[Frequency of diseases and injuries in the Swiss horse population]. / Häufigkeiten von Erkrankungen und Verletzungen in der Schweizer Pferdepopulation.

Through a written questionnaire, which was sent to a representatively distributed and randomly selected sample of Swiss horse owners, data of 2912 horses and ponies were acquired to extrapolate prevalence data of health disorders. General questions about the horse and associated factors of housing and use, as well as questions about the current health status and the occurrence of diseases and injuries had been asked. 718 horses (24.7% of the sample) had been examined by a veterinarian within the 12 months prior to the survey. Orthopaedic and traumatic disorders (41.5%) had the largest proportion, followed by gastrointestinal--(27.1%) and respiratory (14.0%) diseases. Half of the lameness cases occurred as a direct consequence of a injury. The injuries were associated with pasture/paddock (38.1%), kicking and biting (21.6%), boxstall (7.8%), terrain and hacking (13.4%), training (3.5%), competition (3.5%), transportation (3.0%) or other circumstances (9.1%). A change in feeding management up to 4 weeks before development of a colic episode occurred in 26.5% of all colic cases. In 13.8% of all respiratory cases the same disease was diagnosed in other horses in the same barn. 8.1% of all cases had to be treated surgically, 6.7% required hospitalization for several days. Information about diagnostic or therapeutic procedures was related to specific disease categories. In 25.6% of all cases diagnosed by a veterinarian alternative therapeutic methods were used either in addition to traditional medicine or exclusively.

Bi-lateral eosinophilic ulcers in an infant treated with propolis.

BACKGROUND: Propolis is a natural substance, produced by the honey bee, containing amino acids, flavanoids, terpenes and cinnamic acid. It has long been used in folk-medicine for topical inflammatory conditions including ulcerative lesions of different aetiologies. METHODS: A 13-month-old female infant developed bilateral eosinophilic ulcers of the mouth, becoming the youngest patient in the literature so far reported to have done so. Following a protracted 4-month course, during which time the lesions remained unchanged despite various treatments, the ulcers were treated locally with a lanolin-based propolis ointment. RESULTS: Application of the propolis ointment was associated with the rapid resolution of the ulcers within 3 weeks and they did not subsequently recur. CONCLUSIONS: Although inevitably circumstantial, the abrupt healing of this child's chronic eosinophilic ulcers suggests that, in the light of its previously known therapeutic associations, propolis deserves further evaluation in the treatment of this condition, and perhaps in other forms of oral ulceration as well.

Tumorigenic activity of lead chromate.

Lead chromate was investigated for its carcinogenic potential in both rats and mice. Results show that this compound is a very potent carcinogen in rats when administered i.m. Sixty-four % of the animals treated developed malignant tumors at the injection site. Three renal carcinomas were also found after i.m. treatment with lead chromate. Since lead powder is a comparatively weak carcinogen in rats, whether given p.o. or i.m., it is suggested that the combination of lead and chromium (also weak carcinogen) accounts for the high carcinogenic activity of lead chromate in rats. Swiss albino female mice could not tolerate the same high dose level as did the rats; at the lower dose administered to the mice, no tumors were detected.