Etiology of paresis and paralysis in rabbits
Differential
diagnosis
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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 |
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: |
I would
like to express my sincere appreciation to Sandra Pittet (Switzerland), Karan
Nixon (USA) and Amy Carpenter (USA),
for their
invaluable contributions in the form of photographs.
e-mail: info@medirabbit.com
