Lafora disease in the cow?

Lafora disease in man is an autosomal recessive defect which affects carbohydrate metabolism and results in a progressive, ultimately fatal neurological condition. It is characterized histologically by intraneuronal cytoplasmic polyglucosan inclusions (Lafora bodies). Similar inclusions have been seen in association with neurological signs in other species, including the dog, the cockatiel and the cow. Polyglucosan bodies, however, are not always considered to be disease specific, and have also been reported as an age-related change in cats, dogs and man. The only recorded case in cattle to date has been a single animal in the USA. The present report records a case study of two animals with Lafora inclusion bodies, together with a survey of the occurrence of non-specific polyglucosan bodies in aged cattle. It is concluded that the inclusions in the two putative cases of Lafora disease were not non-specific age-related changes, and that these cases represent the first report of the disease in cattle in the UK.