Cardiac myopathies in neonatal lambs: histological and histochemical studies

Biology of the Neonate
A H Cheema, S H Gilani

Abstract

White muscle disease (WMD), a selenium-responsive cardiac myopathy in neonatal lambs has been described from southern Iran. 15 lambs in terminal condition were referred to our lab. All the lambs were observed with the affected hearts. The lambs examined were between the postnatal ages of 1 week and 3 months. Gross changes included chalky-white appearance of entire endocardium of right ventricle and subendocardial plaques in the interventricular septum and left ventricular wall. Histologically the affected myofibrils showed swelling, acidophilia, fragmentation, segmental and patchy myonecrosis, round muscle cell nuclei, loss of sarcoplasm and sarcolemmal collapse. Purkinje fibers were relatively unaffected. Histochemical studies including Von Kossa and other stains indicated marked deposition of calcium salts in the cytoplasm of the damaged myofibrils. Calcium salts appeared as uniform, fine granules in relation to individual fiber striations. It appears that rapid accumulation of calcium into the damaged cells possibly interferes with the mitochondrial activity. As mitochondria bind excessive calcium, their capacity to respire and phosphorylate is depressed thus causing myocardial necrosis. The cardiac myopathy noted in our inv...Continue Reading

Citations

Jan 1, 1989·Critical Reviews in Clinical Laboratory Sciences·G Lockitch
Feb 19, 2002·Medicine, Science, and the Law·Michael Philip Burke, Kenneth Opeskin
Dec 19, 2007·Reproduction in Domestic Animals = Zuchthygiene·R D MurrayI M Sheldon
Jul 18, 2018·Annals of Biomedical Engineering·F AhmadPeter Theobald

❮ Previous
Next ❯

Related Concepts

Related Feeds

Cardiomyopathy

Cardiomyopathy is a disease of the heart muscle, that can lead to muscular or electrical dysfunction of the heart. It is often an irreversible disease that is associated with a poor prognosis. There are different causes and classifications of cardiomyopathies. Here are the latest discoveries pertaining to this disease.