Objective-To compare daily endogenous cortisol production rate and the pharmacokinetics of an IV bolus of hydrocortisone between neonatal foals and adult horses. Animals-10 healthy full-term 2- to 4-day-old foals and 7 healthy adult horses. Procedures-Blood samples were collected from each horse every 15 to 20 minutes for 24 hours for determination of 24-hour mean cortisol concentration. Afterward, dexamethasone (0.08 mg/kg) was administered IV to suppress endogenous cortisol production. Twelve hours afterward, hydrocortisone sodium succinate (1.0 mg/kg) was administered as a rapid IV bolus and serial blood samples were collected to determine hydrocortisone pharmacokinetics. Cortisol concentrations, daily cortisol production rate, and hydrocortisone pharmacokinetics were determined, and results were compared between adult horses and foals. Results-The mean +/- SD 24-hour cortisol concentration was significantly lower in foals (20 +/- 4 ng/mL) than in horses (26 +/- 6 ng/mL), but the daily cortisol production rate was significantly greater in foals (6,710 +/- 320 ng/kg/d) than in horses (2,140 +/- 400 ng/kg/d). For hydrocortisone, foals had a significantly greater volume of distribution at steady state (1.92 +/- 1.11 L/kg) and total body clearance (1.39 +/- 0.108 L/kg/h) and significantly lower peak plasma concentration (1,051 +/- 343 ng/mL) than did horses (0.58 +/- 0.15 L/kg, 0.349 +/- 0.065 L/kg/h, and 8,934 +/- 3,843 ng/mL, respectively). Conclusions and Clinical Relevance-Important differences were detected in cortisol production and metabolism between neonatal foals and adult horses consistent with lower plasma protein binding of cortisol in foals. This decrease may contribute to cortisol insufficiency during prolonged critical illness in neonatal foals.

Objective: To determine whether parenteral l-alanyl-l-glutamine (Ala-Gln) administration modulated phagocytic responses of polymorphonuclear neutrophilic leukocytes (PMNs) from dogs undergoing high-dose methylprednisolone sodium succinate (MPSS) treatment. Animals: 15 healthy Beagles. Procedures: Dogs were randomly assigned to 3 treatment groups (n = 5/group): 38-hour IV infusion of saline (0.9% NaCl) solution (control group), saline solution with 8.5% amino acids (2.3 g/kg/d), or saline solution with 8.5% amino acids (1.8 g/kg/d) and 20% l-alanyl-l-glutamine (Ala-Gln; 0.5 g/kg/d). High-dose MPSS treatment was initiated at the same time that IV infusions began, such that a total dose of 85 mg of MPSS/kg was administered through multiple IV injections over a 26-hour period. The infusions were maintained until 12 hours after the last MPSS injection. Blood samples collected before MPSS injections began and 2, 12, and 24 hours after injections ceased were used to evaluate PMN function. Results: MPSS injections resulted in an increase in the total number of circulating leukocytes and increases in neutrophil and monocyte counts but did not affect lymphocyte, eosinophil, or basophil counts. Lymphocyte counts in the Ala-Gln group were higher than in the control group 12 hours after MPSS injections finished. Relative to preinfusion values, phagocytic capacity, oxidative burst activity, and filamentous actin polymerization of PMNs were suppressed in all dogs except those that received Ala-Gln. Conclusions and Clinical Relevance: Parenteral Ala-Gln administration in dogs resulted in an increase in PMN phagocytic responses that were suppressed by high-dose MPSS treatment.