A reconnaissance survey of farmers' awareness of hypomagnesaemic tetany in UK cattle and sheep farms.

Hypomagnesaemic tetany (HypoMgT) in ruminants is a physiological disorder caused by inadequate intake or impaired absorption of magnesium (Mg) in the gut. If it is not detected and treated in time, HypoMgT can cause the death of the affected animal. A semi-structured questionnaire survey was conducted from July 2016-2017 to assess farmers' awareness of HypoMgT in cattle and sheep in the UK. The questionnaire was distributed to farmers at farm business events and agricultural shows, and through a collaborative group of independent veterinary practices to their clients. Farmers were asked about (i) the incidence of presumed HypoMgT (PHT); (ii) their strategies to treat or prevent HypoMgT; (iii) mineral tests on animals, forage and soil, and (iv) farm enterprise type. A total of 285 responses were received from 82 cattle, 157 mixed cattle and sheep, and 46 sheep farmers, of whom 39% reported HypoMgT in their livestock, affecting 1-30 animals. Treatment and/or prevention against HypoMgT was reported by 96% respondents with PHT and 79% of those without. Mineral tests on animal, forage, and soil was conducted by 24%, 53%, and 66% of the respondents, respectively, regardless of PHT. There was a highly significant association between the use of interventions to tackle HypoMgT and the incidence of PHT (p < 0.01). The top three treatment/prevention strategies used were reported as being free access supplementation (149), in feed supplementation (59) and direct to animal treatments (drenches, boluses and injections) (45) although these did vary by farm type. Although some (9) reported using Mg-lime, no other pasture management interventions were reported (e.g., Mg-fertilisation or sward composition). Generally, the results indicate that UK farmers are aware of the risks of HypoMgT. A more integrated soil-forage-animal assessment may improve the effectiveness of tackling HypoMgT and help highlight the root causes of the problem.

[Hypercalcemic crisis and hypocalcemic tetany]. / Hyperkalzämische Krise und hypokalzämische Tetanie.

A serum calcium level >3.5 mmol/l together with clinical symptoms such as muscle weakness, fatigue, nausea, vomiting, pancreatitis or even coma are characteristic for a hypercalcemic crisis (HC). Primary hyperparathyroidism (1HPT) and malignancy-associated hypercalcemia are the most frequent causal diseases for a HC. The analysis of serum levels for calcium, phosphorous, intact parathyroid hormone, electrophoresis and renal function parameters indicate which further radiological, scintigraphic or serum diagnostic steps are adequate to identify the cause of the patient's acute situation (i. e. most frequently 1HPT or malignant disease with bone involvement, e. g. myeloma) and thus to initiate the required surgical or oncological intervention. However, the primary goals in the treatment of HC include correcting dehydration and improving kidney function, lowering calcium levels and decreasing osteoclastic bone resorption. The goals are accomplished by volume repletion, forced diuresis, antiresorptive agents and hemodialysis on an intensive care unit. Hypocalcemic tetany (HT) is the consequence of severely lowered calcium levels (<2.0 mmol/l), usually in patients with chronic hypocalcemia. The causal disease for hypocalcemic tetany is frequently a lack of parathyroid hormone (PTH), (e. g. as a complication of thyroid surgery) or, rarely, resistance to PTH. HT due to severe and painful clinical symptoms requires rapid i. v. calcium replacement by central venous catheter on an intensive care unit. For the treatment of chronic hypocalcemia oral calcium and 25OH-vitamin D or even 1,25(OH)2-vitamin D3 and magnesium supplements may be necessary to achieve the desired low normal calcium levels. Thiazides are useful to reduce renal calcium loss and to stabilize the calcium levels. Some patients continue to exhibit clinical symptoms despite adequate calcium levels; in these cases s. c. parathyroid hormone 1-84 should be considered to stabilize calcium levels and to lower the dosage of calcium and vitamin D supplements.

[Tetany as a frequent cause of an emergency consultations--etiology, symptoms and cure]. / Tezyczka jako czesta przyczyna konsultacji na ostrym dyzurze--etiologia, objawy chorobowe i leczenie.

Tetany is a disorder with a very heterogeneous clinical manifestation. It includes neuromuscular hyperactivity, decreased attention, fatigue, constant anxiety. Attacks of tetany range from mild symptoms, which includes circumoral and distal paresthesias, hyperventilation, accompanied by shortness of breath, palpitation, dizziness, nausea and carpopedal spasm, through more severe symptoms like generalized seizures, loss of consciousness, muscle crumps to life-threatening emergencies like laryngospasm or arrhythmias. Tetany can be a result of many electrolyte disturbances, like hypocalcaemia, hypomagnesemia, hypokalaemia, alkalosis and electrolyte disturbances following hyperventilation. These disorders may occur in many clinical situations including diet deficiencies, alcoholism, endocrine diseases, genetic disorders, iatrogenic causes like proton pump inhibitors therapy and many, many others. It happens that tetany is diagnosed too late and therefore insufficiently cured. For these reason it deserves closer attention.

Effects of pre-irradiation of low-level laser therapy with different doses and wavelengths in skeletal muscle performance, fatigue, and skeletal muscle damage induced by tetanic contractions in rats.

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of low-level laser therapy (LLLT) immediately before tetanic contractions in skeletal muscle fatigue development and possible tissue damage. Male Wistar rats were divided into two control groups and nine active LLLT groups receiving one of three different laser doses (1, 3, and 10 J) with three different wavelengths (660, 830, and 905 nm) before six tetanic contractions induced by electrical stimulation. Skeletal muscle fatigue development was defined by the percentage (%) of the initial force of each contraction and time until 50 % decay of initial force, while total work was calculated for all six contractions combined. Blood and muscle samples were taken immediately after the sixth contraction. Several LLLT doses showed some positive effects on peak force and time to decay for one or more contractions, but in terms of total work, only 3 J/660 nm and 1 J/905 nm wavelengths prevented significantly (p < 0.05) the development of skeletal muscle fatigue. All doses with wavelengths of 905 nm but only the dose of 1 J with 660 nm wavelength decreased creatine kinase (CK) activity (p < 0.05). Qualitative assessment of morphology revealed lesser tissue damage in most LLLT-treated groups, with doses of 1-3 J/660 nm and 1, 3, and 10 J/905 nm providing the best results. Optimal doses of LLLT significantly delayed the development skeletal muscle performance and protected skeletal muscle tissue against damage. Our findings also demonstrate that optimal doses are partly wavelength specific and, consequently, must be differentiated to obtain optimal effects on development of skeletal muscle fatigue and tissue preservation. Our findings also lead us to think that the combined use of wavelengths at the same time can represent a therapeutic advantage in clinical settings.

Localised normocalcaemic tetany secondary to dehydration in an individual with Gitelman syndrome.

Dehydration is a common presentation to any emergency department with symptoms ranging from lethargy, confusion, oliguria as well as those specific to the underlying cause. In this case we describe a young patient who following a short history of vomiting and abdominal pain developed carpopedal spasm and distal parasthesia on a background of Gitelman syndrome. Biochemical blood analysis showed a marked hypokalaemia, hypomagnesaemia and mild metabolic alkalosis in addition to a prolonged QTc interval of 592 ms seen on ECG. Following fluid replacement and electrolyte correction his clinical symptoms resolved along with QTc normalisation. This case demonstrates a patient with a rare and interesting renal disorder who presented with typical biochemical and ECG abnormalities in addition to tetany in the presence of normal plasma calcium.

Control de la tetania en modelos quirúrgicos de hipocalcemia en ratas / Management of tetany in hypocalcemic models in the rat

La remodelación ósea es un proceso bajo el control de un complejo mecanismo que involucra factores endócrinos, autócrinos y parácrinos. La hipocalcemia tiene en parte el control de la remodelación ósea por modificación de los niveles de parathormona (PTH). La disminución de la acción de PTH produce un estado de baja remodelación ósea. La disminución de la función paratiroidea se puede lograr en la rata por ablación simultánea de tiroides y paratiroides (tiroparatiroidectomía: TPTX) o por ablación de las glándulas paratiroideas (paratiroidectomía: PX). TPTX es una cirugía de baja complejidad y requiere administración posterior de hormonas tiroideas en agua de bebida. PX requiere más entrenamiento pero no la administración de tiroxina. En ambos casos la hipocalcemia es el signo indicador del éxito de la ablación, cuyo valor es cercano o inferior a 7.5 mg/dl. La búsqueda de modelos de hipocalcemia para obtener estados de baja remodelación ósea ha demostrado que la tetania asociada a la hipocalcemia es la complicación más importante en el mantenimiento de los animales y la realización de cirugías posteriores. Se realizaron cirugías de PX, TPTX y ablación de una de las dos glándulas paratiroideas (1/2PX). Los resultados hallados indican que la PX y 1/2PX producen hipocalcemia más severa que TPTX y la 1/2PX produce un modelo de hipocalcemia muy severa pero transitoria. La administración de gluconato de calcio en agua de bebida evita la presencia de tetania durante el mantenimiento de los animales, pero no durante cirugías con anestesia general. La administración de gluconato de calcio intramuscular evita la tetania que se produce como consecuencia de la anestesia general.

[Celiac crisis: presentation as bleeding diathesis]. / Crisis celíaca: presentación con diátesis hemorrágica.

Celiac crisis is a severe and potentially fatal complication of celiac disease. Unusual at present, it has been described mainly in children younger than 2-years-old, but reports in adults do exist. We report a 26-years-old lady with tetany and bleeding diathesis at presentation. In spite of it rareness, it is important to consider celiac crisis among the multiple manifestations of celiac disease.

Dose-response relationship of mesenchymal stem cell transplantation and functional regeneration after severe skeletal muscle injury in rats.

Various therapeutic strategies that aim to influence clinical outcome after severe skeletal muscle trauma have been considered. One such method, the local transplantation of stem cells, has been shown to improve tissue regeneration. The number of cells required for successful regeneration, however, remains unclear. The aim of this study was therefore to examine the correlation between the number of transplanted bone marrow-derived mesenchymal stem cells (MSCs) and the resulting muscle function. One week after inducing an open crush trauma in 34 female Sprague Dawley rats, increasing quantities of autologous MSCs (0.1 x 10(6), 1 x 10(6), 2.5 x 10(6), and 10 x 10(6) cells) or saline solution (control group) were transplanted into the left soleus muscle of the rat hind limb. At 4 weeks posttrauma, the outcome was assessed by measuring muscle contraction forces following an indirect fast twitch and tetanic stimulation. A logarithmic dose-response relationship was observed for both maximum twitch and tetanic contraction forces (R(2) = 0.9 for fast twitch [p = 0.004]; R(2) = 0.87 [p = 0.002] for tetanic contraction). The transplantation of 10 x 10(6) cells resulted in the most pronounced improvement of muscle force. MSC therapy represents a promising new tool for the treatment of skeletal muscle trauma that shows potential for aiding in the prevention of severe functional deficiencies. The logarithmic dose-response relationship demonstrates the association between the number of transplanted cells and the resulting muscle forces, as well as the amount of MSCs required for promoting muscular regeneration.

Environmental illness in athletes.

This article examines environmental illness in athletes. Causes, symptoms, and treatment of heat-related illness, cold-related illness, and altitude-related illness are discussed.

[Tetany]. / Tetanie.

The hallmark of acute hypocalcemia (ionized calcium <0.75 mmol/l) is tetany, which is characterized by neuromuscular irritability. The symptoms may be mild with circumoral numbness, paresthesias of hands and feet, and muscular cramps or severe with laryngospasm, focal or generalized tonic muscle cramps, or seizures. Myocardial dysfunction and prolongation of QT interval also may occur. Most often, acute hypocalcemia occurs after thyroid or parathyroid surgery. Rarer cases are intravascular binding of ionized calcium by phosphate, citrate, or drugs such as foscarnet or bisphosphonates. The most appropriate treatment is intravenous calcium, in the form of 100-200 mg of elemental calcium. Thereafter, the therapy depends on the underlying disease. In most cases vitamin D has to be added to calcium substitution. In cases of hypomagnesemia, magnesium and not calcium has to be substituted. It has not yet been proven in clinical trials whether substitution of magnesium and/or calcium influences the clinical outcome in patients with severe sepsis or pancreatitis who show both hypomagnesemia and hypocalcemia.

Tetany following resuscitation after abruptio placentae.

BACKGROUND: Serum ionized calcium and magnesium are normally decreased during later stages of pregnancy. A further rapid decline may be caused by the rapid infusion of blood bank products in which citrate is used as an anticoagulant/preservative. Tetany, as reported here, may be precipitated by such infusions. CASE: A gravid woman presented in hemorrhagic shock due to abruptio placentae. Rapid infusion of packed red blood cells and fresh frozen plasma precipitated signs of tetany, muscle rigidity, posturing, high airway pressure during mechanical ventilation, etc. Ionized calcium and magnesium blood levels were very low (0.58 mmol/L and 1.0 mg/dL, respectively), but responded to rapid electrolyte administration. CONCLUSION: Binding of calcium and magnesium by citrate may lead to hypo-ionized calcemic and hypomagnesemic tetany after rapid replacement of blood products in the pregnant patient. This consequence is worsened when extreme alkalemia due to respiratory or metabolic causes is also present.