title: Pyrrolizidine alkaloidosis in a two month old foal.
abstract: 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.
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Pathology, University of Queensland, St. Lucia, Australia.
authors.forename: A C
authors.initials: AC
authors.lastname: Small
authors.forename: W R
authors.initials: WR
authors.lastname: Kelly
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Seawright
authors.forename: A R
authors.initials: AR
authors.lastname: Mattocks
authors.forename: R
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Jukes
mesh_terms: 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
chemical_list: D011763:Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids