RESUMEN
BACKGROUND: Ovine pregnancy toxaemia is a common metabolic disorder of ewes due to increased foetal energy requirements in late pregnancy. This pathology is a metabolic condition characterized by hypoglycaemia and hyperketonaemia resulting in the inability of the animal to maintain an adequate energy balance. The response to treatment is effective, if it is started in the early stages of the disease, when irreversible neurological injuries have not yet been established. The aim was to evaluate three therapeutic alternatives to effectively reverse the disease process in its early stages. For this, thirty adult Corriedale ewes, pregnant with a single lamb, were randomly separated in three groups of ten animals each, at day 130 of gestation. From that day onwards, ewes were locked up for forage fasting until glycaemia reached clinical values defining sub-clinical pregnancy toxaemia (1.59 ± 0.24 mmol/L). After fasting, ewes grazed and received a treatment for 4 days: 50 ml i.v. infusions of hypertonic glucose and 20 UI insulin/ewe/day s.c. or 100 ml/sheep/12 h of glycerol together with propylene glycol oral solution or fed with pasture supplemented with two daily intakes 300 g/sheep of cracked corn. Glycaemia and ß-hydroxybutyrate were determined in all the animals from the beginning of fasting until the completion of the treatment. RESULTS: Fasting caused a decline in blood glucose in the 3 groups. This decline continued until fasting was withdrawn and treatment began. Thereafter blood glucose increased in all three groups, although in the group supplemented with glycerol and propylene glycol it started to increase significantly after 12 h. The values of ß-hydroxybutyrate decreased in the 3 groups at the start of treatment, and this decline was more pronounced earlier on and in the group supplemented with glycerol and propylene glycol. We found no significant differences between all experimental groups. No animal showed clinical signs of pregnancy toxaemia throughout the research. CONCLUSIONS: The three treatments administered to sheep affected by sub-clinical pregnancy toxaemia were able to restore normal concentration of glucose and ß-hydroxybutyrate in blood, although per os administration of 100 ml/sheep/12 h of glycerol with propylene glycol, was the most successful treatment, normalizing the aforementioned biochemical parameters in a shorter time.
RESUMEN
Se analizan las experiencias obtenidas en la atención a los estudiantes que acudieron a la Unidad de Orientación Estudiantil en el curso 1988-1989, así como el funcionamiento integral de la unidad. Se realiza un análisis de las vías a través de los cuales los estudiantes acuden a la unidad y sus principales motivos, además de las diferentes técnicas psicólogicas y psicopedagógicas que se utilizan en la orientación y tratamiento de los educandos. Se ha podido constatar que con un trabajo organizado y sistemático las Unidades de Orientación Estudiantil se convierten en un elemento poderoso que ayuda a la retención escolar y a la elevación de la calidad en las actividades docentes, por otra parte, expone la importancia de la labor educativa y preventiva que deben jugar los profesores en la detección precoz de los estudiantes con dificultades y que no recaiga solamente en los profesores guías como único eslabón. (AU)