Genome-wide association analysis identifies loci for left-sided displacement of the abomasum in German Holstein cattle.

Left-sided displacement of the abomasum (LDA) is one of the most common disorders of the digestive system in many dairy breeds and particularly in Holstein dairy cows. We performed a genome-wide association study for 854 German Holstein cows, including 225 cases and 629 controls. All cows were genotyped using the Illumina Bovine SNP50 BeadChip (Illumina Inc., San Diego, CA). After quality control of genotypes, a total of 36,226 informative single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNP) were left for analysis. We used a mixed linear model approach for a genome-wide association study of LDA. In total, 36 SNP located on 17 bovine (Bos taurus) chromosomes (BTA) showed associations with LDA at nominal -log10P-values >3.0. Two of these SNP, located on BTA11 at 46.70 Mb and BTA20 at 16.67 Mb, showed genome-wide significant associations with LDA at -log10P-values >4.6. Pathway analyses indicated genes involved in calcium metabolism and insulin-dependent diabetes mellitus to be factors in the pathogenesis of LDA in German Holstein cows.

Comparative ultrasonographic examination and measurements of the urethra and penis of castrated and intact male lambs.

Early castration of male small ruminants is regarded as a risk factor for urolithiasis, although the underlying correlations are still unclear. One possible reason is a deferred development of the penis and the urethra after castration. Therefore, we examined the penis and urethra of castrated and intact lambs by ultrasonography to determine the correlation between urethral area and pe- nile cross-sectional area. Ultrasonography was performed in 6-month-old Lacaune crossbred lambs (early castrated, late castrated, and intact; each group, n = 11). Sectional images at 5 loca- tions (glans penis, penile urethra, distal and proximal sigmoid flexure, and ischial arch) were ob- tained to determine the urethral and penile diameters. Urethral and penile cross-sectional areas were calculated. Grey-scale analysis of ultrasound images was performed to evaluate possible differences in the penile texture between the groups. Correlation analyses between both cross-sectional areas showed a significant general correlation for location 2 in all lambs (R = 0.52; P = 0.003), for location 3 in late-castrated lambs, and for location 5 in early-castrated lambs. Statistically significant correlations between the penile and the urethral area of castrated and intact lambs were not evident. Therefore, measurement of the penile cross-sectional area alone does not allow for accurate estimation of urethral size. Statistically significant differences con- cerning the grey-scale analysis between the groups were also not detectable. Thus, simplification of the formerly presented ultrasonographic examination of the urethra is not recommended. In animals at a risk of obstructive urolithiasis, complete urethral examina- tion is essential.

Small volume resuscitation with hypertonic sodium chloride solution in cattle undergoing surgical correction of abomasal volvulus.

A randomized clinical trial was conducted to compare the efficacy of rapid intravenous (IV) infusion of a 7.2% hypertonic saline solution with that of continuous application of an isotonic solution in stabilizing the circulation of cows with abomasal volvulus. Cattle treated with hypertonic saline had a significantly greater reduction in volume deficit within the first 10 min of therapy than cows treated with isotonic saline (from 5.9 ± 4.8 to 2.1 ± 4.4 L/100 kg vs. 7.0 ± 4.5 to 4.9 ± 3.8 L/100 kg, respectively). The central venous pressure (CVP) of the cows given the hypertonic saline rose within the first 10 min of therapy from 7.3 ± 3.5 to 10.8 ± 3.4 cm H2O, while the CVP of the cattle treated with isotonic saline did not increase significantly during this time. Sixty minutes after the start of the infusion, the CVP of the isotonic group was still significantly lower than that of the hypertonic group (9.5 ± 2.1 vs. 10.3 ± 3.3 cm H2O, respectively). Within the first 60 min, the base excess decreased from 5.5 ± 6.9 to 4.7 ± 6.2 mmol/L in the hypertonic group whereas it increased from 5.6 ± 5.7 to 6.8 ± 5.4 mmol/L in the isotonic group. These results suggest that for cows with abomasal volvulus, IV therapy with hypertonic saline may improve the haemodynamic and circulatory situation considerably faster and more effectively than continuous infusion with isotonic saline.