Renal clearance studies in cats with chronic renal disease: Dietary implications

Renal clearance studies were undertaken on 15 cats, 10 with mild chronic renal disease (CRD) and five with severe CRD. Plasma creatinine concentration and urinary specific gravity measurements in the mild and severe CRD cats were significantly different (P < 0–05) and were 131 ± 26‐7 umol/litre and 1–034 ± 0–016, and 392 ± 117‐3 nmol/litre and 1–015 ± 0–002, respectively. Endogenous creatinine clearance in the mild and severe CRD cats were significantly different (P < 0–01) and were 2–3 ± 0–58 and 0–62 ± 0–230 ml/min/kg bodyweight, respectively. Hypokalemia was present in one cat but it was not associated with hypercalcinuria. Two cats with mild CRD had hypophosphataemia, hypercalcaemia and hyperphosphaturia which was suggestive of primary hyperparathyroidism, while two cats with severe CRD had hyperphosphataemia and hyperphosphaturia which was indicative of renal secondary hyperparathyroidism. Eight of the 15 cats were subsequently necropsied and were found to have segmental atrophic nephropathy. Copyrigh

Measurement of daily water intake in the dog

Water intake was measured for 50 days in four Kelpie bitches, housed in a room kept at a temperature of 22–25oC and a relative humidity of 55%. The mean daily water ingested (free and combined water) was 55‐9 ± 3–70 ml/kg body weight while the mean daily intake (free, combined and metabolic water) was estimated to be 72‐9 ± 3–70 ml/kg. The experimental findings are compared with those observed in the dog by other workers and it is emphasized that, in determining daily water ingestion for the differentiation of clinical polydipsia, feed dry matter intake should be correlated with volume of water drunk. Copyrigh

Tannic acid intoxication in sheep and mice

Acute tannic acid intoxication was studied in mice and sheep. In mice, following oral administration of 2·0 to 4·6 g of tannic acid kg bodyweight, periacinar coagulative and haemorrhagic necrosis occurred in the liver. In sheep, following oral (8 g kg bodyweight) administration of tannic acid, liver necrosis was not observed either histologically or detected biochemically, although transmission electron microscopy showed focal hepatocefular necrosis, steatosis and acicular crystal cleft formation. In sheep given tannic acid intraperitoneally (0·1 g kg bodyweight), liver necrosis occurred and plasma sodium and glucose levels significantly (

Comparison of renal function in a congenital hyperbilirubinaemic Southdown sheep and normal sheep

Renal function was studied in a 6-yr-old mutant Southdown ewe with congenital hyperbilirubinemia, 2 normal Southdown ewes and 4 Merino ewes. Clearances of p-aminohippuric acid and phenol-sulphonphthalein were within normal ranges in the mutant Southdown, but inulin clearance was 1.18±0.05 ml/min per kg body weight compared with a mean value of 2.55±0.29 in control sheep. Urine dilution and concentration tests were carried out in all 7 sheep. In the mutant Southdown minimum urine osmolality 3 h after water loading was hypertonic to plasma. In the six normal sheep it was hypotonic. After 36 h of water deprivation maximum urine osmolality in the mutant Southdown was 753 mOsm/kg and plasma osmolality was 295. However, during a graded water deprivation test the maximum urine osmolality rose to 1336 mOsm/kg and plasma osmolality rose sharply to 337 mOsm/kg. In the normal sheep urine osmolality rose in deprivation tests but there was little change in plasma osmolality. Vasopressin infusion in the mutant Southdown failed to raise the urine osmolality above the plasma osmolality. It did in the normal sheep. Renal histopathology in the mutant Southdown was consistent with that found in congenital hyperbilirubinemia. The underlining functional impairment was a reduced ability to concentrate or dilute urine. That was probably due to the renal structural changes revealed by histopathology

Survey of veterinary practitioners about their experiences with urinary disorders in dogs and cats

Selected veterinarians were surveyed about their recalled experiences of urinary disorders, especially renal conditions, in current practice. When contacted by phone, 114 veterinarians in four states agreed to participate and 100 of them returned completed questionnaires. The three conditions of most concern nominated by 114 practitioners related to skin, endocrine and gastrointestinal systems (mentioned by 65, 35 and 32%, respectively), followed by urinary, cardiac and respiratory disorders (23, 20, 17%). From the questionnaire, the two body systems most often noted as abnormal in unwell dogs and cats were skin/eyes/ears and alimentary; urinary was third in cats and fifth in dogs. The urinary disorders reported as mast common were bacterial cystitis in dogs and nonobstructed haematuria/dysuria in cats. The frequency of diagnosing renal failure in dogs and cats was mostly "one case per two weeks" (43%), with "one or more per week" (28%) or "one per month" (22%) the main alternatives. Methods used to diagnose or investigate renal disease were generally blood biochemical tests, haematology and urinalysis, but imaging techniques were also popular. Most favoured treatments for chronic renal failure were intravenous fluids, multivitamins, anabolic steroids, and commercial. renal diets. Antimicrobials were often used, but phosphate binders, vitamin D analogues and erythropoietin were rarely employed

Experimentally induced lactic acidosis in the goat.

Lactic acidosis was produced experimentally twice in each of 4 adult, female goats, by giving sucrose orally at the rate of 18 g/kg bodyweight. Changes in pH, osmolality, lactic acid concentration, and other constituents in ruminal fluid, plasma and blood were monitored over a period of 48 h. Also changes in urinary pH and sediment were examined. To ameliorate the metabolic disturbance, calcium hydroxide and bicarbonate treatment was employed after the 24 h samples had been collected and their acid-base status determined. A feature of the disturbance in the goats was that a metabolic alkalosis preceded the onset of lactic acidosis

Isolation and structure determination of terminalin A toxic condensed tannin from Terminalia oblongata

Terminalia oblongata (yellow wood) is a small deciduous tree growing over an area of central Queensland that supports a large proportion of this state's cattle population. Cattle and sheep that consume yellow wood leaves are poisoned and die. Severe losses of these animals can occur, and this problem is considered the main cause of economic loss to the cattle industry in the area apart from drought. A new toxic condensed tannin, terminalin was isolated from Terminalia oblongata. Its structure was deduced following NMR, IR, UV, MS analyses and in the knowledge that these data show good correlations to those obtained from the related punicalagin molecule which is present in the plant. Terminalin has a high toxicity (20 mg/kg) to white Quackenbush male mice and produces a vascular renal necrosis with slight liver necrosis, unlike punicalagin, which produces liver lesions but not kidney lesions. Similar results were obtained with sheep. A most interesting aspect is that there are two different specific toxins in the plant. © 1994 wiley‐Liss, Inc