Influence of Dietary Protein on Susceptibility to Alert Downer Syndrome1

Influence of Dietary Protein on Susceptibility to Alert Downer Syndrome ~ W I L L I A M E, JULIEN = and H, R. C O N R A D Department of Dairy Science, and D. R. R E D M A N

Department of Veterinary Sc;ence Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center Wooster 44691

ABSTRACT

INTRODUCTION

Fifty-three dry cows of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center dairy herd were placed in one of four groups for the entire dry period. All received a corn silage-concentrate ration. Groups 1 and 2, however, were mainrained on an intake of 8% crude protein while groups 3 and 4 received a 15% ration. Groups 1 and 3 received .65% of their dry matter as calcium and .29% as phosphorus while group 2 received .70% calcium and .70% phosphorus and group 4 received .66% calcium and .65% phosphorus. Animals were bled through the dry period at regular intervals and within 6 h postfreshening or prior to initiation of any therapy. In groups 3 and 4 metabolic disturbance occurred in 69.2% of calvings. These included eight alert downer cows, six of which died during treatment. In groups 1 and 2, the incidence of metabolic disturbance was 7.14% with no downer cows. Blood constituents showed no significant differences except between groups for urea nitrogen of plasma. Individual animals showed no significant changes in blood constituents indicative of a cause of the disorder. Dietary protein influences incidence of the disease. Dietary mineral imbalance and clinical expression of the downer condition were unrelated.

Within the last 35 yr, reports of'an apparent myoparalytic disease of the parturient dairy cow, sometimes referred to as the "fat", "creeper", or "alert downer" cow syndrome, have appeared. Prognosis in these cows is poor as response to treatment is variable and mortality rates in stricken animals are high. Clinically, these cows can be defined as postparturient cows that are alertly recumbent. Hallgren (4) described these animals as alert and clinically normal except for the inability to rise. Johnson (6) likened these cows to those under high epidural anesthesia, alert and active in the forequarter but unable to coordinate muscular activity in the rear. Bjorsell et al. (1) defined downers as cows with normal psyches, maintaining normal appetite but simply unable to rise. Pathoanatomical examination of downer cows shows a distinct pathology associated with this disease. Myocardosis (4, 11), puerperal fatty degeneration of the liver (3, 4, 7, 12), petechial hemorrhage, erosions, and ulceration of the pyloric region of the abomasum (3, 7), and damage to skeletal muscle in the area of the hindleg adductor muscles (7) are common in alert downer cows. Clinical evaluation is based principally upon response to treatment. Frequently, alert downer cows are diagnosed and treated as cases of parturient paresis. Treatment of these cows for parturient paresis, however, elicits little effect. This lack of response to treatment for parturient paresis within 24 h (1) has served as a basis for identifying the alert downer cow.

Received July 12, 1976. t Approved as Journal Article No. 97-76, Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center, Wooster 44691. Data in this paper were presented to the Graduate Faculty of The Ohio State University in partial fulfillment of the requirement for the degree Doctor of Philosophy.

Causative Theories

From case histories of alertly recumbent animals, several theories have been generated to explain their response or lack thereof of usual methods of therapy. These include atypical

210

ALERT DOWNER SYNDROME

211

parturient paresis (1, 2, 4, 7, 12, 13), hypokalemia (3, 7, 9), hypophosphotemia (4, 7), and mechanical factors including injury (1, 7). A variety of nutritional factors also have been implicated in downer etiology. The luxury consumption of sodium (3, 13), limited calcium intake (12), and simple overfeeding of energy in general (7), all have been proposed as important to clinical expression• The increase in incidence of this disease has corresponded to significant changes in dairy management in the past two decades (8). Management systems which minimize the number of man hours spent per head per day have become increasingly more common• Consequently, the individual attention previously given to animals is frequently no longer feasible. This has carried over into all phases of management but most significantly in nutrition. Distinctions often are made no longer between an animal's productivity and nutrient consumption. In such cases dry cows consume rations balanced to meet the needs of lactating animals. In a comparison of the nutrient content of rations fed to herds where the alert downer syndrome was a problem to those where there was no report of incidence, the luxury consumption of protein and phosphorus and the feeding of corn silage-concentrate rations to dry cows were significantly different (8). This led to the working hypothesis that excessive dietary protein or possibly phosphorus when fed as ensilage and concentrate during the dry period in some way increases the susceptibility of the parturient dairy cow to the downer syndrome. This series of experiments were initiated to test this hypothesis.

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MATERIALS AND METHODS

Fifty-three dry cows from the research dairy herd of the Ohio Agricultural Research and Development Center were involved in a 2 x 2 x 2 factorial experimental design• Cows were assigned randomly to one of the four groups for the entire dry period. All received a corn silage-concentrate ration• Groups 1 and 2, however, were maintained on an intake of 8% crude protein while groups 3 and 4 received 15% crude protein• Groups 1 and 3 received .65% of their dry matter as calcium and .29% as phosphorus. Group 2 received .70% as calcium and .70% as phosphorus while group 4 received

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Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 60, No. 2

212

JULIEN ET AL.

TABLE 2. Ingredients list for grain mixes D-401, D402, D-403, and D-404. Grain mixes Ingredients

D--401

D-402

D-403

D-404

15.798

16.228

69182 7.9 . . . 5.98 .5 .01 . . .

70145 2.12

(%) Corn, rolled Corn cobs, ground Soybean meat Molasses, Sweetone Magnesium and potassium sulfate a Dicalcium phosphateb Salt, trace mineraI c Vitamin A-30 d Limestone

67.128 26.29 . . . 1.23 1.23 ... .5 .01 3.62

64.578 25.33 .

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aAnalysis: S 22% rain, K 18% min, Mg 11% rain. "Dynamate", International Minerals and Chemicals Corp., Libertyville, IL. bAualysis: P 21% rain, Ca 15% rain, F .21% max. "BioFos", International Minerals and Chemicals Corp., Libertyville, IL. CAnalysis: NaCI 95% min, Cu .035% rnin, I .007% rain, Co .007% rain. The Morton Salt Co., Rittman, OH. dAnalysis: 89% soybean mill run; 30,000 USP units of vitamin A per gram as vitamin A palmitate; .41% ethoxyquin; other additives include gelatin, sugar, starch, butylated hydroxy touluene and butylated hydroxy anisol.

.66% as calcium a n d .65% as p h o s p h o r u s . In groups 1 and 2, corn silage c o m p r i s e d 60% o f their dry m a t t e r with c o n c e n t r a t e m a k i n g u p the r e m a i n i n g 40%. In g r o u p 3, 61% o f t h e dry m a t t e r was c o r n silage, 24% alfalfa pellets, a n d 15% c o n c e n t r a t e . In g r o u p 4, c o r n silage was 70% o f t h e total d r y m a t t e r a n d c o n c e n t r a t e 30% (Tables 1 and 2). T h e relative a m o u n t s o f corn silage a n d c o n c e n t r a t e varied w i t h t h e average b o d y w e i g h t a n d n u m b e r o f animals

t h a t were in a t r e a t m e n t g r o u p at any particular time. This was b a s e d on an e s t i m a t e d c o n s u m p tion o f d r y m a t t e r o f 2% o f the b o d y w e i g h t per h e a d per day. Silage and c o n c e n t r a t e were fed t o a l l o w f o r a 10% refusal over this e s t i m a t e . Animals were f e d o n c e daily. Water and i o d i z e d salt were o f f e r e d ad libitum. All c o w s were b l e d f r o m t h e jugular or tail vein p r i o r t o e n t e r i n g their respective t r e a t m e n t groups and a t 3-wk intervals t h e r e a f t e r . B l o o d

TABLE 3. Incidence of downer cows and other nonpathogenic disease problems in groups 1 and 2 (low protein) and groups 3 and 4 (high protein). 8% crude protein

Phosphorus, % dry matter Downer cows Abortions Parturient paresis Displaced abomasum Deaths Incidence of downer cows, % Total disease incidence, % Total disease incidence by protein, % aobserved in same animal. bp<.01. Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 60, No. 2

Group 1

Group 2

.29 0 0 1 0 0 0 1/14 = 7

.70 0 0 1a 0 1a 0 1/13 = 7.6 7.14 b

15% crude protein Group 3

Group 4

.30 3a 2 1 2 3a 25 8/12 = 66.6

.65 5a 1 3 I 3a 35 10/14 = 71 69.2 b

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ALERT DOWNER SYNDROME

samples were taken for analysis within 6 h postfreshening or prior to the initiation of any therapy. Approximately 20 ml of blood were collected in heparinized tubes at each bleeding for plasma analysis of calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, plasma glucose, total blood protein, and urea nitrogen in plasma. Additional blood samples also were collected at 3 wk intervals for analysis of serum glutamic oxaloacetic transaminase and isocitrate dehydrogenase. Corn silage (34.9% dry matter) in this experiment was harvested from similar plots and stored in an upright silo with all groups being fed from this single source. Samples of corn silage and concentrate were taken at monthly intervals and submitted to the Ohio Ration Evaluation Laboratory for analysis of protein and mineral content. The diagnosis of the alert downer syndrome was based upon clinical, biochemical, and pathological criteria reported in the literature (1, 3, 4, 5, 7, 12, 13).

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R E S U L T S A N D DISCUSSION

Animals consuming the 8% crude protein (groups 1 and 2) and those consuming 15% crude protein (groups 3 and 4) differed (P<.01) in incidence of the downer cow syndrome. At 8% crude protein no downer cows were observed. In animals consuming the 15% crude protein ration, 8 of 26 animals, 3 of 12 in group 3, and 5 of 14 in group 4 were diagnosed as downer cows (Table 3). Of the affected animals, only two responded to therapy; the remainder subsequently died. Incidence of downer cow syndrome did not appear to be affected by phosphorus consumption nor could it be related to mineral intake in general. This is indicated by 1) lack of a significant difference between incidence in groups 3 and 4 despite the variation in phosphorus fed the two groups (Table 3); 2) 0% incidence in group 1 as compared to the 25% incidence of group 3 when both groups were on similar calcium and phosphorus intake (Table 3) (this was also true when group 2 was compared with group 4); 3) normal changes at parturition in blood minerals of five of the six downer cows examined (Table 4); and 4) lack of plasma mineral changes in downer cows that are indicative of impaired mineral balance, i.e.,

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TABLE 5. Average values for blood minerals of cows on low (groups 1 and 2) and high (groups 3 and 4) protein. Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

lO.9 5.9 2.4 34.8 26.5

10.1 4.8 2.3 36.0 24.1

(mg %) Serum Ca Serum P Serum Mg Serum Na Serum K

10.4 6.2 2.6 35.4 24.7

lO.8 6.6 2.4 34.8 27.3

hypocalcemia, hypophosphatemia, hyper- or hypomagnesemia, and hyper- or hypokalemia (Table 4). The six downer cows which failed to respond to therapy were necropsied and consistent in their expressed pathology. Myocardosis was in four of six animals. Hepatic and renal fatty degeneration, ulceration of the pyloric region of the abomasum, and general necrosis of mtiscle and uterine tissue were common in affected animals. Changes in plasma mineral throughout the experiment in all downer cows with one exception were not significantly different from those in the normal pre- and postparturient cow (10) (Table 4). These findings agree with those of Jonsson et al. (7) and others (5), who reported similar lesions and blood mineral responses associated with the alert downer condition. None of the physiological parameters monitored could be taken as indicative of a possible reason for development of the downer syndrome in groups 3 and 4. No differences were significant between treatments in plasma mineral content (Table 5), plasma glucose, and total blood protein (Table 6). Plasma urea nitrogen values were significantly less in groups 1 and 2 than in groups 3 and 4, but this is attributable to the difference in dietary protein content (Table 6). Serum glutamic oxaloacetic trans-

aminase values for all groups were within normal ranges for the dry periparturient cow. Average isocitrate dehydrogenase values were greater in groups 3 and 4 than those in 1 and 2, but whether these differences can be taken as indicative of group responses to treatment has not been determined yet. A common observation of downer cows is that they are over-conditioned. This has given rise to the use of the synonymous term of "fat cow syndrome" for alert downer cows. Obesity has been cited as the cause of prolonged recumbency as it increases the possibility of neural and muscular damage when such animals attempt to rise. In this study obesity was common to all four groups. The average postcalving weight per animal per group compared to the postcalving at the previous lactation was 102.1 kg (range 68 kg to 136 kg) with no significant differences among any of the four groups. In the downer cows necropsied in this study, none of the animals exhibited muscular or neurological damage that was extensive enough or severe enough to explain the clinical condition. Thus, the theory that the downer cow is basically the result of sustained mechanica• damage caused by excessive body weight does not appear to be valid. A correspondingly high incidence of general health problems, i.e., abortion, parturient pare-

TABLE 6. Average values of plasma glucose and other blood constituents for groups 1, 2, 3, and 4.

Plasma glucose, mg % Total blood protein, mg % PUN, mg % SGOT, Sigma units 1CD, Sigma units

Group 1

Group 2

Group 3

Group 4

75.0 7.2 5.6 41.0 340.0

68.8 7.2 4.1 57.0 377.5

73.5 7.3 13.1 57.5 448.8

72.7 7.1 14.8 51.3 425.0

Journal of Dairy Science Vol. 60, No. 2

ALERT DOWNER SYNDROME sis, and displaced a b o m a s u m , was in the high protein groups. Total incidence of all m e t a b o l i c and pre- and postparturient health p r o b l e m s was 7.14% in the 8% crude protein groups as c o m p a r e d to 69.2% in animals c o n s u m i n g the 15% crude protein rations (Table 3). The significant (P<.01) variation in animalhealth response b e t w e e n protein percents in the diet indicates that high protein c o n s u m p t i o n in the f o r m of c o n c e n t r a t e and ensilage rations and fed at c o n c e n t r a t i o n s which far e x c e e d actual dietary r e q u i r e m e n t may be detrimental to animal health. Work is being c o n t i n u e d in our laboratory studying the relation o f protein in the ration, protein solubility, ruminal protein bypass, and parturient intestinal stasis to the d o w n e r syndrome. REFERENCES

1 Bjorsdl, K., P. Holenius, and S. O. Jacobssen. 1969. Studies on parturient paresis with special reference to the downer cow syndrome. Acta Vet. Scand. 10: 36. 2 Fenwick, D. C. 1969. The downer cow syndrome. Aust. Vet. 45:184. Garm, O. 1950. Studies on paresis puerperalis,

4 5

6 7 8 9 10 11 12

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paraplegia antepartum, edampsia peurparalis, and grass tetany in cows. Nord. Vet. Med. 2:751. Hallgren, W. 1955. Studies on parturient paresis in dairy cows. Nord. Vet. ivied. 7:433. Jacobsson, S. O., and O. Knudsen. 1962. The association between hypocalcemia and altered rumen function in peuerperal paresis. Cornell Vet. 52:173, Johnson, B. L. 1962. The creeper cow. Modern Vet. Practice 41 : 37. Jonsson, G., and B. Pehrson. 1969. Studies on the downer syndrome in dairy cows. Zbl. Vet. Med. 16:757. Julien, W. E; 1976. Dietary factors affecting metabolic disturbances in dairy cows. Ph.D. Dissertation. The Ohio State University, Columbus. Kronfeld, D. S. 1974. Alert downer cow syndrome. Modern Vet. Practice 55:79. Littledike, E. T., S. C. Whipp, and L. Schroeder. 1969. Studies on parturient paresis. J. Amer. Vet. Med. Ass. 155:1955. Magee, D. F. 1961. Pancreatic secretion in sheep. J. Physiol. 158:137. Noorsdsy, J. L., H. W. Leipold, D. L. Carmahan, R. A. Frey, J. Vest Weber, M. G. Robb, G. Kennedy, J. R. Dunham, T. E. Chapin, and W. E. Moore. 1973. Metabolic disturbances in the dairy cow influenced by managerial practices-case reports and epidemiological studies. Rumen Function Conf., Chicago, IL. Osinga, A. 1968. Diet and the clinical status of milk fever. T. Diergeneesk 88:173.

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