Myelinolysis after correction of hyponatremia in two dogs.

Two dogs developed delayed neurological deterioration after rapid correction of severe hyponatremia. Sequential magnetic resonance imaging showed the development of lesions in the thalamus. One dog was necropsied, and the lesions were characterized by myelinolysis with sparing of axons and neurons. The second dog gradually recovered with no detectable neurological deficits. The syndrome seems analogous to central pontine myelinolysis in human beings. Guidelines for correction of hyponatremia to prevent development of myelinolysis are given.

The influence of protein and carbohydrate type on serum and liver lipids and lipoprotein cholesterol in rabbits.

The non-lipid portions of semi-synthetic diets appear to be important determinants of hypercholesterolemia and atherosclerosis in the rabbit. Serum and liver lipid concentrations were determined in rabbits which had been pair-fed various protein (casein or soy protein isolate) and carbohydrate (sucrose or dextrose) sources as part of low fat, low cholesterol, semi-synthetic diets. It was verified that casein-containing diets render rabbits hypercholesterolemic, while soy protein caused a degree of hypocholesterolemia. Additionally, sucrose, when fed in conjunction with casein, appears to augment this hypercholesterolemic effect. The distribution of total cholesterol among lipoprotein subclasses was increased in both the intermediate density lipoprotein (IDL) (1.006-1.019 g/ml) and low density lipoprotein (LDL) (1.019-1.063 g/ml) fractions and decreased in the high density lipoprotein (HDL) (1.063-1.21 g/ml) fraction when casein is fed. Soy protein feeding caused relatively more cholesterol to appear only in the IDL fraction when compared with commercial chow fed rabbits. Reasons for these differences may involve the saturation or suppression of endogenous lipoprotein hepatic receptors.