Wobbly syndrome in an African pygmy hedgehog : estudo neuropatologico e imuno-histoquimico

• Published in: Ciência rural 2019-01, Vol.49 (1)
• Main Authors: de Oliveira, Leticia Batelli, Moreira, Matheus Vilardo Loes, Santos, Willian Henrique de Magalhaes, Stuart, Lislie Caroline Oliveira, Castro, Maria Dolors Pi, Balle, Ma, Ecco, Roselene
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• ISSN: 0103-8478
• DOI: 10.1590/0103-8478cr20180742

A three-year-old female African pygmy hedgehog (Atelerix albiventris), born and domiciled in Brazil, presented apathy, prostration, and difficulty to stay standing. Its parents were siblings but did not present clinical signs related to this condition. As its clinical condition worsened, the animal was euthanized and referred for necropsy. No gross lesions were found in the central nervous system (CNS). Histologically, there was vacuolation with axonal degeneration in the white matter of the CNS and in peripheral nervous tissue. The KluverBarrera (KB) stain confirmed demyelination in vacuolated areas. Immunohistochemistry using several neural markers confirmed astrocytosis and microgliosis associated with vacuolated areas. In addition, there was a mild decrease in the immuno intensity of myelin proteolipid protein (PLP) in these areas. These results suggest a genetic origin of the present demyelination, which resulted in the wobbly syndrome described in this report. Key words: central nervous system, degenerative disease, myelopathy, vacuolation, histopathology. Um ourico pigmeu africano de tres anos de idade, nascido e domiciliado no Brasil, apresentou apatia, prostracao e dificuldade em permanecer em estacao. Os pais deste ourico eram irmaos, mas nao apresentaram sinais clinicos relacionados a esta condicao. Com a piora dos sinais clinicos, o animal foi eutanasiado e encaminhado para necropsia. Nao foram encontradas lesoes macroscopicas no sistema nervoso central (SNC). Histologicamente, havia vacuolizacao com degeneracao axonal na substancia branca do SNC e no tecido nervoso periferico. A coloracao de Kluver-Barrera (KB) confirmou desmielinizacao nas areas vacuolizadas e a imuno-histoquimica utilizando varios marcadores, confirmou astrocitose e microgliose associadas com as areas de vacuolizacao. Alem disso, houve discreta diminuicao da imunointensidade da proteinaproteolipidica da mielina (PLP) nessas areas. Estes resultados sugerem origem genetica da desmielinizacao que resultou na sindrome de wobbly descrita neste relato. Palavras-chave: sistema nervoso central, doenca degenerativa, mielopatia, vacuolizacao, histopatologia.