Epsilon Archive for Student Projects

Abstract

The main interest of this study was to investigate whether there is hyperglycemia or hypoglycemia in cows suffering from abomasal displacement and to evaluate the effect of transport on blood glucose. Thirty-six cows with left- or right-sided abomasal displacement were included in the study together with 17 cows with other diseases for comparison. Fifteen cows with abomasal displacement and 7 cows with other diseases were sampled before transport.
One third of the cows with abomasal displacement had hyperglycemia when the transport effects were corrected for. Separating this group in left- and right-sided abomasal displacement we found significantly higher blood glucose and insulin levels among cows with right-sided abomasal displacement. An explanation for this difference may be a strong stress response secondary to the right-sided dislocation. Twenty-five percent of the cows were above available reference interval for fructosamine, indicating a long-term rise in blood glucose. This prolonged hyperglycemia may be a result of stress from other diseases prior to or concurrent with the abomasal displacement. Peripheral insulin resistance, however, may have contributed to these findings.
A group of cows showed high b-hydroxybutyrate levels concurrent with elevated blood glucose, possibly indicating insulin resistance in liver cells and adipose tissue.
There was a significant rise in blood glucose during transport, we also found that 6.0 mmol/l may be used as an upper limit for blood glucose in cases where only blood samples after transport are available.
Results from the cows with other diseases were difficult to interpret because of their heterogeneity.