NEUROPATHIC FEATHER DESTRUCTIVE BEHAVIOR IN TWO AFRICAN GREY PARROTS (Psittacus erithacus)

Feather destructive behavior (FDB) is a multifactorial disease, characterized by chewing or plucking the feathers. This works focus attention on FDB related to an immune-mediated and non suppurative peripheral polyneuropathy, through the measurement of anti-gangliosides antibodies (AGAs) produced by infiltrating cells. In human medicine, patients with Guillain–Barré Syndrome, an acute immune-mediated polyradiculoneuropathy, develop antibodies against gangliosides, resulting in autoimmune targeting of peripheral nerve sites, leading to neural damage. Two adult African Grey parrots (Psittacus erithacus) were presented to the clinic for chronic FDB, unresponsive to previous therapies. These parrots were pet-birds in different families, and showed a similar pattern and extension of cutaneous lesions caused by FDB. The diagnostic algorithm included: physical examination, complete blood count, chemistry panel, zinc blood level, infectious disease panel, endoscopy, radiography, histological analysis of the feathers, serological evaluation of the AGAs profile. The absence of any important alteration in blood and imaging analysis, and the high level of AGAs, associated to the histological absence of inflammation and intracellular viral inclusions inside or around the feather calamus, suggested a possible neuropatic origin of the FDB for these two cases. An anti-inflammatory therapy was suggested using Robenacoxib (Onsior®, Novartis, Switzerland), administered at the dosage of 5 mg/Kg IM weekly, for 2 weeks and then at 2 mg/kg PO, every two days for 4 weeks. After three months, a significant improvement of clinical conditions was noticed. The important reduction of the clinical signs suggests a close correlation between FDB and the immune-mediated neuropathic disorder evidenced by AGAs.