Some studies on Stiff Lamb Disease in Qassim region in Saudi Arabia. 1. Enzymatic profile in free, subclinically and clinically affected lambs both before and after treatment with vitamin E and selenium preparation

On studying the enzymatic profile of serum muscle specific enzymes (ALT, AST, LDH and CPK) in two sheep flocks one free while the other was endemic with stiff lamb disease it was found that: (1) Serum muscle specific enzymes levels were significantly increased in lambs of the endemic flock when compared with those from the non-endemic one. (2) Vitamin E and selenium administration was followed by significant decrease in enzymes levels in subclinically affected lambs of the endemic flock, while no changes occurred in lambs of the control, non-endemic flock one-week after administration. (3) Lambs in the endemic flock were born with relatively high serum enzyme levels, which began to increase significantly and gradually from the second week of life and up, reaching maximum levels at the fourth week of age. At this age, most of the lambs began to show typical symptoms of the disease. (4) Clinical improvement accompanied with pronounced drop in levels of these enzymes occurred after treatment with vitamin E and selenium preparation in clinically affected lambs. (C) 2000 Elsevier Science B.V All rights reserved.