Postpartum fatty liver in high-producing dairy cows in practice and in animal studies. The connection with health, production and reproduction problems

Hepatic lipidosis postpartum (pp) in high-producing dairy cows is associated with an increased vulnerability to infectious diseases, an increased frequency of metabolic diseases and substantial reproduction problems. To enable research that aims at elucidation of the relationship between the hepatic lipidosis postpartum on one hand and the aforementioned problems on the other, an animal model for hepatic lipidosis was developed. Using this model, evidence was found that the sudden and substantial increase of hepatic uptake of free fatty acids contributes to accumulation of triacyglycerol in the liver. As far as the increased susceptibility for infectious diseases is concerned, results were obtained that indicate that in cows with hepatic lipidosis, the immune response is suppressed. With respect to the fertility problems, with the help of in vitro tests, it was found that the quality of oocytes collected in cows with hepatic lipidosis 80–140 days postpartum was decreased.