Studies on the pathogenesis of hypomagnesemic tetany. II. Changes of calcium, phosphorus, potassium, and sodium levels in the blood and cerebrospinal fluid during hypomagnesemia in the sheep
Scholz, H.; Meyer, H.
Deutsche Tierärztliche Wochenschrift 79(24): 615-619
1972
ISSN/ISBN: 0341-6593 PMID: 4567877 Document Number: 55439
2. In 45 German Blackfaced Mutton sheep Ca, P, K and Na were estimated in cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) and in blood plasma after adaptation to a feed enriched with MgO, then in a state of Mg depletion before and after development of hypomagnesaemic tetany. With progressive depletion Ca in plasma, which initially reached nearly twice the amount in CSF, fell significantly and K rose slightly in plasma and CSF. Plasma Ca in young sheep seldom fell to 8 mg/100 ml even after more than 45 days of deficiency; in old sheep it went below that value after about 5 days and reached, on average, 7 mg/100 ml after from 12 to 15 days, and in lactating ewes it fell below 7 mg in 2 to 3 days. In CSF values for Ca remained more stable. Concentrations of all the minerals, especially P, but not Na, in blood were higher than in CSF and showed also greater deviations from the mean. The relevance of changes in mineral concentrations of body fluids of animals deficient in Mg is discussed.