Research on parrots by Genesee County dermatologist could provide clues to human neur

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Research on parrots by Genesee County dermatologist could provide clues to human neuromotor disorders - The Flint Journal Online News - Michigan Newspaper - MLive.com

Research on parrots by Genesee County dermatologist could provide clues to human neuromotor disorders
by Elizabeth Shaw | The Flint Journal
Monday December 08, 2008, 7:37 AM

DAVISON TOWNSHIP, Michigan—A curious dermatologist and a dead parrot have helped unlock the secrets of a virus that has eluded animal researchers for decades.

Flint Township dermatologist Dr. Scott Karlene is credited with helping to isolate and identify a new avian bornavirus, which causes a fatal neuromotor disorder in parrots and other exotic birds similar to Parkinson’s Disease.

The discovery might eventually provide clues to the cause of human neuromotor diseases. It could even turn out to be an early warning for a potential new threat to public health.

A related bornavirus was identified in horses in the 1970s and can infect a wide range of animals including sheep, cattle, cats and primates. Some controversial studies have even suggested a possible link to human psychiatric disease, although no actual human cases have been detected.

The bornavirus attacks the host’s nasal membranes like a cold virus but then moves to the brain where it causes balance problems and other neuromotor damage. After that the virus attacks the nerves of the gut.

The similarity of the parrot disease to human Parkinson’s Disease and inflammatory bowel disease is what originally intrigued Karlene.
“This could represent a clue or starting point where we can further investigate how these viruses may be affecting humans,” said Karlene.

So why is a dermatologist poking around in groundbreaking viral research?

The story began three years ago. Karlene was weary of shuttling between his Flint Township and Warren offices. Since medical school, he had pushed forward in his chosen career with a single-minded passion. By the time he hit his 40s, he was bored with success and wondering what comes next.

“I knew I needed to take time out and give something back,” said Karlene, 46.

He’d always kept a menagerie of critters on his 15-acre Davison Township farm. A vet told him about PDD, a mysterious ailment originally called Macaw Wasting Syndrome. Scientists had been searching for a viral culprit for decades but had yet to isolate it. A parrot owner himself, Karlene was intrigued.

He’d read that doctors were using Amantadine, an influenza medicine, to treat symptoms of Parkinson’s disease. Vets were experimenting with the same drug to treat PDD. At the same time, a secretary at his office was unable to shake a bout of inflammatory bowel disease since eating undercooked chicken at a family barbecue.

It all swirled into the perfect storm in Karlene’s mind.

“PDD had all these elements we see in people all the time. Most diseases we don’t know the exact cause of. Is it a virus causing bowel disease or Parkinson’s? What avenues were PDD researchers missing the past 20 years and why was a cause not identified?”

Karlene told his partner, Dr. Scott Gaffney, he was taking a sabbatical.

“Research funding is extremely tight so I decided to use my own resources to initiate this. I didn’t know what an md with a regular practice could accomplish. It was a huge gamble, as much an experiment as the research itself.”

Gaffney said he wasn’t surprised.

“Scott is one of the most brilliant physicians I know, and that’s saying a lot. He has an incredible mind when it comes to knowledge and analysis,” said Gaffney. “I think that’s what’s allowed him to see through the problems inherent in the research going on previously, and come up with a better strategy.”

The first step was to get a parrot with PDD.

“It was impossibly difficult and bizarre,” Karlene said of the amateur detective work that finally led him to a Florida pet shop that had acquired birds from a breeding facility shut down after a PDD outbreak. He flew down personally and brought the bird back to his farm.

“We housed it separately to avoid exposing the other birds.Then we watched what was going on. The bird was essentially stiff as a board. It would pick up food like a stiff robot. It was very, very said.”

He teamed up with Dr. Susan Clubb, a Florida exotic bird specialist.

They tried everything to save it: Amantadine, nutritional supplements, even blood transfusions. It died in 2005 from a sudden cardiac event.

They analyzed those first tissues, searching for a parasite or other pathogen as part of Clubb’s own project with the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta.

Then he learned of a newly patented technology to isolate viruses at the University of California in San Francisco. After months of cajoling, UCSF researchers agreed to look at five specimens.

“The number was just unheard of. At the CDC we looked at hundreds so we knew they were just being polite,” said Karlene, chuckling. Clubb provided both sick birds and healthy controls.

Surprisingly, those five samples revealed a bornavirus different from any seen before.

Over the next year, the entire genome was mapped, confirming it was unique. The results were formally published in August in the Virology Journal.

Clubb now hopes to determine just how widespread the virus is among the avian population. Karlene can’t help but wonder: Could this particular virus pose a potential danger to humans?

“Viruses in this family have already been shown to transmit to other species. Some can move from horse to chimpanzee,” said Karlene.
“We’re now beginning the next phase of research to determine to what degree this exact virus could affect people.”

It’s unlikely but not impossible, both said, citing examples such as avian influenza and parrot fever.

“Certainly we’re always concerned that a virus may infect humans but we have not seen evidence of it at this point. After all, I’ve been working with birds a long time and I’m not crazy yet,” joked Clubb.

“Then again, I suppose that depends on your point of view.”

Meanwhile, Gaffney said he’s content to keep tending the office fires while his partner is gone saving parrots.

“Well, he’s been off 2 1/2 years now. I’ll keep the ball rolling. Beyond that, I guess we’ll have to wait and see,” said Gaffney. “No matter what, I think it’s amazing. How often is somebody able to come up with the cause of a disease and nail it down?”