SOME CLINICAL OBSERVATIONS ON COWS FOLLOWING THE ADMINISTRATION OF RADIUM$sup 224$ AND CALCIUM$sup 4$$sup 5$
In experiments designed to investigate the relative behavior of the alkaline earth elements in bovine metabolism, two pairs of lactating Ayrshire X Redpoll cows received doses of /sup 224/Ra and /sup 45/Ca. One pair (W258 and W259) received 24 mc /sup 224/Ra + 2 mc /sup 45/Ca administered intravenously, and the others (U45 and U402) received 2 mc /sup 224/Ra + /sup 45/Ca intravenously followed after 77 days by 5 mc /sup 224/Ra + 5 mc /sup 45/Ca orally. Four days after the oral dose, W258 and W259 were both off their feed and badly constipated, and their milk yield was down. They remained ill for 2 days but then showed steady improvement until, a week after the first symptoms, they were eating well and their milk yield was improving. Similar symptoms, but without constipation, were observed after the intravenous dose to these cows. Cows U45 and U402 showed no clinical symptoms after either the irtravenous or oral dose. In W258 and W259 the white cell counts made 4 days after oral dosing were within the normal range but on the 7th and 11th days there was a moderate leukopenia in both cows with minimum white cel1 counts of 2.82 and 1.56 x 10/sup 3//mm/sup 3/. The differential counts showed this to be due mainly to a fall in the number of neutrophils. By the 18th day the neutrophils had recovered to their normal proportion of about 30%, and only a slight leukopenia was apparent. Seven days after the intravenous dose, a moderate leukopenia was seen in both cows, with white cell counts of 2.2 x 10/sup 3/ and 1.8 x 10/sup 3//mm/sup 3/, mainly to neutropenia. In this instance recovery was slower, and the values were still very abnormal 14 days after the injection. Both doses also caused slight but progressive thrombocytopenia and anemia. No abnormalities in the blood picture of U45 and U402 were observed at any time after the irtravenous or oral doses. Although in man the most sensitive indication of radiation damage is a fall in the numbers of lymphocytes and platelets, the clearest reaction in cows to the feeding or injection of /sup 224/Ra and /sup 45/Ca was a transient neutropenia. Radiation doses were estimated, and it was shown that the threshold dose to produce changes in the blood picture of cows of sufficient magnitude to be recognized during routine hematological examination lies between 35 and 60 rem. For most mammalian species the threshold dose for significant effects on the hematopoietic system is approximates 100 r of gamma radiation. In a large animal this air dose would be roughly equivalent to an absorbed dose of 50 rem. (BBB)
- Research Organization:
- Inst. for Research on Animal Diseases, Compton, Eng.
- NSA Number:
- NSA-18-017459
- OSTI ID:
- 4059239
- Journal Information:
- Vet. Record, Vol. Vol: 76; Other Information: Orig. Receipt Date: 31-DEC-64
- Country of Publication:
- Country unknown/Code not available
- Language:
- English
Similar Records
SEMI-ANNUAL PROGRESS REPORT FOR JULY 1, 1958 TO DECEMBER 31, 1958
Association Between Bone Marrow Dosimetric Parameters and Acute Hematologic Toxicity in Anal Cancer Patients Treated With Concurrent Chemotherapy and Intensity-Modulated Radiotherapy
Related Subjects
ALKALINE EARTH METALS
ANEMIA
ANIMALS
BLOOD CELLS
BLOOD CIRCULATION
BLOOD FORMATION
BLOOD VESSELS
BONE MARROW
CALCIUM 45
CATTLE
COWS
CYTOLOGY
DIFFUSION
DISEASES
GAMMA RADIATION
INTESTINE
LETHAL DOSE
LEUCOCYTES
LYMPHOCYTES
MAN
METABOLISM
NEUTROPHILS
PERFORMANCE
PLATELETS
RADIATION DOSES
RADIATION EFFECTS
RADIOACTIVITY
RADIOSENSITIVITY
RADIUM 224
STANDARDS
STOMACH
TESTING
VARIATIONS