Paresis, paralysis and their various causes
Differential
diagnosis in rabbits
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MediRabbit Flora showing a very slight loss of balance. In her case it was an early
sign of encephalitozoonosis, a parasitic disease that she developped over the next months. She also started to
lose weight, in spite of a huge appetite.
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Sandra Pittet Taiga,
a paralyzed rabbit (front), due to the parasite Encephalitozoon cuniculi, with her healthy
rabbit friend Lichen (back) |
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Amy Carpenter Typical sitting position of a rabbit with weak or
paralyzed hind-limbs |
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Acute paresis (hours) |
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Serum
electrolyte abnormalities: |
Profound hypokalemia |
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Hyperkalemia |
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Hypermagnesemia |
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Traumatic
causes |
Spinal cord injury, trauma of the spinal cord, fracture, or disease of
the CNS. |
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Spinal cord hemorrhage, e.g. after trauma |
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Disease or lesions (e.g. brain hypoxia from severe seizures) |
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Disc disease,
compression of the sciatic nerve |
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Karan Nixon
George rabbit enjoying to move around in his wheelchair after suffering from hindlimb paralysis.
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Subacute paresis (days)
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Bacterial infestation |
Brain
abscess, encephalitis, meningitis, spinal abscess caused by e.g. Pasteurella
multocida, Lysteria
sp.,
Staphylococcus sp.. |
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Traumatic causes |
Muscle trauma, after excessive exercise, or prolonged pressure and
ischemia. |
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Spinal compression |
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Slow onset of paresis (weeks, months)
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Protozoal parasites
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Encephalitozoon cuniculi in the brain, accompanied
by an inflammatory response of brain cells |
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Sarcocystis cuniculi, causing muscle weaness in rabbits. Possibly in presence of cats, the main host of this parasite.
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Neoplastic
diseases: |
Bone neoplasm, development of tumors in the spinal cord, carcinoma |
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“Mechanical”
causes: |
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Spondylosis (spinal osteoarthritis),
disco-spondylitis, presence of bone spurs or osteophytes,
which can lead to pain and irritation of the nerves |
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Disk deformation
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Intervertebral disk disease |
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Unknown cause: |
Thank you very much to Sandra Pittet (Switzerland), Karan Nixon (USA) and Amy Carpenter (USA), for
their pictures.
e-mail: info@medirabbit.com
