The aim of the present study was to determine the normal ranges of the most commonly used serum biochemical parameters of sheep reared under Greek breeding conditions, as well as to test for the effects of the age and reproductive status of the animals on the normal values of these parameters. In total, 200 clinically healthy Chios sheep from 10 farms were used in the experiment. For the determination of the effect of age 150 sheep were assigned in three groups. Group A consisting of 50 lambs aged 2-6 months (mean +/- SD: 4.15 +/- 1.08), group B of 50 non-pregnant ewes into lactation aged 1-3 years (mean +/- SD: 2.12 +/- 0.86) and group C of 50 non-pregnant ewes into lactation aged more than 3 years (mean +/- SD: 5.98 +/- 1.66). For evaluating the effect of reproductive status 50 pregnant ewes in dry period were used, 15-30 days before the expected day of lambing (group D), along with the 100 non-pregnant ewes into lactation of groups B and C (group E). Blood sampling was performed once, in dry ewes from December to January, and in lambs and lactating ewes from March to May. The results showed that of the 14 biochemical parameters determined in serum, six were significantly affected by the age and eight by the reproductive stage of the animals.

The objectives of this study were to characterize the changes of body condition score (BCS), energy content (EC), cumulative effective energy balance (CEEB), and blood serum concentrations of glucose, β-hydroxybutyrate (BHBA), and nonesterified fatty acids (NEFA) across the first lactation of Holstein cows, and to estimate variance components for these traits. Four hundred ninety-seven cows kept on a commercial farm in Greece that had calved during 2005 and 2006 were used. Body condition score, estimated live weight, and blood metabolic traits were recorded weekly for the first 3 mo of lactation and monthly thereafter until the end of lactation. Body condition score and estimated live weight records were used to calculate EC and CEEB throughout the first lactation. Estimates of fixed curves and genetic parameters for each trait, by week of lactation, were obtained with the use of random regression models. The estimated fixed curves were indicative of changes in the metabolic process and energy balance of the cows. Significant genetic variance existed in all studied traits, and was particularly high during the first weeks of lactation (except for the genetic variance of CEEB, which was not significant at the beginning of lactation). Significant heritability estimates for BCS ranged from 0.34 to 0.79, for EC from 0.19 to 0.87, for CEEB from 0.58 to 0.93, for serum glucose from 0.12 to 0.39, for BHBA from 0.08 to 0.40, and for NEFA from 0.08 to 0.35. Genetic correlations between different weeks of lactation were near unity for adjacent weeks and decreased for weeks further apart, becoming practically zero for measurements taken more than 3 to 4 mo apart, especially with regard to blood metabolic traits. Significant heritability estimates were also obtained for BCS recorded before first calving. Results suggest that genetic evaluation and selection of dairy cows for earlylactation body energy and blood metabolic traits is possible.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the duration and severity of neurological dysfunction as prognostic indicators for the final outcome in 30 dogs with thoracolumbar intervertebral disk disease, treated surgically with hemilaminectomy without concurrent prophylactic fenestration. The lesion localization was assessed comparing plain radiographic, myelographic and surgical findings and success rates were evaluated during case follow-up. Evidence of a single disk extrusion existed in 17 dogs on survey spinal radiographs, while myelography revealed definite spinal cord compression in 28 cases and was inconclusive in the remaining two cases. Case follow-up continued for a period ranging from 3 months to 2 years post-operatively, depending on the degree of neurological dysfunction on presentation and owner compliance. The severity of clinical signs and the interval elapsing prior to decompressive surgery did not correlate with the case outcome, with 12 of 20 dogs (60%) that exhibited the most pronounced neurological dysfunction (paraplegia with or without analgesia) regaining voluntary motor function during the follow-up period. Recurrences proven to be disk-related did not occur in any dog throughout the post-surgical observation period. It was concluded that the time elapsing from loss of motor function and the severity of clinical signs is not an objective method to predict the case outcome.

A case of hypervitaminosis A with secondary entrapment and compression of the left brachial plexus nerve roots is described. A 9-year-old male castrated domestic shorthair, fed a home-made diet based on raw pork liver, was submitted for examination for a left forelimb lameness that evolved to paralysis over a 2-month period. Clinical examination revealed a flaccid paralysis and atrophy of all left forelimb muscles. An ipsilateral Horner's syndrome was also noted. Radiological examination of the cervical and thoracic spine showed massive new bone formation at the ventral aspect of the second cervical to sixth thoracic vertebra. The diagnosis of hypervitaminosis A was made, based on the clinical and radiographic findings, as well as the determination of serum vitamin A concentration, which was 630 microg/dl, three times above the upper normal limit for this species. Despite the unfavourable initial prognosis, the cat progressively regained function of the affected limb approximately 6 months after the diet was changed to a commercial canned food.

The medical records of 91 dogs with heartworm (Dirofilaria immitis) infection were reviewed, and diagnoses were established by using parasitological and immunological methods. Twenty-one animals were asymptomatic (stage I), 57 had mild to moderate clinical signs (stage II), and 13 had the severe form of the disease including right congestive heart failure and the caval syndrome (stage III). Thoracic radiography revealed right ventricular enlargement in 38 of the dogs, pulmonary vascular enlargement in 43, and parenchymal lesions in 27. Only the cardiac and vascular changes were correlated positively with the clinical stages. D. immitis microfilaraemia was detected in 75 of 85 dogs. Occult infection occurred only in eight stage II and two stage III dogs. Thirty-two of the dogs were treated with thiacetarsamide and 39 were treated with melarsomine, and no differences were found in terms of drug efficacy or complication rate; nine stage II dogs suffered pulmonary thromboembolism and one suffered acute liver disease and there were six fatalities. The 50 treated dogs in stages II and III which were followed up for six months all recovered completely. The performance of 38 of 61 working dogs was completely restored, and the performance of another four was partially restored.