Parenteral nutrition in neonatal foals: clinical description, complications and outcome in 53 foals (1995-2005)

This retrospective study describes the use of and complications associated with parenteral nutrition (PN) administration to 53 equine neonates at the University of California Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital. Medical records were examined and information obtained on signalment, physical examination, clinical diagnosis, outcome, total hospitalization time, insulin administration, microbiology culture results, other complications (i.e. thrombophlebitis) and necropsy findings. Complete blood count and serum biochemistry analytes, venous blood gas, serum electrolyte and glucose concentrations, and blood lactate concentration results were compared before and during PN administration in all foals. Seventeen foals (32%) developed hypertriglyceridemia (>200mg/dL). Triglyceride concentrations >200mg/dL were significantly (P=0.049) associated with non-survival. Forty-seven foals (89%) developed hyperglycemia (blood glucose >120mg/dL) and eight (15%) developed catheter-related complications (thrombosis or local sepsis). Packed cell volume, total protein, creatinine, blood urea nitrogen, and sorbitol dehydrogenase concentrations decreased while foals were on PN, while serum chloride concentration increased. This study highlighted that hypertriglyceridemia during the acute phase of neonatal illness may be detrimental to outcome, and that the safety of lipid-containing solutions in foals warrants further study.     

Effect of glimepiride and nateglinide on serum insulin and glucose concentration in healthy cats

Glimepiride and nateglinide are two common oral hypoglycemic agents currently being used with humans suffering from Type 2 diabetes mellitus. Neither drug has been tested with cats thus far and it is currently unknown whether either of these drugs exert any effect in cats or not. The objective of this study was to determine the effect of glimepiride and nateglinide on glucose and insulin responses in healthy control cats, in order to determine their potential use in diabetic cats. The intravenous glucose tolerance tests was carried out since it is an excellent test for evaluating pancreatic β-cell function for insulin secretion. Alterations in the insulin secretion pattern can be perceived as the earliest sign of β-cell dysfunction in many species, including cats. Nateglinide demonstrated a quick action/short duration type effect with serum glucose nadiring and insulin response peaking at 60 and 20 minutes, respectively. Alternatively, glimepiride is medium-to-long acting with serum glucose nadiring and insulin response peaking at 180 minutes and 60 minutes, respectively. Nateglinide’s potency was evident allowing it to induce a 1.5–2 higher preliminary insulin peak (3.7?±?1.1 pg/ml) than glimepiride’s (2.5?±?0.1 pg/ml), albeit only for a short period of time. Because glimepiride and nateglinide have a shared mode of action, no significant differences in overall glucose AUC_0-360min (24,435?±?2,940 versus 24,782?±?2,354 mg min/dl) and insulin AUC_0-360min (410?±?192 versus 460?±?159) in healthy control cats were observed. These findings may provide useful information when choosing a hypoglycemic drug suited for the treatment of diabetic cats depending on the degree of diabetes mellitus the cat is suffering from.     

The new age of renal biomarkers: does SDMA solve all of our problems?

Within clinical small animal practice, diagnosis of both chronic kidney disease and acute kidney injury is common. To assess renal function, measurement of glomerular filtration rate is considered the gold standard. Currently, routine tests of kidney function include surrogate markers of glomerular filtration rate such as serum creatinine, and urea, each with their own limitations, whilst urine protein to creatinine ratio gives an indication of glomerular and tubular handling of protein, and urine specific gravity information about urine concentrating ability by the kidney. These parameters are used together with historical and physical examination data to give a diagnosis of kidney disease following which creatinine, proteinuria and blood pressure are used to stage chronic kidney disease and, together with urine output, grade acute kidney injury according to the International Renal Interest Society. However, there has been much concern that creatinine is insensitive when used to indicate early decline in renal function and this has highlighted the need for additional methods of diagnosing and monitoring these patients, with the potential to allow earlier therapeutic intervention. Symmetric dimethylarginine is a novel biomarker, which has been shown to perform as a surrogate marker of glomerular filtration rate in small animals. This article will review current research on symmetric dimethylarginine and the ways in which it may be utilised in small animal practice; current research supports the use of symmetric dimethylarginine as a screening test for detection of early chronic kidney disease according to International Renal Interest Society guidelines, but further research is required in to the usefulness of symmetric dimethylarginine as a tool for monitoring disease and the effect of non-renal influences.     

Starch digestion rates in multiple samples of commonly used feed grains in diets for broiler chickens

In this study the starch digestion rates in broiler chickens from 18 samples of 5 commonly used feed grains (sorghum, wheat, maize, barley, triticale) were determined. The methodology to determine starch digestion rates in poultry is detailed herein. Starch digestion rates were not significantly different (P = 0.128) across the 18 feed grains, which reflects the wide variations that were observed within a given feedstuff. Nevertheless, starch digestion rates in broiler chickens offered wheat-based diets were significantly more rapid by 56.0% (0.117 versus 0.075 min⁻¹; P = 0.012) than their sorghum-based counterparts on the basis of a pair-wise comparison. In descending order, the following starch digestion rates were observed: wheat (0.117 min⁻¹), barley (0.104 min⁻¹), triticale (0.093 min⁻¹), maize (0.086 min⁻¹), sorghum (0.075 min⁻¹). The implications of these findings are discussed as they almost certainly have implications for poultry nutrition and the development of reduced crude protein diets for broiler chickens.     

An investigation of links between metabolic rate and feed efficiency in European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax

Feed efficiency (FE) is the amount of body weight gain for a given feed intake. Improving FE through selective breeding is key for sustainable finfish aquaculture but its evaluation at individual level is technically challenging. We therefore investigated whether individual routine metabolic rate (RMR) was a predictor of individual FE in the European sea bass Dicentrarchus labrax, a major species in European mariculture. The European sea bass has three genetically distinct populations across its geographical range, namely Atlantic (AT), West Mediterranean (WM), and East Mediterranean (EM). We compared FE and RMR of fish from these three populations at 18 or 24 °C. We held 200 fish (62 AT, 66 WM, and 72 EM) in individual aquaria and fed them from ad libitum down to fasting. FI was assessed for an ad libitum feeding rate and for a fixed restricted ration (1% of metabolic body weight·day⁻¹, with metabolic body weight = body weight^0.8). After being refed 12 wk in a common tank, individual RMR was measured over 36 h by intermittent flow respirometry. There was a significant effect of temperature whereby fish at 18 °C had greater mean FE (P < 0.05) and lower RMR (P < 0.001). There was also a significant effect of population, where AT fish had lower FE (P < 0.05) and greater RMR (P < 0.001) than WM and EM, at both temperatures. Despite these differences in temperature and population means, individual FE and RMR were not significantly correlated (P > 0.05). Therefore, although the results provide evidence of an association between metabolic rate and FE, RMR was not a predictor of individual FE, for reasons that require further investigation.     

Growth performance and carcass quality are not different between pigs fed diets containing cold-fermented low-oil DDGS and pigs fed conventional DDGS,but pelleting improves gain to feed ratio regardless of source of DDGS

The objective of this study was to test the hypothesis that growth performance and carcass characteristics of pigs fed diets containing cold-fermented, low oil distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is not different from that of pigs fed diets containing conventional DDGS regardless of the physical form of the diets. A total of 160 barrows and gilts were used. There were 4 diets, 10 pens per diet, and 4 pigs per pen. Pigs were weaned at 21 d of age and fed a common phase 1 diet that did not contain DDGS during the initial 7 d post-weaning. Pigs were then allotted to the four diets that were arranged in a 2 × 2 factorial design with two sources of DDGS (cold-fermented and conventional DDGS) and two diet forms (meal and pellets). Pigs were fed phase 2 diets from day 7 to 21 and phase 3 diets from day 21 to 43 post-weaning. All diets were based on corn and soybean meal, but phase 2 diets also contained 15% DDGS and phase 3 diets contained 30% DDGS. From day 43, pigs were fed grower diets for 38 d, early finisher diets for 38 d, and late finisher diets for 18 d and these diets also contained 30% DDGS. Feed was provided on an ad libitum basis and daily feed allotments were recorded. Pigs were weighed at the beginning of each phase and at the conclusion of the experiment. On the last day of the experiment, the pig in each pen with a body weight that was closest to the pen average was slaughtered and carcass measurements were determined. Combined results for the two nursery phases indicated that feeding meal diets instead of pelleted diets increased (P < 0.001) average daily feed intake and decreased (P < 0.05) gain to feed ratio (G:F). However, no differences between the two sources of DDGS were observed for the overall growth performance of weanling pigs. For the entire growing-finishing period, the source of DDGS did not affect growth performance, but pigs fed meal diets had reduced (P < 0.001) G:F compared with pigs fed the pelleted diets. There were no differences between the two sources of DDGS for carcass characteristics. Back fat was greater (P < 0.05) for pigs fed pelleted diets than for pigs fed meal diets. In conclusion, no differences in growth performance or carcass characteristics between pigs fed cold-fermented DDGS and pigs fed conventional DDGS were observed. However, pigs fed pelleted diets had greater G:F and greater back fat than pigs fed meal diets.     

Prior infection with antigenically heterologous low pathogenic avian influenza viruses interferes with the lethality of the H5 highly pathogenic strain in domestic ducks

Low and highly pathogenic avian influenza viruses (LPAIVs and HPAIVs, respectively) have been co-circulating in poultry populations in Asian, Middle Eastern, and African countries. In our avian-flu surveillance in Vietnamese domestic ducks, viral genes of LPAIV and HPAIV have been frequently detected in the same individual. To assess the influence of LPAIV on the pathogenicity of H5 HPAIV in domestic ducks, an experimental co-infection study was performed. One-week-old domestic ducks were inoculated intranasally and orally with phosphate-buffered saline (PBS) (control) or 10⁶ EID₅₀ of LPAIVs (A/duck/Vietnam/LBM678/2014 (H6N6) or A/Muscovy duck/Vietnam/LBM694/2014 (H9N2)). Seven days later, these ducks were inoculated with HPAIV (A/Muscovy duck/Vietnam/LBM808/2015 (H5N6)) in the same manner. The respective survival rates were 100% and 50% in ducks pre-infected with LBM694 or LBM678 strains and both higher than the survival of the control group (25%). The virus titers in oral/cloacal swabs of each LPAIV pre-inoculation group were significantly lower at 3–5 days post-HPAIV inoculation. Notably, almost no virus was detected in swabs from surviving individuals of the LBM678 pre-inoculation group. Antigenic cross-reactivity among the viruses was not observed in the neutralization test. These results suggest that pre-infection with LPAIV attenuates the pathogenicity of HPAIV in domestic ducks, which might be explained by innate and/or cell-mediated immunity induced by the initial infection with LPAIV.