance characteristics of the BHV-1 blocking ELISA in 1039 BHV-1-seropositive and 502 repeatedly BHV-1-negative dairy herds using the results of blood testing of the individual animals as the true infection status. At a cut-off value of 30% blocking reaction, the herd-level relative sensitivity and relative specificity were 82 and 100%, respectively. The herd-level relative sensitivity depended on the within-herd prevalence of seropositive cows and the cut-off value in the assay, but not on the time interval (up to 90 days) between the collection of the bulk-tank milk sample and the individual serum samples. The BHV-1 blocking ELISA on bulk-tank milk could detect seropositive herds (few), with prevalence proportions as low as one seropositive cow out of 70 cows.     

Use of plasma clearance of technetium Tc 99m pentetate to estimate renal clearance during postnatal development in pigs

OBJECTIVE: To compare renal clearance of technetium Tc 99m pentetate with plasma clearance by use of a glomerular filtration rate technique in pigs from 3 to 24 weeks of age. Animals: 24 female pigs. Procedure: At the time of investigation, 5 pigs were 3 weeks old, 6 pigs were 6 weeks old, 8 pigs were 12 weeks old, and 5 pigs were 24 weeks old. Plasma clearance of technetium Tc 99m pentetate was measured by the use of a single injection technique followed by collection of multiple blood samples until 5 hours after the injection. Simultaneously, urine was collected through a urinary catheter, and the renal clearance of technetiumTc 99m pentetate was calculated. Plasma clearance of technetium Tc 99m pentetate was correlated with the renal clearance (r = 0.95). Plasma clearance was higher than renal clearance at all ages (mean, 5.8%), indicating extrarenal clearance of technetium Tc 99m pentetate or methodologic errors. Volume of distribution increased with increasing age but decreased as a fraction of body weight. CONCLUSIONS: Plasma clearance of technetium Tc 99m pentetate estimates renal clearance with acceptable precision when using single injection technique and multiple biood samples in pigs from 3 to 24 weeks of age.     

Milk fever control principles: a review

Three main preventive principles against milk fever were evaluated in this literature review, and the efficacy of each principle was estimated from the results of controlled investigations. Oral calcium drenching around calving apparently has a mean efficacy of 50%-60% in terms of milk fever prevention as well as prevention of milk fever relapse after intravenous treatment with calcium solutions. However, some drenches have been shown to cause lesions in the forestomacs. When using the DCAD (dietary cation-anion difference) principle, feeding rations with a negative DCAD (measured as (Na + K)-(Cl + S)) significantly reduce the milk fever incidence. Calculating the relative risk (RR) of developing milk fever from controlled experiments results in a mean RR between 0.19 and 0.35 when rations with a negative versus positive DCAD are compared. The main drawback from the DCAD principle is a palatability problem. The principle of feeding rations low in calcium is highly efficient in milk fever prevention provided the calcium intake in the dry period is kept below 20 g per day. Calculating the relative risk (RR) of developing milk fever from controlled experiments results in a very low mean RR (between 0 and 0.20) (daily calcium intake below versus above 20 g/d). The main problem in implementing the low-Ca principle is difficulties in formulating rations sufficiently low in calcium when using commonly available feeds. The use of large doses of vitamin D metabolites and analogues for milk fever prevention is controversial. Due to toxicity problems and an almost total lack of recent studies on the subject this principle is not described in detail. A few management related issues were discussed briefly, and the following conclusions were made: It is important to supply the periparturient cow with sufficient magnesium to fulfil its needs, and to prevent the dry cows from being too fat. Available information on the influence of carbohydrate intake, and on the effect of the length of the dry period and prepartum milking, is at present insufficient to include these factors in control programmes.