Yoshihiko Yu, Tadashi Miyamoto, Yui Kimura, Kazuhito Itamoto, Masaki Michishita, Hitoshi Hatakeyama, Tomokazu Nagashima, Rikako Asada, Tomomi Yamaguchi, Daisuke Hasegawa, Yoshihiro Nomura, Leslie A Lyons, Tomoki Kosho
The Canadian veterinary journal = La revue veterinaire canadienne 65(3) 227-233 2024年3月
A stray cat, an intact female Japanese domestic shorthair cat of unknown age (suspected to be a young adult), was rescued. The cat was lethargic and thin and had marked skin fragility, delayed wound healing without skin hyperextensibility, and hind limb proprioceptive ataxia and paresis. Survey radiography, computed tomography, and magnetic resonance imaging revealed congenital vertebral anomalies, including thoracolumbar transitional vertebrae, scoliosis resulting from a thoracic lateral wedge-shaped vertebra, and a kinked tail, and a dilated spinal cord central canal. Through nutritional support, the cat's general condition normalized, followed by a gradual and complete improvement of skin features. Whole-genome sequencing was completed; however, no pathogenic genetic variant was identified that could have caused this phenotype, including congenital scoliosis. A skin biopsy obtained 7 y after the rescue revealed no remarkable findings on histopathology or transmission electron microscopy. Based on clinical course and microscopic findings, malnutrition-induced reversible feline skin fragility syndrome (FSFS) was suspected, and nutritional support was considered to have improved the skin condition. Key clinical message: This is the second reported case of presumed malnutrition-induced reversible FSFS and was accompanied by long-term follow-up.