Dystrophic symptoms prevented by phenobarbital in avian muscular dystrophy.

New Hampshire normal (line 412) and dystrophic (line 413) chickens were treated with central stimulants and central depressants, respectively, once a day from the 2nd to the 10th day after hatching, and effects of the treatment were examined on a number of muscle fibers, areas of muscle fibers, and the coefficient of variation of a muscle on the 13th day. Central depressants, especially phenobarbital, effectively prevented development of the dystrophic symptoms, whereas central stimulants made normal chickens "dystrophic". The righting ability of the dystrophic chickens was normal after treatment with 10 mg/kg of phenobarbital during the early postnatal period from the 2nd to the 28th day after hatching.