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Abstract
In hunting falcons, a fatal syndrome of wasting, weight loss, green mutes and, finally, sudden death of emaciated birds has been observed in the United Arab Emirates (UAE). Histological examination using Congo red has revealed amyloid in most organs, in particular in the liver, spleen, kidney, and adrenal glands. Moreover, a retrospective study revealed amyloidosis in 100 cases among a total of 623 necropsied falcons between August 1995 and March 2004 in Dubai/UAE (16%; varying from 8 to 30% in different raptor bird species). The amyloid was immunohistochemically classified as amyloid A (AA), which was confirmed by Western blot analysis and N-terminal amino acid sequence analysis, suggesting it to be secondary to a chronic inflammatory process. Retrospective analysis has indicated a significantly increased prevalence of bumble foot and visceral gout among falcons with amyloidosis. In addition, a significant increase of amyloidosis from 5.6% of necropsied falcons with amyloidosis in 1995 to 40.0% in 2004 has been noticed.
Finally, a semi-quantitative serum test for falcon serum amyloid A (f-SAA) has been developed. Among 38 falcons with fatal AA amyloidosis, f-SAA was increased pathologically in 36, whereas f-SAA was elevated in only one of 15 apparently disease-free falcons (p < 0.001). This significant result indicates that a normal f-SAA will indicate a minimal or even absent risk of succumbing to AA amyloidosis.
| Abbreviations | ||
| AA | = | amyloid A |
| f-AA | = | falcon AA |
| Aβ2M | = | amyloid of β2-microglobulin origin |
| ALλ(κ) | = | amyloid of immunoglobulin λ(κ)-light chain origin |
| CR | = | Congo red |
| CRF | = | Congo red fluorescence |
| CVRL | = | Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dubai |
| GB | = | green birefringence |
| kDa | = | Kilodalton |
| NC | = | nitrocellulose |
| PAP | = | peroxidase-anti-peroxidase |
| SAA | = | serum amyloid A protein |
| f-SAA | = | falcon SAA |
| SDS-PAGE | = | sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide electrophoresis |
| UAE | = | United Arab Emirates |
| KIR and HAR | = | artificial acronyms of patients' names |
| Abbreviations | ||
| AA | = | amyloid A |
| f-AA | = | falcon AA |
| Aβ2M | = | amyloid of β2-microglobulin origin |
| ALλ(κ) | = | amyloid of immunoglobulin λ(κ)-light chain origin |
| CR | = | Congo red |
| CRF | = | Congo red fluorescence |
| CVRL | = | Central Veterinary Research Laboratory in Dubai |
| GB | = | green birefringence |
| kDa | = | Kilodalton |
| NC | = | nitrocellulose |
| PAP | = | peroxidase-anti-peroxidase |
| SAA | = | serum amyloid A protein |
| f-SAA | = | falcon SAA |
| SDS-PAGE | = | sodium dodecyl sulfate polyacrylamide electrophoresis |
| UAE | = | United Arab Emirates |
| KIR and HAR | = | artificial acronyms of patients' names |