Metabolic Stress in the Transition Period of Dairy Cows: Focusing on the Prepartum Period

Overview

Journal Animals (Basel)

Date 2020 Aug 23

PMID 32823892

Citations 24

Authors

Osvaldo Bogado Pascottini

Jo L M R Leroy

Geert Opsomer

Affiliations

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Abstract

All modern, high-yielding dairy cows experience a certain degree of reduced insulin sensitivity, negative energy balance, and systemic inflammation during the transition period. Maladaptation to these changes may result in excessive fat mobilization, dysregulation of inflammation, immunosuppression, and, ultimately, metabolic or infectious disease in the postpartum period. Up to half of the clinical diseases in the lifespan of high-yielding dairy cows occur within 3 weeks of calving. Thus, the vast majority of prospective studies on transition dairy cows are focused on the postpartum period. However, predisposition to clinical disease and key (patho)physiological events such as a spontaneous reduction in feed intake, insulin resistance, fat mobilization, and systemic inflammation already occur in the prepartum period. This review focuses on metabolic, adaptive events occurring from drying off until calving in high-yielding cows and discusses determinants that may trigger (mal)adaptation to these events in the late prepartum period.

Citing Articles

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