Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cerebellar hypoplasia and ataxia in three sibling cats
By Aeffner, F et al.·Published in DTW. Deutsche tierarztliche Wochenschrift·2006·Institut fü, Germany·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Cerebellar hypoplasia in three sibling cats after intrauterine or early postnatal parvovirus infection.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Three sibling kittens were found to have serious coordination problems due to a condition called cerebellar hypoplasia, which can happen when a mother cat is infected with parvovirus during pregnancy or shortly after giving birth. The kittens showed signs of difficulty with movement, and unfortunately, their prognosis was poor, leading to their euthanasia. A post-mortem examination confirmed the brain damage associated with the infection. This case highlights the importance of considering parvovirus-related issues when young cats show signs of ataxia (loss of coordination).
People also search for: kitten coordination problems · cerebellar hypoplasia in cats · parvovirus infection in cats · why is my kitten uncoordinated
Abstract
The present report describes the case of an intrauterine or early postnatal parvovirus infection with subsequent cerebellar hypoplasia in three kittens from the same litter. Clinical examination of affected cats revealed neurologic signs indicative of cerebellar ataxia. Due to poor prognosis, animals were euthanised and submitted for necropsy. Post mortem examination demonstrated variable degrees of cerebellar hypoplasia. Histologically, brain lesions were characterised by segmental loss of the external and internal granular layer and decreased numbers of Purkinje cells. Reactive proliferation of astrocytes in the central nervous system was verified by the detection of GFAP-expressing glial cells in affected areas using immunohistochemistry. Furthermore, parvovirus antigen was detected immunohistochemically in neuronal cells of the cerebellum, but not in other parts of the brain and spinal cord or non-neuronal tissues. The present report demonstrates the usefulness of post mortem examination and detection of viral antigen by immunohistochemistry for the discrimination of neurologic disorders in feline species. Neurologic deficiencies due to cerebellar hypoplasia caused by in utero or perinatal feline parvovirus infection should be taken into consideration as differential diagnoses for ataxia in neonatal and juvenile cats.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17147149/