Abstract
Cerebrospinal fluid (CSF) samples were collected by lumbar puncture from 12 clinically healthy Holstein-Friesian dairy cattle 2-10 years of age, 9 cattle with the spastic syndrome (spastic cows), and 9 cattle with the Downer cow syndrome (Downer cows).
CSF from the healthy cattle was transparent colorless fluid and contained 1.8 cells/mm3 and 42.3 mg/dl of glucose. The level of urea nitrogen in CSF, 11.3 mg/dl, was found to correlate (r-0.89) with the BUN level. The levels of total protein (29.8 mg/dl), albumin (16.5 mg/dl), globulin (12.9 mg/dl) and A/G ratio (1.25) in CSF were higher than those in serum. The levels of GOT (13.7U), GPT (1.4U) and LDH (34.6U) in CSF, onthe other hand, were much lower than those in serum. The levels of Na (145.8 mEq/l), Cl (122.1mEq/l) and Mg (1.8 mg/dl) in CSF were not notably different from those in serum. The levels of K (2.8 mg/dl), Ca (4.8 mg/dl) and Ip (1.4 mg/ dl) in CSF were apparently lower than those in serum.
The spastic cows showed low urea nitrogen levels in CSF. In the Downer cows, the specific gravity of CSF was low, and the levels of total protein, albumin, A-globulin and A/G ratio in CSF were also low, but the glucose level in CSF was high. Although there was a correlation between CSF findings and blood biochemical findings in the Downer cows, further investigation is required to find outany clinical significance of the CSF findings.
