title: Fatal arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy in 2 related subadult chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes).
abstract: Cardiovascular disease is increasingly recognized as an important cause of morbidity and mortality in captive chimpanzees (Pan troglodytes). This report records 2 cases of sudden cardiac death in closely related subadult captive chimpanzees with marked replacement fibrosis and adipocyte infiltration of the myocardium, which resemble specific atypical forms of the familial human disease arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. Changes were consistent with left-dominant and biventricular subtypes, which are both phenotypic variants found within human families with familial arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy. Previously reported fibrosing cardiomyopathies in chimpanzees were characterized by nonspecific interstitial fibrosis, in contrast to the replacement fibrofatty infiltration with predilection for the outer myocardium seen in these 2 cases. To the authors' knowledge, this case report is the first to describe cardiomyopathy resembling arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy in nonhuman primates and the first to describe left-dominant arrhythmogenic cardiomyopathy-type lesions in an animal.
authors.affiliation: Zoological Society of London, Veterinary Department, London Zoo, Regents Park, London, UK Veterinary Pathology Diagnostic Services, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Sydney University, Australia lydiatong@cantab.net.
authors.forename: L J
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Tong
authors.affiliation: Zoological Society of London, Veterinary Department, London Zoo, Regents Park, London, UK.
authors.forename: E J
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Flach
authors.affiliation: Cardiac Pathology Unit, Imperial College, London, UK.
authors.forename: M N
authors.initials: MN
authors.lastname: Sheppard
authors.affiliation: Zoological Society of London, Veterinary Department, London Zoo, Regents Park, London, UK Finn Pathologists, One Eyed Lane, Weybread, Norfolk, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Pocknell
authors.affiliation: Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hertfordshire, UK.
authors.forename: A A
authors.initials: AA
authors.lastname: Banerjee
authors.affiliation: Royal Veterinary College, University of London, Hertfordshire, UK.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Boswood
authors.affiliation: Whipsnade Zoo, Dunstable, Bedfordshire, UK Al Wabra Wildlife Preservation, Al Shahaniya, Qatar.
authors.forename: T
authors.initials: T
authors.lastname: Bouts
authors.affiliation: Zoological Society of London, Veterinary Department, London Zoo, Regents Park, London, UK Durrell Wildlife Conservation Trust, Jersey, Channel Islands.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Routh
authors.affiliation: Zoological Society of London, Veterinary Department, London Zoo, Regents Park, London, UK.
authors.forename: Y
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Feltrer
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D000836:Animals, Zoo; D018420:Ape Diseases / Q000473:pathology*; D019571:Arrhythmogenic Right Ventricular Dysplasia / Q000150:complications / Q000473:pathology / Q000662:veterinary*; D016757:Death, Sudden, Cardiac / Q000209:etiology / Q000662:veterinary*; D017809:Fatal Outcome; D006652:Histological Techniques / Q000662:veterinary; D008297:Male; D002679:Pan troglodytes; D010375:Pedigree
keywords: arrhythmogenic right ventricular cardiomyopathy; chimpanzee; familial; heart; sudden cardiac death