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Rare disease found in cat

Cats, like humans, can suffer hereditary metabolism disorders, doctors at the National Taiwan University (NTU) Hospital said yesterday.

At the 20th anniversary of the establishment of the hospital's medical genetics department, the hospital revealed the nation's first case of a cat afflicted with a rare metabolic disease called mucopolysaccharidosis, a disease caused by the malfunction of certain enzymes needed to break down sugar carbohydrates in cells.

"An animal with mucopolysaccharidosis is unheard of in Taiwan. According to our research, there are only two other places worldwide where cats suffer from this rare disease: the US and Switzerland," said Hu Wu-liang (胡務亮), a physician at NTU hospital's medical genetics department, and who diagnosed the affected cat.

It took the cat's owners, the Yongs, five months to figure out what was wrong with their cat. The couple said the cat developed difficulty walking two months after they adopted it last September.

Early this year, experts at National Chung Hsing University Veterinary Hospital suspected the cat may have been suffering from the rare metabolic disease after they analyzed its urine, and after they found its lungs and spleen to be disproportionately large. The vet hospital referred the cat to the NTU Hospital for further examinations. After comparing the sick cat's urine and blood with other healthy cats, the NTU Hospital confirmed that the cat suffered from type seven mucopolysacchridose.

Among seven subtypes of the hereditary disease, Hu pointed out, only the first subtype could be cured.

Gene therapy can remedy the enzyme deficiency, and is currently undergoing clinical trial overseas. Currently, there is no cure for the type seven mucopolysacchridose, Hu said.

The seven-month-old "Catty" is now handicapped by the disease, with her legs paralyzed from skeletal irregularities.

"Catty" also developed facial disfigurements such as short ears, flat nasal bridge, and turbid corneas which are visibly different from normal cats.
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