[Neonatal diagnostic protocol of the Hirschsprung's disease]. / Fiabilidad de la manometría anorrectal para el diagnóstico de la enfermedad de Hirschsprung en neonatos: experiencia de 25 años.

UNLABELLED: Suction rectal biopsy (SRB) is the gold-standard for the diagnosis of Hirschsprung's disease (HD), but may not be applied before the first month of age. We propose a diagnostic protocol that allows the management of these patients. MATERIAL AND METHODS: A retrospective analytic study is done, analysing the results of our protocol. A rectal manometry (RM) is done to any patient with clinical symptoms of HD. When first test is positive (no reflex), we practice a weekly RM till the end of the neonatal period when we propose the SRB for the confirmation of the diagnosis. RESULTS: From 1980 to 2006 we have performed 503 tests in 391 HD's suspected neonates. Mean age in the first study was 15.19 days. In 54 cases, final diagnosis was EH. Rate of false-negative was 0.9%, sensibility 99%. Rate of non-usefull studies without sedation was 8%, being minor (2.97%) with sedation (OR = 2.853; p = 0.008). CONCLUSIONS: The protocol with a weekly RM allows the management of these patients because of a reliable diagnosis. Sedation has two positives effects: the reduction of the time of the study and the improvement of the results.

Plasma malonaldehyde (MDA) and total antioxidant status (TAS) during lactation in dairy cows.

Metabolic profiles are widely used to monitor health, reproductive status and nutritional status. In the last few years, the evaluation of oxidative stress has contributed increasingly to our knowledge of the fundamental mechanisms involved in metabolic disorders, especially important in dairy cows, in which lactation imposes great physiological demands on the body's homeostatic mechanisms. The aim of the present study was to evaluate oxidative status in healthy cows during lactation (from lactation onset to peak lactation) using two parameters: (i) plasma levels of malondialdehyde (MDA) and (ii) total antioxidant status (TAS). Our results confirm that nutrition can influence the characteristic metabolic changes occurring between lactation onset and peak lactation. In addition, the combination of MDA and TAS can provide complementary information about the metabolic status of the cow. Thus, the proper metabolic adaptation to the onset of lactation, showed by metabolic profiles, contrasts with the high levels of free radicals which cause lipid peroxidation and high MDA values (68.99+/-33.64 microm/L) which is maintained only for a short period of time. In this moment, the antioxidant system can cope efficiently with lipoperoxide production. The most remarkable fact was the great inter-individual variations observed in MDA that might be studied in further investigations. When the animal reaches peak lactation, metabolic status is stabilized, and this is reflected by antioxidant status with mean values of 28.87+/-5.33 microm/L for MDA and 0.154+/-0.002 mmol/L for TAS values.

Interactions between toxic and essential trace metals in cattle from a region with low levels of pollution.

Studies on the impacts of pollutant metals and metalloids on livestock have largely focused on animals with relatively high levels of exposure. The impact of low-level environmental contamination, which is more common on agricultural land, is largely unknown. The principal aim of the present study was to examine the effects of low-level environmental contamination on trace metal metabolism in cattle from the rural and relatively uncontaminated region of Galicia (NW Spain). Correlations between toxic (cadmium, lead, and arsenic) and essential trace elements (copper and zinc) were evaluated in the tissues (liver, kidney, and muscle) and blood of 494 cattle from throughout Galicia. Cadmium was the toxic element that had the greatest influence on copper and zinc homeostasis. There was a significant positive association between renal cadmium and zinc residues and a significant negative correlation between kidney cadmium and copper. These interactions are likely to be the result of cadmium-induced effects on metallothionein synthesis. Lead and zinc were positively associated in the kidney, although the mechanism of this interaction is uncertain. Arsenic and copper concentrations were strongly correlated with each other in the liver and may indicate that the high copper levels in animals from copper-rich areas in Galicia interfere with their arsenic excretion. The essential metals copper and zinc were also significantly associated with each other in calves but not in cows.