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Typical milk fever posture; cow in sternal recumbency with its head tucked into its flank. Milk fever, postparturient hypocalcemia, or parturient paresis is a disease, primarily in dairy cattle [1] but also seen in beef cattle and non-bovine domesticated animals, [2] characterized by reduced blood calcium levels (hypocalcemia).
Hypocalcemia is a medical condition characterized by low calcium levels in the blood serum. [5] The normal range of blood calcium is typically between 2.1–2.6 mmol/L (8.8–10.7 mg/dL, 4.3–5.2 mEq/L), while levels less than 2.1 mmol/L are defined as hypocalcemic.
In dairy breeds, the disease may occur in calves between birth and 4 months of age. [12] In rustic breeds or beef cattle, heifers and young steers up to 12 months of age can be affected. In calves, muscles in upper portion of the front legs and the hind legs are degraded, causing the animal to have a stiff gait and it may have difficulty standing.
When contracting muscles release intercellular calcium, however, if the horse has a predisposed condition that allows for abnormal muscle contraction, calcium ions are abnormally released. It is because of this that the calcium can become free-roaming which then can trigger abnormal muscle contractions.
Some pastures are deficient in certain trace minerals, including selenium, zinc, and copper, [24] [25] and in such situations, health problems, including deficiency diseases, may occur if horses' trace mineral intake is not properly supplemented. [24] [26] Calcium and phosphorus are needed in a specific ratio of between 1:1 and 2:1.
Mineral deficiency is a lack of the dietary minerals, the micronutrients that are needed for an organism's proper health. [1] The cause may be a poor diet , impaired uptake of the minerals that are consumed, or a dysfunction in the organism's use of the mineral after it is absorbed.
Horses that only carry one copy of the gene may pass it on to their offspring, but themselves are perfectly healthy—without symptoms of the disease. Because it is recessive, the allele for cerebellar abiotrophy may pass through multiple generations before it is expressed.
Disorders of calcium metabolism occur when the body has too little or too much calcium. The serum level of calcium is closely regulated within a fairly limited range in the human body. In a healthy physiology, extracellular calcium levels are maintained within a tight range through the actions of parathyroid hormone , vitamin D and the calcium ...