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The short-term effects of corticosteroids (CS) administered intravenously (IV) on biochemical parameters of bone metabolism were followed in infants and children. Forty-nine patients from 2 months to 10 years of age, admitted to Pediatrics Department for bronchiolitis, viral-associated wheezing and croup, were treated with IV hydrocortisone or methylprednisolone (10 or 2 mg/Kg/day, respectively) for 3 days. Blood and fasting urine were collected on admission (day 1), 2 days later (day 3) and 12 days after the end of therapy (day 15). Fifty-one children of similar age and gender without respiratory problems or bone diseases were used as controls. On day 3, suppression of the bone formation markers osteocalcin (OC) (P < 0.001) and total alkaline phosphatase (ALP) (P < 0.05) was observed, but not of the bone resorption markers of hydroxyproline, pyridinoline and calcium excretion (UHyp/UCr, UPYD/UCr and UDPD/UCr, UCa/UCr). Significant decreases were indicated in serum phosphate (Pi) and the maximum renal tubular Pi reabsorption (TmP/GFR) compared to basal (P < 0.001). No significant changes were noticed in the circulating levels of calcium (Ca), parathyroid hormone (iPTH), 25OHD, 24,25(OH)2D, 1,25(OH)2D, the insulin-like growth factor-I (IGF-I) and its binding protein-3 (IGFBP-3). Two weeks after therapy, the increase of OC to higher than basal (P < 0.01) indicated a probable activation of the osteoblasts. Serum Pi and the TmP/GFR index values that had significantly decreased by day 3 returned to pretreatment levels by day 15. When assessing the effects of the CS in relation to age, no changes were detected in the levels of OC and total ALP in the 1-year-old group (P < 0.001). In contrast to the OC, the effects on serum and renal tubular reabsorption of phosphate were similar for both groups. In conclusion, short-term IV administered CS led to significant but reversible inhibition of bone formation markers, especially detectable in the >1-year-old children, without affecting the bone resorption ones. The adverse effects on phosphate metabolism were also significant, but temporal and irrespective of age. Calcif Tissue Int

Respiratory tract diseases of cattle, especially in calves, represent the one of the most important health and economic problem of calf rearing. The aim of the present investigation was to evaluate the changes of selected blood indicators in 15 calves, aged 2 – 3 weeks suffering from etiologically undifferentiated acute respiratory tract diseases. Blood samples were taken from v. jugularis. Blood samples were analyzed for haematological indicators and selected biochemistry variables. The results found in sick animals were compared with results from 15 clinically healthy calves of the same housing, age and feeding system. Significant differences in means between the groups of clinically healthy and sick calves were found in 7 out of 12 evalutated indicators. We compared clinically healthy and sick calves and these indicators were significantly higher: NEU (193.2 pct., p < 0.01), ), WBC (81.9 pct., p < 0.01), LYM (17.2 pct., p > 0.05), UREA (59 pct., p < 0.05), AST (23.8 pct., p < 0.05) ir CREA (8.9 pct., p > 0,05). Significantly lower mean value was recorded in the serum concentration of GLU (17.9 pct., p < 0.001). From the analyzed data we found direct correlation between WBC and NEU (R = 0.0898, p < 0.05) and inverse correlation between GLU and UREA (R = -0.507, p < 0.05). The presented data suggest that the respiratory diseases in calves cause several changes of haematological and serum biochemical indicators. This data indicates that respiratory tract diseases indirectly affect some variables of blood haematology and blood serum biochemistry.