Pyrrolizidine alkaloidosis in a two month old foal.
A foal, small and jaundiced from birth, succumbed after two months to chronic hepatic damage which was characterised by fibrosis, biliary ductular hyperplasia and the presence of pleomorphic hepatocytes containing either a single large nucleus or multiple nuclei. The fixed liver contained sulfur-bound pyrroles, which are derived from pyrrolizidine alkaloids. During pregnancy the pasture was heavily infested with the pyrrolizidine alkaloid-containing plant, Senecio madagascariensis. The hepatic disease affecting the foal appears to have been initiated by consumption of the alkaloids by the mare during gestation, and to represent a rare case of congenital pyrrolizidine alkaloidosis.
Small
A C
AC
Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia.
Kelly
W R
WR
Seawright
A A
AA
Mattocks
A R
AR
Jukes
R
R
D000818:Animals; D002908:Chronic Disease; D005260:Female; D006734:Horse Diseases / Q000209:etiology*; D006736:Horses; D008107:Liver Diseases / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D010939:Plant Poisoning / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D010947:Plants, Toxic; D011763:Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids / Q000506:poisoning*; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012674:Senecio
D011763:Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids