CARDIAC TROPONIN I IN HEALTHY NEWBORN GOAT KIDS AND IN GOAT KIDS WITH CARDIAC NUTRITIONAL MUSCULAR DYSTROPHY

This study was designed to establish serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) concentrations in healthy newborn goat kids and in those with cardiac nutritional muscular dystrophy (NMD). Thirty-five single full-term newborn goat kids (20 males and 15 females; age: 6.1 +/- 3.5 h; weight 3.4 +/- 0.68 kg), together with their respective mothers (Group 1; G1) were enrolled consecutively. Thirty-one goat kids (age: 9.5 +/- 4.3 days) with NMD, together with 20 control goat kids (age: 7.8 +/- 4.3 days) were also included in this study (Group 2; G2). Blood samples were collected from G1 within 12 h of birth and from G2 on admission. Serum samples were collected and analysed for cTnI. In G1, the mean serum concentration of cTnI in goat kids was 0.290 +/- 0.37 ng/mL, with no statistically significant difference between male and female kids (P = 0.61). The mean cTnI concentration in the does was 0.017 +/- 0.04, ng/mL. Serum values of cTnI in the goat kids and in their respective mothers differed significantly (P = 0.0001). In G2, the mean cTnI concentration was 0.02 +/- 0.05 ng/mL in the control and 11.18 +/- 20.07 ng/mL in the diseased goat kids, with a statistically significant difference between diseased and control goat kids (P = 0.017). Serum concentrations of cTnI are higher in goat kids than in their respective mothers. In conclusion, the cTnI assay appears to be a sensitive and specific marker for myocardial injury in goat kids.