Orthostatic (postural) hypotension (OH) is a common, yet under diagnosed disorder. It may contribute to disability and even death. It can be the initial sign, and lead to incapacitating symptoms in primary and secondary autonomic disorders. These range from visual disturbances and dizziness to loss of consciousness (syncope) after postural change. Evidence based guidelines for the diagnostic workup and the therapeutic management (non-pharmacological and pharmacological) are provided based on the EFNS guidance regulations. The final literature research was performed in March 2005. For diagnosis of OH, a structured history taking and measurement of blood pressure (BP) and heart rate in supine and upright position are necessary. OH is defined as fall in systolic BP below 20 mmHg and diastolic BP below 10 mmHg of baseline within 3 min in upright position. Passive head-up tilt testing is recommended if the active standing test is negative, especially if the history is suggestive of OH, or in patients with motor impairment. The management initially consists of education, advice and training on various factors that influence blood pressure. Increased water and salt ingestion effectively improves OH. Physical measures include leg crossing, squatting, elastic abdominal binders and stockings, and careful exercise. Fludrocortisone is a valuable starter drug. Second line drugs include sympathomimetics, such as midodrine, ephedrine, or dihydroxyphenylserine. Supine hypertension has to be considered.

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Myostatin (MSTN) is a negative modulator of muscle mass. We characterized the horse (Equus caballus) MSTN gene and identified and analysed single nucleotide polymorphisms (SNPs) in breeds of different morphological types. Sequencing of coding, untranslated, intronic, and regulatory regions of MSTN gene in 12 horses from 10 breeds revealed seven SNPs: two in the promoter, four in intron 1, and one in intron 2. The SNPs of the promoter (GQ183900:g.26T>C and GQ183900:g.156T>C, the latter located within a conserved TATA-box like motif) were screened in 396 horses from 16 breeds. The g.26C and the g.156C alleles presented higher frequency in heavy (brachymorphic type) than in light breeds (dolichomorphic type such as Italian Trotter breed). The significant difference of allele frequencies for the SNPs at the promoter and analysis of molecular variance (AMOVA) on haplotypes indicates that these polymorphisms could be associated with variability of morphology traits in horse breeds.

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In rabbits' reproductive performance, litter size, birth weight, growth, and mortality rate are among the most important indicators to define the productive potential and they are associated with parity order. Birth weight and little size are valuable parameters as related to mortality and weaning weight. Thus, it is important to study individual newborn and intra-litter homogeneity parameters. This trial aimed to consider the litter homogeneity weight at birth, both within each litter and in the whole population, in order to suggest new proper within-litter homogenisation parameters. In this study, the 1st and 6th parity order had, respectively, the lowest and highest values in litter size (8.96 vs 12.39, n), born-alive (8.36 vs 12.22, n), litter weight (456.4 g vs 719.8, g), born-alive weight, and quartiles' homogeneity. These parameters decreased in greater parity orders. No significant effects on stillborn numbers and mortality rates were evidenced. All these litter homogeneity evaluation parameters appeared interesting in describing differences between parity orders. The results confirmed that does parity order influences litter size and born-alive weight, but also the intra-and inter-litter homogenisation. Litter homogenisation is crucial to ensure a proportionate share of milk, more equal growth, and better productive performances. Based on these results, we suggest for the commercial genetic centres to equalise the litters according to the birth weight, by dividing the population into quartiles and rearing kits with light birth weight in smaller litters and those with heavier birth weight in larger litters. HIGHLIGHTS Does parity order influences litter size and born-alive weight Kit's quartiles distribution is a useful tool for equalisation practice