title: [Cutaneous asthenia (Ehlers-Danlos syndrome) in a domestic rabbit].
abstract: Cutaneous asthenia is a connective tissue disease primarily of dogs and cats, resembling Ehlers-Danlos syndrome in man. This is a description of the disorder in a rabbit. The one-year-old female animal was presented because of two large gaping wounds of the skin. Clinical examination revealed a hyperextensible, thin, and fragile skin. The degree of skin extensibility was evaluated by means of a skin extensibility index (SEI: 19.2%) and compared with those of 4 healthy rabbits (SEI: 8.3%-14.3%). Clinical diagnosis was confirmed by histopathological examination of a skin biopsy revealing reduced packing density of collagen fibers. In addition a decreased number of hair follicles was observed. No conclusion could be drawn regarding the etiology, but existing literature strongly suggests a genetic cause (mostly autosomal dominant inheritance) in humans as well as in animals.
authors.affiliation: Universitätskrankenhaus Hamburg.
authors.forename: F
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Iglauer
authors.forename: G
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Wilmering
authors.forename: E
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Huisinga
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Wölm
authors.forename: D E
authors.initials: DE
authors.lastname: Lorke
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000829:Animals, Domestic; D002415:Cats; D004285:Dogs; D004535:Ehlers-Danlos Syndrome / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D011817:Rabbits; D012867:Skin / Q000473:pathology* / Q000648:ultrastructure; D012871:Skin Diseases / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*