White Muscle Disease

About: White Muscle Disease is a research topic. Over the lifetime, 165 publications have been published within this topic receiving 2812 citations.

White muscle disease in humans: myopathy caused by selenium deficiency in anorexia nervosa under long term total parenteral nutrition.

Abstract: Selenium is an essential trace element that is known to be a component of glutathione peroxidase, a scavenger of hydroperoxides.1 Its deficiency causes a decrease in glutathione peroxidase function, thereby resulting in oxidative damage to many organs. The two major clinical signs in patients with selenium deficiency are skeletal myopathy and cardiomyopathy. White muscle disease, named because of its characteristic acolouration of the muscle is a myopathy caused by selenium deficiency in animals in the areas where the soil is low in selenium.2 In humans, it was demonstrated that Keshan disease, dilated cardiomyopathy in the Keshan area in China, was caused by selenium deficiency.3 In addition, there are reports that selenium deficiency occurs in patients who are nourished by total parenteral nutrition alone for a long time because of inflammatory bowel disease or resection of the intestine due to various intestinal diseases.4 5 We experienced a case of anorexia nervosa with skeletal myopathy caused by selenium deficiency under long term parenteral nutrition. A 28 year old woman was admitted to our hospital with a 7 year history of anorexia nervosa receiving parenteral nutrition intermittently. At admission, she complained …

Acute selenium poisoning in cattle

Abstract: Extract Traces of selenium have been shown to be required by animals (Schwarz and Foltz, 1957) and to prevent or cure several diseases (Hartley and Grant, 1961). As a result, treatment of animals with salts of selenium has become a common practice. In some districts in New Zealand, in which selenium-responsive diseases are known to occur, young cattle are given solutions of selenium salts subcutaneously at dose rates of from 10 to 20 mg of selenium, to prevent the occurrence of white muscle disease and to maintain satisfactory growth rates (Anon., 1962). Although selenium is apparently an essential nutrient in trace quantities, excessive intake results in intoxication. Its common use for mass prophylaxis has created the risk of misuse and accidental poisoning. The following report records some features of an accidental occurrence of acute selenium poisoning in which 376 calves died.