Etiology of Muscular Dystrophy in the Lamb and Chick

Abstract

Using a coconut oil-Torula yeast basal ration, Santoquin, selenium and a sulfur amino acid analog were used as dietary supplements for lambs and chicks. All lambs fed without Santoquin and selenium developed muscular dystrophy. The antioxidant prevented the dyscrasia, whereas selenium only delayed the onset and modified the syndromes of myopathy. These same diets (antioxidant-deficient) that resulted in dystrophy in lambs produced encephalomalacia in the chick. Antioxidant deficiency in lambs resulted in symptoms analogous to exudative diathesis in chicks. Both selenium (1.4 ppm) and Santoquin (0.1%) prevented exudative diathesis in chicks. A supplemental source of a sulfur amino acid analog did not alter the development of muscular dystrophy in lambs but prevented the dyscrasia in chicks.