Castration Method Research Articles

To block or not to block-hormonal signaling in the treatment of cancers.

The breast and prostate glands are the two major organs that are highly dependent on the gonadal steroid hormones for their development and homeostasis. The cancers of these organs also show a large dependence on steroid hormones and have formed the basis of endocrine therapy. Estrogen deprivation by oophorectomy has been in active practice since the 1970s, and androgen deprivation therapy for prostate cancer was a major breakthrough in medicine in 1941. Since then, several improvisations have happened in these modes of therapy. However, the development of resistance to this deprivation and the emergence of hormone independence are major problems in both cancers. The lessons learned from rodent models have made it clear that the male hormone has a role in females and vice versa. Also, the metabolic products of these hormones may have unintentional effects including proliferative conditions in both sexes. Hence, administering estrogen as a method of chemical castration in males and administering DHT in females may not be the ideal scenario. It would be important to consider the status of the opposite sex hormone signaling and its effects and come up with a combinatorial regime to strike a balance between androgen and estrogen signaling. This review summarizes the current understanding and developments in this field in the context of prostate cancer.

Effect of short-term fattening period and castration method on productivity, serum testosterone, and economic efficacy in Hanwoo cattle

The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effects of castration method and short-term fattening periods on Hanwoo cattle. Thirty-two Hanwoo calves (average body weight: 148.4 ± 19.8 kg) were used. The calves were randomly assigned in a 2 × 2 factor according to two castration methods (castration or hemi-castration) and two short-term finishing periods (24 months or 26 months). The final body weight increased significantly as the fattening period increased (p < 0.05), and the average daily weight gain was higher in the hemi-castration groups than in the castration groups (p < 0.05). After surgical castration, testosterone concentration was higher in the hemi-castration group than in the castration group during the entire experimental period (p < 0.05). The rib eye area was wider in the hemi-castration group than in the castration group (p < 0.01).An interaction effect was observed between the castration method and short-term fattening period (p < 0.05). Marbling and auction price scores differed between castration methods and were higher in the castration group than in the hemi-castration group (p < 0.01). Gross receipts and net income increased in the castration group compared to the hemi-castration group (p < 0.01) and showed a tendency to increase with the short-term fattening period, but there was no significant difference. Thus, castration to remove both testicles is essential for economic profit through producing high-quality Korean beef meat, and short-term fattening for 26 months, rather than 24 months, can benefit more by increasing carcass weight and meat quality.

Study on Breeding Practices and Reproductive Performance of Black-Head Somali Sheep under Traditional Management System: The Case of Awbarre District, Eastern Ethiopia

The study was conducted in the Awbarre district of the Fafen zone of the Somali regional state of Ethiopia. The objective of the study was to assess the breeding practices and reproductive performance of Black-head Somali sheep under a traditional management system. Purposive and simple random sampling techniques were used to select targeted kebeles and households, respectively. A total of 120 households were selected from four kebeles, each of 30 households, based on the production system and sheep population. Semi-structured questionnaires, group discussions, key informants interviews and field observations were used to generate the required data. The primary purpose of keeping sheep was for income generation, followed by saving as a future asset. The majority (89.2%) of the respondents separated male and female animals during herding. The selection criteria for breeding rams were appearance, growth, pedigree, and color while for breeding ewes were appearance, adaptability, pedigree, color, and lamb growth. The overall weaning age of Black-head Somali sheep in the study area was 3.7 months for both males & females. The castration of male sheep was common for the purpose of fattening, fattening with breeding control and breeding control as well. The castration is mainly performed during the summer and autumn and the methods of castration were both traditional and modern methods, the traditional castration method being the most important one in pastoral areas. The age of sexual maturity was 7.64 months for rams and 8.97 months for ewe’s male and female lambs in the pastoral area and 8.42 & 8.38 for rams & ewes in agro-pastoral and overall lambing interval was 11 months. On average, the ewe of Black-head Somali sheep in pastoral & agro-pastoral could produce 9.49 & 9.57 lambs, respectively in their lifetime. As the pastoralists and agro-pastoralists indicated the source of the breeding ram was their own, so the exchange of breeding ram is recommended to minimize the risk of inbreeding and further studies of on-farm performance investigation would be necessary to be carried out so as to understand the uniqueness of the breed better.

ИСПОЛЬЗОВАНИЕ ИНТЕГРАЛЬНЫХ ЛЕЙКОЦИТАРНЫХ ИНДЕКСОВ В ОЦЕНКЕ ВЛИЯНИЯ СТРЕССИРУЮЩИХ ФАКТОРОВ НА ГОМЕОСТАЗ КОЗ

The principle of a quantitative-qualitative approach, which reflects the activity of the organism while distinguishing its specific and non-specific adaptive responses, includes the requirement for quantitative assessment of specific changes in the body. To achieve the research objective, the resources of integral leukocyte indices (ILI) were used to assess the homeostasis of goats during castration, weaning from dams and transfer from pasture to stabling. After percutaneous castration, the index data vary significantly in a day, and in the month following the operation they slowly return to the level of the initial values. The surgical method of castration of goats acts as an unusual extreme stimulus, as it has a damaging effect on the body for a longer period of time. Changes in the blood of kids after weaning from dams were characterised by an increase in leukocytes by 36.84±2.71%, a change in the status of neutrophils, as they increased by 6.85±0.39%. The number of band immature neutrophils increased, but the presence of eosinophils decreased by 1.75±0.19 times, which is one of the indicators of the presence of a moderate stress factor. The transfer of goats to stabling leads to a sharp decrease in impulses from the skeletal muscles, which weakens the activating effect of the reticular formation of the brain on the cerebral cortex. The goat’s body is exposed to extreme stimuli, beyond the limits of everyday influences, and reacts specifically according to the nature of the activeagent. The most pronounced reaction is to open surgical castration, less so to percutaneous castration and then, in descending order: weaning of goats from dams and transfer from pasturing.

Efficiency of immunocastration with an anti-gonadotropin-releasing hormone vaccine on cryptorchid bulls.

Cryptorchid bulls have low economic value owing to the effects of masculinization. Moreover, surgical removal of an ectopic testis is difficult in certain clinical cases. Recently, immunocastration has garnered popularity as a nonsurgical castration method in pig farming; however, the effects of immunocastration on cryptorchid bulls are yet to be yet. Herein, we investigated endocrine changes due to immunocastration in cryptorchid bulls and studied its effectiveness. This study included 13 Holstein bulls diagnosed with cryptorchidism and classified into two groups based on pubertal period: <8 months of age (pregroup) and ≥8 months of age (postgroup). Antigonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) vaccine was used for immunocastration, and two vaccine doses were administered. Blood testosterone and anti-Müllerian hormone (AMH) levels were measured and analyzed for endocrine evaluation. The testosterone levels significantly decreased following the start of immunocastration in both groups, thereby confirming the efficacy of antiGnRH vaccination in cryptorchid bulls. The AMH levels significantly increased in the pregroup with two antiGnRH vaccination, suggesting a compensatory response via the neutralization of GnRH antibodies. The AMH levels did not significantly change in the postgroup, indicating the partial suppression of AMH secretion in Sertoli cells during sexual maturation and failure of Sertoli cell maturation. Thus, we successfully restrained the serum testosterone levels in cryptorchid bulls using antiGnRH vaccine. The testosterone levels are a useful indicator of the immunocastration effect on cryptorchid bulls. Hereafter, a vaccine program that can sustain the castration effect on cryptorchid bulls is necessary.

Evaluation of the pinhole castration technique in piglets compared to the traditional open castration method

Evaluation of the pinhole castration technique in piglets compared to the traditional open castration method

TEPUNG BEKICOT (Achatina fulica) SEBAGAI PAKAN TAMBAHAN UNTUK MENINGKATKAN KUALITAS SEMEN DOMBA (Ovis aries)

One of the effort to provide superior rams is to pay attention to the provision of feed that has good substances and is able to improve the quality of sperm. Based on studies, snail flour has a fairly high protein content and snails can be an alternative source of protein in additional feed. This study aims to improve the quality of sheep sperm using an additional feed of snail flour (Achatina fulica) which can increase the use value and economic value. Eight sheep used in this research were divided into one group as the control and two groups as the treatment. The control group was given standard sheep forage, while the treatment groups were given standard sheep forage added with flour snail of 5% and 10%. Sperm collection using castration method. Parameters observed were motility, viability, and concentration of sperms. The results of the study showed that the addition of snail flour as additional feed for sheep affected sperm quality with a significant increase in concentration parameters, while motility and viability did not show a significant increase

Practices and opinions of New Zealand sheep farmers towards pain management in lambs during castration and/or tail docking

ABSTRACT Aims To collect baseline data from New Zealand sheep farmers on techniques for docking and castrating lambs, their perceptions of the level of pain lambs experience following these procedures, and their opinions about the use of pain relief. Methods From a voluntary cross-sectional survey of New Zealand sheep farmers, descriptive statistics were provided for quantitative study variables. Thematic analysis was performed on the free-text comments. Univariable logistic regression was used to assess factors associated with farmers indicating they would consider using a device allowing administration of pain relief simultaneously with castration and tail docking. Results There were 432 survey responses containing sufficiently complete data for analysis. Of the 340 individuals (77.5%) always or sometimes performing castration of ram lambs, 242 (72.2%) used rubber rings for complete castration, 23 (6.9%) used the short scrotum method for cryptorchid castration, and 75 (22.4%) used a combination of both methods. Of the 423 individuals (97.9%) who indicated that they always or sometimes performed tail docking, 245 (57.9%) used a hot iron only, 148 (35.0%) used a rubber ring only, 26 (5.8%) used both methods, 3 (0.7%) used a surgical knife, and 1 (0.2%) provided no response. Less than 2% of respondents always or sometimes used pain relief for these procedures. Of the 432 respondents, 139 (32.2%) and 180 (41.7%) strongly agreed that castration and tail docking do not cause sufficient pain to warrant using pain relief, respectively. Time and cost were identified as major barriers to providing pain relief. In the unadjusted logistic regression analyses, respondents who were female, had high levels of education, had been farming < 20 years, who believed lambs experienced high levels of pain following the procedures, and who believed pain lasted longer than 6 hours, were more likely to indicate willingness to use pain control devices. Conclusion and clinical relevance Our results suggest very few New Zealand sheep farmers currently provide lambs with pain relief following tail docking or castration. This is likely due to the perception that the procedures are not painful enough to warrant pain relief, and concern over time and cost. This highlights the need to educate farmers about lamb pain and distress following tail docking and castration, and its negative impact on animal welfare. Farmers also need pain relief techniques and tools that can be administered simultaneously with these procedures to save time and labour cost.

New trends in immunocastration and its potential to improve animal welfare: a mini review.

Castration is frequently used to reduce aggressive behavior and improve the meat quality of animals. Traditionally, surgical and mechanical castration are used to sterilize the animals, but these approaches are associated with a high level of pain, stress, long recovery periods, and post-operative infections. Immunocastration is a new animal-friendly, painless alternative castration technique that is used to prevent undesired sexual behavior, reduce aggressive behavior, prevent unwanted pregnancy, control wildlife populations and wandering species, enhance growth performance, improve meat quality, and treat various sex hormone-dependent disorders. The mechanism of immunocastration includes the immunological block of the hypothalamic-pituitary-gonadal axis (HPG axis) which inhibits gonadotropin secretions, causes atrophy of gonadal tissues, and inhibits gametogenesis, resulting in infertility in both female and male mammals. By the mid-1990s, various immunocastration vaccines have been tested in different animal models to achieve successful castration effects. Recently, genetic immunocastration especially DNA vaccine has gained increasing attention due to its safety, being animal-friendly, and being easy to use. This review aims to evaluate the potential of traditional castration methods, as well as the current status of immunocastration vaccines, their effects, and future prospective.

Delivering an Immunocastration Vaccine via a Novel Subcutaneous Implant.

Simple SummaryMale cattle (bulls) are often castrated as part of routine herd management. The benefits of this practice include the reduction of aggression and the elimination of unwanted pregnancies. However, castration represents an animal welfare concern as bulls are subjected to pain during and after the procedure. Surgical castration, in particular, places animals at increased risk of hemorrhage and infection. Immunocastration, a method involving vaccination against the hormones that regulate reproduction, offers a reduced-pain alternative to traditional castration, but the current products require multiple doses to effectively reduce fertility for extended periods. In an effort to improve upon current multi-dose immunocastration strategies, we evaluated the efficacy of a single-dose implantable immunocastration vaccine. This implant was designed to reduce fertility without the need for multiple doses, thus improving welfare for the animals as well as safety for producers and clinicians. The results presented here are promising and suggest that further refinement of the immunocastration implant could provide a convenient alternative to current immunocastration strategies.Immunocastration relies on the vaccine-mediated stimulation of an immune response to gonadotropin-releasing hormone (GnRH) in order to interrupt spermatogenesis. This approach offers a less painful alternative to traditional castration approaches but the current, commercially available options require multiple doses of vaccine to maintain sterility. Thus, a series of pilot studies were conducted to determine the feasibility of a single-dose immunocastration vaccine implant. These five studies utilized a total of 44 Holstein bulls to determine the optimal vaccine composition and validate the ability of a stainless-steel subcutaneous implant to deliver a vaccine. Outcome measures included the duration of implant retention, scrotal dimensions and temperature, implant site temperature, anti-GnRH antibodies, and serum testosterone concentration. Over the course of several studies, anti-GnRH antibodies were successfully stimulated by vaccine implants. No significant treatment effects on scrotal dimensions or testosterone were detected over time, but changes in spermatogenesis were detected across treatment groups. Results indicate that a single-dose implantable immunocastration vaccine elicits a humoral immune response and could impact spermatogenesis in bulls. These findings provide opportunities for the refinement of this technology to improve implant retention over longer periods of time. Taken together, this approach will offer producers and veterinarians an alternative to physical castration methods, to improve animal welfare during routine livestock management procedures.

Meat Quality and Fatty Acid Composition of Hanwoo Tenderloin, Middle Loin and Top Round by Castration Method

Meat Quality and Fatty Acid Composition of Hanwoo Tenderloin, Middle Loin and Top Round by Castration Method

Welfare assessment of Krškopolje pigs reared in different production systems

In the present case study, the welfare of local breed (Krškopolje pig) pigs reared indoors, outdoors, and in combined production systems (total of 10 farms) were evaluated. The multidimensional Welfare Quality® assessment protocol, with slight modifications, was used to evaluate the farms. Animal-based observations were used to examine the four main principles of welfare (good feeding, good housing, good health, and appropriate behaviour) and their twelve independent welfare sub-criteria. Scores for each criterion were calculated and each farm was classified into one of the four welfare categories (excellent, enhanced, acceptable, or not classified). Maximal total scores were determined for the “good feeding” principle in the indoor and combined systems, whereas the outdoor system had a lower score (64) because of insufficient water troughs. In the case of “good housing” principle, maximal total scores were attributed to outdoor system, and lower scores for indoor and combined systems (72 and 84, respectively) due to the lesser space allowance, dirtiness and shivering in pigs. The scores for the “principle of good health” were rather low in all husbandry systems (62, 58, 61 for outdoor, indoor and combined systems, respectively), mainly because of the castration method practised without pain relief medication. The integrated score for “appropriate behaviour” was lower in indoor systems, because of lower “exploratory behaviour” scores (64). Considering the overall assessment across all principles, farms having only outdoor or only indoor system were classified as “enhanced” (total score of 77 and 74, respectively), whereas farms with combined system (indoor housing with outdoor access) were classified as “excellent” (total score of 85). The present study showed high welfare quality of housing systems with local breed Krškopolje pigs.

A CRITICAL REVIEW OF PERATURAN PEMERINTAH REPUBLIK INDONESIA NOMOR 70 TAHUN 2020 CONCERNING THE IMPLEMENTATION OF CASTRATION FOR SEXUAL CRIMES: IN THE PERSPECTIVES OF MAQASHID SHARIA

This research was conducted to analyze the implementation of the law of castration from the perspective of Maqashid Syariah. In Indonesia today there are many criminal acts of rape against women and children. As an alternative punishment with castration as formulated in Law Number 70 of 2020. The method used is normative juridical research, namely research to find legal doctrines or principles, ijma’ (opinions of scholars), therefore in this study the author tries to understand the conversation about sexual deviation, especially those that discuss the application of castration sanctions against sex offenders. This research is a juridical normative research which is viewed from the perspective of Maqashid Shari'ah. In Islamic law, punishment for perpetrators of sexual crimes is given in the form of stoning and whipping. Castration punishment is not in accordance with Maqashid Shari'ah because it can damage human beings which is contrary to the hifdzun of the nafs. First, Islamic sharia has strictly prohibited castration on humans, without any difference of opinion (khilafiyah) among the fuqaha. Second, in terms of the castration method used is the injection method. Third, that which is injected is the hormone estrogen, the law is also haram, because it causes the castrated male to have physical characteristics like women. Based on the 3 reasons, it is unlawful to impose castration on perpetrators of sexual crimes.

HF01-13 FROM TORTURE TO THERAPY: THE HISTORY OF HUMAN CASTRATION

You have accessJournal of UrologyCME1 May 2022HF01-13 FROM TORTURE TO THERAPY: THE HISTORY OF HUMAN CASTRATION Antonio Nacchia, Riccardo Lombardo, Cosimo De Nunzio, and Andrea Tubaro Antonio NacchiaAntonio Nacchia More articles by this author , Riccardo LombardoRiccardo Lombardo More articles by this author , Cosimo De NunzioCosimo De Nunzio More articles by this author , and Andrea TubaroAndrea Tubaro More articles by this author View All Author Informationhttps://doi.org/10.1097/JU.0000000000002541.13AboutPDF ToolsAdd to favoritesDownload CitationsTrack CitationsPermissionsReprints ShareFacebookLinked InTwitterEmail Abstract INTRODUCTION AND OBJECTIVE: Castration is any action, surgical or chemical, by which an individual loses the use of the gonads, particularly testicles. Surgical castration consists in bilateral orchiectomy and chemical castration uses pharmaceutical drugs to deactivate the testes. Human castration is a practice known from Sumerian time as cruel torture. In history, it has been a religious practice or instrument to obtain eunuch slaves or white voices. Aim of our study was to explore the history of human castration. METHODS: A literature review on human castration was performed through Medline, PubMed and Google Scholar, searching words “castration”, “orchiectomy” and “androgen deprivation”. RESULTS: The earliest records for intentional human castration to produce eunuchs are from the Sumerian city of Lagash in the 21st century BC. Ancient Greeks and ancient Romans used it to produce eunuch slaves. During Byzantine Empire, it was considered such as a punishment. In Arabian countries castration started to be used to obtain faithful harem guardians since 750 AD and then, during the Ottoman Empire, the Imperial Harem was a powerful institution of the Sultan. From the late 16th century castration was carried out in Italy to preserve the unbroken male voice into adult life. In 1941 Huggins and Hodges demonstrated control of prostate cancer growth rate by androgens and showed that there is no better way to achieve temporary control of prostate cancer growth than androgen deprivation (AD). The earliest method of AD is represented by the bilateral orchiectomy, which means a definitive therapy for the patient. In 1944 treatment with Diethylstilbestrol was described as to the first method of reversible castration. In 1979 Schally et al showed that advanced prostate cancer patients treated with daily doses of LHRH agonists experienced a 75% decrease in serum testosterone levels and a marked reduction in cancer-associated bone pain. Medical castration by means of medrossiprogesterone acetate or cyproterone acetate is also used for convicted rapist or sex offenders in some countries. Although more expensive, medical castration is nowadays the standard considering its hypothetical reversible effect and the psychological trauma related to surgery. CONCLUSIONS: The possibility to change male habitus through surgical castration has been evident since the 11th century BC and used to punish or to create specific workers such as eunuchs or singers. Just only in the last century the role of surgical castration has been associated with prostate cancer treatment and LHRH agonist and antagonist have become the new standard to induce castration. Source of Funding: None © 2022 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.FiguresReferencesRelatedDetails Volume 207Issue Supplement 5May 2022Page: e216 Advertisement Copyright & Permissions© 2022 by American Urological Association Education and Research, Inc.MetricsAuthor Information Antonio Nacchia More articles by this author Riccardo Lombardo More articles by this author Cosimo De Nunzio More articles by this author Andrea Tubaro More articles by this author Expand All Advertisement PDF DownloadLoading ...

RNA-seq coupling two different methods of castration reveals new insights into androgen deficiency-caused degeneration of submaxillary gland in male Sprague Dawley rats

BackgroundSalivary gland (SMG) degeneration and dysfunction are common symptoms that occur after sex hormone deprivation, but the underlying mechanisms remain largely unknown. Additionally, immunocastration, which causes drop of sex hormones, has been developed as an alternative to surgical castration, however whether it exerts similar effects as surgical castration on the salivary glands is unknown. Through histological and RNA-seq analysis, we assessed changes in morphology and transcriptome of SMG in response to immunocastration (IM) versus surgical castration (bilateral orchiectomy, ORC).ResultsCompared to entire males (EM), ORC caused severe degeneration of SMG in rats, as evidenced by both decreased (P < 0.01) SMG weight and organ index, and by decreased (P < 0.01) quantity of SMG acini and ducts. IM had minimal effects (P > 0.05) on SMG weight and organ index, but it still caused degeneration (P < 0.05) of the acini and ducts. Even though, the quantity of both SMG acini and ducts was much higher (P < 0.001) in IM than in ORC. Functional enrichment analysis of the common regulated genes by ORC/IM revealed disrupted epithelial cell development, angiogenesis, anatomical structure morphogenesis and enhanced cell death are associated with SMG degeneration in deprivation of androgens. Integrated data analysis shown that there existed a selective hyperfunction of SMG ribosome and mitochondrion in ORC but not in IM, which might be associated with more severe degeneration of SMG in ORC than in IM.ConclusionsOur findings suggested that both surgical castration and immunocastration caused SMG degeneration by disrupting epithelial cell development, angiogenesis, anatomical structure morphogenesis and enhancing cell death. But, surgical castration selectively induced hyperfunction of SMG ribosome and mitochondrion, thus causing more severe degeneration of SMG than immunocastration.

Half-castration is a newly effective method for increasing yield and tenderness of male cattle meat.

ObjectiveFor improving meat quality especially tenderness, male cattle are usually castrated to removes both the testicles. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect castration method (half- and complete-castration) on meat yield and quality characteristics of Hanwoo male cattle.MethodsThirty-two similar age (5.9 months) Hanwoo male calves were divided into: half-castration (HC) and complete-castration (CC) groups (n = 16 per group). At 7 months of age, all the animals were castrated in which the HC calves had only one testicle surgically removed while, the CC calves had both testicles surgically removed. The castrated animals were reared under identical conditions until 25 months of age. After slaughter, the carcasses were evaluated for carcass traits and meat yield of primal cuts. For examination of the castration effect on meat quality, L. lumborum and semimembranosus muscles were used. The meat samples were analyzed for chemical composition, color, pH, shear force and water holding capacity, fatty acids, metabolites and volatile aroma compounds.ResultsThe HC group showed higher meat yields of all primal cuts (p<0.05). As a result, the total meat yield was higher by approximately 44 kg in the HC group (303.32 kg, corresponding to 67.88%) compared to the CC group (259.30 kg, corresponding to 62.11%) (p< 0.05). In terms of meat quality, the HC resulted in two times greater fat content in both muscles examined compared to intact males. More importantly, the shear force values did not differ between HC and CC groups for L. lumborum muscles (p>0.05). The meat from HC animals exhibited higher amount of free amino acids associated with sweetness (p< 0.05). Furthermore, the castration method only exhibited a negligible effect on metabolites and volatile aroma compounds in the cooked meat.ConclusionHalf-castration emerged as an alternative practice to be used for increasing the yield and tenderness of male cattle meat.

Farmers’ Perception towards Chemical Castration Method in Piglets

The present study has been carried out in Thoubal and Kakching districts of Manipur. The study disclosed farmers’ perception on selecting castration methods in piglets among various methods. Chemical castration has been preferred by majority (85%) of the respondents. The study also revealed that chemical castration can be an alternative method to regular surgical castration because of its inexpensive, less time consuming, easy to perform, increase the body weight and feed conversion efficiency post castration.

Evaluation of pinhole technique for castration in dogs

The present study was undertaken on 12 healthy dogs presented for castration at TVCC, PGIVAS, Akola. The dogs were randomly divided into two groups (n=6), group A (pinhole castration) and group B (pre-scrotal castration). Different clinical parameters like surgical time, wound and pain score, haemato-biochemical and histopathological changes, testicular dimensions and sperm concentrations were assessed. Group A had 3 times shorter surgical time, better wound healing score, pain score and azoospermia postoperatively. The clinico-physiological and haemato-biochemical parameters showed insignificant alterations between the groups. The scrotal and testicular measurements revealed significant (P<0.01) atrophy of testicles as confirmed by degenerative and necrotic changes observed histopathologically. The study substantiated that pinhole castration rendered dogs infertile. Thus, it was concluded that the pinhole castration technique was satisfactory and an improved method of castration as it was quick, less painful with minimal surgical trauma when compared to conventional pre-scrotal castration.

The effectiveness of the chemical castration method to prevent the commission of sexual violence against minors: foreign experience

The effectiveness of the chemical castration method to prevent the commission of sexual violence against minors: foreign experience

Effect of bupivacaine liposome suspension administered as a local anesthetic block on indicators of pain and distress during and after surgical castration in dairy calves

Castration is a routine procedure performed on beef and dairy operations in the United States. All methods of castration cause behavioral, physiologic, and neuroendocrine changes associated with pain. The American Veterinary Medical Association and the American Association of Bovine Practitioners recommend that anesthesia and analgesia be administered during castration. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of bupivacaine liposome suspension, a novel, long-acting, local anesthetic formulation administered as a nerve block at castration. The authors chose to investigate this novel formulation as an alternative to the current industry standards using lidocaine nerve blocks alone or in combination with meloxicam. Thirty male Holstein calves, 16 to 20 wk of age, were enrolled and randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups prior to surgical castration: 1) bupivacaine liposome suspension block + oral placebo (BUP), 2) lidocaine block + oral placebo (LID), 3) lidocaine block + oral meloxicam (1 mg/kg) (LID + MEL), and 4) saline block + oral placebo (CON). Biomarkers were collected at −24 h and from 0 to 120 h post-castration and included infrared thermography, pressure mat gait analysis, chute defense and behavior scoring (pain and activity), and blood sampling for serum cortisol and prostaglandin E2 metabolites (PGEMs). Responses were analyzed using repeated measures, with calf nested in treatment as a random effect, and treatment, time, and their interaction designated as fixed effects. The results from pressure mat gait analysis show that the CON had a shorter front limb stance time from baseline (−8.73%; 95% confidence interval [CI]: −24.84% to 7.37%) compared with BUP and LID + MEL (>5.70%; 95% CI: −22.91% to 23.79%) (P < 0.03). The CON tended to have an increase in front limb force from baseline (6.31%; 95% CI: −1.79% to 14.41%) compared with BUP, LID, and LID + MEL (<−5.06%; 95% CI: −14.22% to 0.95%) (P < 0.04). The CON displayed higher counts of hunched standing (2.00; 95% CI: 1.68 to 2.32) compared with LID + MEL (1.43; 95% CI: 1.13 to 1.72) (P = 0.05). The CON had higher cortisol concentrations at 24 h (7.70 ng/mL; 95% CI: 1.52 to 13.87 ng/mL) relative to BUP (3.11 ng/mL; 95% CI: −2.56 to 8.79 ng/mL) (P = 0.002). At 4 and 24 h, LID + MEL had lower PGEM concentrations from baseline (−32.42% and −47.84%; 95% CI: −78.45% to −1.80%) compared with CON (27.86% and 47.63%; 95% CI: 7.49% to 82.98%) (P < 0.02). The administration of bupivacaine liposome suspension as a local anesthetic block at the time of castration was as effective at controlling pain as a multimodal approach of lidocaine and meloxicam.