Abstract
Summary
Cerebellar disorders developed in chicks 1-5 hours after intravenous injection of 10 mg of the hydroperoxide of methyl linoleate or of linoleic acid emulsified in 1 ml of serum. No cerebellar disorders were noted, after injection, in birds kept on an identical diet but supplemented with 8 mg % α-tocopherol. Injection of reduced hydroperoxide, methyl 12-oxo-cis-9-octadecenoate or fresh methyl linoleate caused no cerebellar disorders indicating only lipohydroperoxide initiated symptoms. The severity of cerebellar disorders induced by injection of lipohydroperoxide was greatly influenced by dietary pretreatment. The cerebellum of chicks which had been kept on high protein, high fat, Vit. E deficient diets was damaged more extensively by injection of lipohydroperoxide than the cerebellum of chicks kept on adequate diets. These data suggest that nutritional encephalomalacia may be initiated by accumulation of sufficient, though still immeasurable, levels of lipohydroperoxide in vivo.
The authors wish to thank D. E. Black, M. F. Kummerow, Sandra J. Curtis and Valerie J. Hall for technical assistance.
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