The Antiketogenic Action of an Anabolic Steroid Administered to Ketotic Cows

Abstract

The effects of an anabolic steroid, trienbolone acetate, in healthy early lactatiug cows and cows suffering from primary ketosis or an experimental ketosis are described. Four out of four cows with primary ketosis were restored to normal health following a single injection of 120 mg of anabolic steroid, and 2/3 cows responded to a single dose of 60 mg steroid, a third cow requiring a further injection of 60 mg steroid. Three out of three cows with a severe experimentally induced ketosis responded to a single injection of 60 mg steroid. In the ketotic cows treated with 120 mg steroid, significant decreases were observed in the blood concentrations of 3-hydroxybutyrate and acetoacetate 24 h and 48 h after treatment. However, no hyperglycemic effect was observed in ketotic cows after the steroid therapy. The changes in hepatic metabolites following anabolic steroid administration were greater in healthy cows than ketotic COWS. In healthy cows there were significant increases in hepatic concentrations of citrate, 2-ketoglutarate, and some glucogenic amino-acids. In the ketotic liver, there was a tendency for some improvement towards normal values for intermediates of both the citric acid cycle and the Embden-Meyerhof pathway. An interesting effect of the steroid in ketotic cows was the immediate improvement of appetite. Trienbolone acetate has no significant effect on milk yield of healthy cows over a 1-week period. Although complicated by the effects of a liver biopsy, the administration of an anabolic steroid improved the milk yield of ketotic cows.