scholarly journals Preliminary investigation of the influence of long-term dietary isoflavone intake on puberty onset and oestrous cycles in domestic cats (Felis catus)

Author(s):  
Katherine M. Whitehouse-Tedd ◽  
Nicholas J. Cave ◽  
Claudia E. Ugarte ◽  
David G. Thomas

SummaryGenistein and daidzein are isoflavones which are reported to influence the reproductive system in a variety of mammalian species. This pilot study aimed to determine if dietary isoflavones could potentially influence reproductive parameters in domestic cats, when consumed during the postnatal development period. Cats (n = 12) were maintained on either a treatment (150 µg/g DM genistein and 150 µg/g DM daidzein, n = 4) or control (isoflavone free, n = 8) diet from weaning, up to 414 (±17.2) days post-weaning. Vaginal smears were taken thrice weekly and examined for oestrogen-induced cellular degradation in all cats. Behavioural indicators of oestrous were routinely scored for the presence or absence of six key behaviours. Genistein and daidzein did not alter puberty onset or oestrous cycle parameters in these cats (P > 0.05). Behavioural scores were higher in cats in the treatment group than control. Incidence of apparent spontaneous ovulation (inferred from extended inter-oestrous periods) was greater in treated cats than control cats, although serum hormone profiles were not available to confirm this observation. Further testing is warranted.

2006 ◽  
Vol 136 (7) ◽  
pp. 2004S-2006S ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine M. Bell ◽  
Philip D. Pearce ◽  
Claudia E. Ugarte ◽  
Wouter H. Hendriks

Author(s):  
Agniszka Kurosad ◽  
ROBERT GŁOGOWSKI ◽  
Agnieszka Janeczek ◽  
Michał Jank ◽  
Paweł Jonkisz ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  


2012 ◽  
Vol 1 ◽  
Author(s):  
Katherine M. Whitehouse-Tedd ◽  
Nicholas J. Cave ◽  
Claudia E. Ugarte ◽  
Wendi D. Roe ◽  
David G. Thomas

SummaryDietary isoflavones have been hypothesised to play a role in hepatic veno-occlusive disease in captive exotic felids, although empirical evidence is lacking. This study aimed to investigate the effect of long-term (>1 year) dietary genistein and daidzein exposure on the hepatic biochemistry and histology of domestic cats. Individual cats were assessed for hepatic enzyme and bile acid production before and after the removal of isoflavones from their diet in the treatment group (n = 4), and at the same times in unexposed control animals (n = 7). No significant differences were detectable in hepatic biochemistry between treatment and control groups, and all serum values were within the normal reference ranges for domestic cats. Additionally, treatment animals demonstrated slightly greater areas of fibrosis surrounding hepatic venules than control animals, but this difference was not statistically significant. On the basis of the results presented, dietary isoflavones, at the current dose and duration of exposure do not appear to modulate hepatic enzyme production or histological parameters.


2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
pp. 0-0
Author(s):  
L.A. Vaira ◽  
C. Hopkins ◽  
M. Petrocelli ◽  
J.R. Lechien ◽  
S. Cutrupi ◽  
...  

BACKGROUND: The growing number of COVID-19 patients with long-lasting olfactory disorders makes it necessary to identify effective treatments that enhance the spontaneous recovery of olfactory function. METHODS: Multicentre randomised case-control study that involved 18 patients with COVID-19 related anosmia or severe hyposmia for more than 30 days. Nine patients were prescribed systemic prednisone and nasal irrigation with betamethasone, ambroxol and rinazine for 15 days. The other 9, untreated, patients were used as controls. The olfactory function was evaluated with CCCRC test at 20 and 40 days from the first evaluation. RESULTS: In the control group, a median olfactory score of 20 (IQR 30) was detected at baseline. At the 20-day control there was no significant improvement in olfactory function. The improvement in olfactory performance became significant at the 40-day follow-up compared to baseline scores [60 (IQR 60) versus 20 (IQR 30)]. In the treatment group, patients had a mean olfactory score of 10 (IQR 15) at initial control. At the 20-day control, a significant im-provement in the olfactory scores, compared to the baseline, was detected [70 (IQR 40) versus 10 (IQR 15)]. Olfactory function further improved at 40 days [median score 90 (IQR 50)]. Patients in the treatment group reported significantly higher improvements of the olfactory scores than the controls at both the 20-day [40 (IQR 45) versus 10 (IQR 15)] and 40-day [60 (IQR 40) versus 30 (IQR 25)] evaluations. CONCLUSIONS: Based on the results of this study, the mix of drugs including steroids could represent a useful specific therapy to reduce the prevalence of this long-term morbidity.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia A. Fleming ◽  
Heather M. Crawford ◽  
Clare Auckland ◽  
Michael C. Calver
Keyword(s):  

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mikel M. Delgado ◽  
Brandon Sang Gyuc Han ◽  
Melissa J. Bain

AbstractContrafreeloading is the willingness of animals to work for food when equivalent food is freely available. This behavior is observed in laboratory, domesticated, and captive animals. However, previous research found that six laboratory cats failed to contrafreeload. We hypothesized that cats would contrafreeload in the home environment when given a choice between a food puzzle and a tray of similar size and shape. We also hypothesized that more active cats would be more likely to contrafreeload. We assessed the behavior of 17 neutered, indoor domestic cats (Felis catus) when presented with both a food puzzle and a tray across ten 30-min trials. Each cat wore an activity tracker, and all sessions were video recorded. Cats ate more food from the free feed tray than the puzzle (t (16) = 6.77, p < 0.001). Cats made more first choices to approach and eat from the tray. There was no relationship between activity and contrafreeloading, and there was no effect of sex, age, or previous food puzzle experience on contrafreeloading. Our results suggest that cats do not show strong tendencies to contrafreeload in the home environment, although some cats (N = 4) ate most food offered in the puzzle or showed weak contrafreeloading tendencies (N = 5). Eight cats did not contrafreeload. Cats who consumed more food from the puzzle, consumed more food in general, suggesting a relationship between hunger and effort. Further research is required to understand why domestic cats, unlike other tested species, do not show a strong preference to work for food.


Mammalia ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Brian Keane ◽  
Phillip J. Long ◽  
Yasmeen Fleifil ◽  
Nancy G. Solomon

AbstractBehavioral changes that reduce the risk of predation in response to predator-derived odor cues are widespread among mammalian taxa and have received a great deal of attention. Although voles of the genus Microtus are staples in the diet of many mammalian predators, including domestic cats (Felis catus), there are no previous studies on vole space utilization and activity levels in response to odor cues from domestic cats. Therefore, the objective of our study was to investigate responses of adult prairie voles (Microtus ochrogaster) living in semi-natural habitats to odor cues from domestic cat excreta. Contrary to expectations, neither adult males or females showed significant changes in space use or willingness to enter traps in response to cat odors. One hypothesis to explain our results are that prairie voles have not co-evolved with domestic cats long enough to respond to their odors. Other possible explanations include whether levels of odors in the environment were sufficient to trigger a response or that the perceived risk of predation from odor cues alone did not outweigh relative costs of changing space use and activity levels. Future studies should consider multiple factors when determining what cues are sufficient to elicit antipredatory behavior.


2006 ◽  
Vol 256 (1) ◽  
pp. 81-83 ◽  
Author(s):  
Graeme D. Ruxton ◽  
Sarah Thomas ◽  
Jessica W. Wright
Keyword(s):  

2016 ◽  
Vol 35 (12) ◽  
pp. 1276-1285 ◽  
Author(s):  
R Yang ◽  
Y-M Wang ◽  
L Zhang ◽  
Z-M Zhao ◽  
J Zhao ◽  
...  

T-2 toxin, a naturally produced Type A trichothecene mycotoxin, has been shown to damage the reproductive and developmental functions in livestocks. However, whether T-2 toxin can disturb the pubertal onset and development following prepubertal exposure remains unclear. To clarify this point, infantile female Sprague–Dawley rats were given a daily intragastric administration of vehicle or T-2 toxin at a dose of 375 μg/kg body weight for 5 consecutive days from postnatal day (PND) 15–19 (PND15–PND19). The days of vaginal opening, first diestrus, and first estrus in regular estrous cycle were advanced following T-2 toxin treatment, indicating prepubertal exposure to T-2 toxin induced the advancement of puberty onset. The relative weights of uterus and ovaries and the incidence of corpora lutea were all increased in T-2 toxin-treated rats; serum hormone levels of luteinizing hormone and estradiol and the messenger RNA expressions of gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) and GnRH receptor also displayed marked increases following exposure to T-2 toxin, all of which were well consistent with the manifestations of the advanced puberty onset. In conclusion, the present study reveals that prepubertal exposure to a high level of T-2 toxin promotes puberty onset in infantile female rats by advancing the initiation of hypothalamic–pituitary–gonadal axis function in female rats.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document