Lafora-like inclusion bodies in the brain of a Peach-Faced Love Bird (Agapornis roseicollis)

An eleven years old male Peach-Faced Love Bird (Agapornis roseicollis) was presented to the Clinic for Poultry and Pet Birds. Its history consisted of wing-drooping for about three weeks, the bird had fallen from the perch tw o weeks ago. Since this incident the bird showed paresis of the right leg a nd wing. After isoflurane anaesthesia the symptoms increased, the bird died some hours later. Necropsy findings were amyloidosis of the liver, arterio sclerosis, and congestion of the lungs and kidneys. In the cerebellum, the basal ganglia, the brain and the stem nuclei numerous round to ovoid slight ly basophilic Lafora-like bodies were detected. Morbus Lafora neuropathy ha s been proven in men, a similar disease has been reported in dogs, cats, an d some other mammals as well as in two cockatiels. The presented case is th e first description of this disease in a Love Bird.