Comparison of arthritis characteristics in lowland Gorilla gorilla and mountain Gorilla beringei.
*Gorilla gorilla; Africa South of the Sahara/epidemiology; Animals; Ape Diseases/*epidemiology/*pathology; Arthritis/epidemiology/pathology/*veterinary; Bone and Bones/pathology; Joints/pathology; Species Specificity
Gorilla gorilla and the less-studied G. beringei occupy very different, geographically separate habitats. We studied the occurrence of various forms of arthritis to examine possible nature/nurture causality. The macerated skeletons of 38 G. beringei and 99 G. gorilla individuals were examined macroscopically for the presence of articular and osseous pathologies. Contrasting with only isolated osteoarthritis and infectious arthritis was the frequent occurrence of a form of erosive arthritis associated with joint fusion. Twenty-one percent of the G. beringei and 20% of G. gorilla specimens were afflicted, which are statistically indistinguishable frequencies. While both had prominent axial disease, they differed in patterns of peripheral arthritis. Whereas G. beringei showed a pauciarticular pattern, the pattern in G. gorilla was more often polyarticular. Susceptibility to spondyloarthropathy was apparently genetically imprinted before Gorilla separated into G. gorilla and G. beringei. However, the different patterns of peripheral joint involvement suggest a causality resulting from lifestyle (e.g., the presence/absence or extent of knuckle walking) or a habitat-related infectious agent.
Rothschild Bruce M; Ruhli Frank J
American journal of primatology
2005
2005-07
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20139" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1002/ajp.20139</a>
Etiology of reactive arthritis in Pan paniscus, P. troglodytes troglodytes, and P. troglodytes schweinfurthii.
*Environment; *Pan paniscus; *Pan troglodytes; Africa South of the Sahara; Animal/*physiology; Animals; Ape Diseases/*etiology/*pathology; Arthritis; Bone and Bones/pathology; Joints/pathology; Reactive/etiology/pathology/*veterinary; Sexual Behavior; Species Specificity
The character of arthritis has not received the same attention in Pan paniscus as it has in P. troglodytes. Reactive arthritis (a form of spondyloarthropathy) in the latter has been considered to be either a sexually transmitted or an infectious-agent diarrhea-related disorder. The unique sexual promiscuity of P. paniscus enables us to distinguish between those hypotheses. The macerated skeletons of 139 adult P. paniscus, P. troglodytes troglodytes, and P. troglodytes schweinfurthii were macroscopically analyzed for osseous and articular pathologies. The sex of the animal was recorded at the time of acquisition. Twenty-one percent of the P. paniscus, 28% of the P. t. troglodytes, and 27% of the P. t. schweinfurthii specimens had peripheral and central joint erosive disease characteristic of spondyloarthropathy. Subchondral pauciarticular distribution and reactive new bone clearly distinguish this disease from rheumatoid arthritis, osteoarthritis, and direct bone/joint infection. The fact that P. paniscus and P. t. troglodytes were similar in terms of disease frequency makes the notion of sexual transmission unlikely. While the frequencies of spondyloarthropathy were indistinguishable among all species/subspecies studied, the patterns of joint involvement were disparate. The Pan paniscus and P. t. troglodytes home ranges are geographically separate. We assessed possible habitat factors (e.g., exposure to specific infectious agents of diarrhea) by comparing P. paniscus and P. t. troglodytes with P. t. schweinfurthii. The latter shared similar patterns and habitats (separated by the Congo River) with P. paniscus. The explanation offered for habitat-specific patterns is differential bacterial exposure-most likely Shigella or Yersinia in P. paniscus and P. t. schweinfurthii.
Rothschild Bruce M; Ruhli Frank J
American journal of primatology
2005
2005-07
Article information provided for research and reference use only. All rights are retained by the journal listed under publisher and/or the creator(s).
<a href="http://doi.org/10.1002/ajp.20140" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">10.1002/ajp.20140</a>