Behavioral responses to injury and death in wild Barbary macaques (Macaca sylvanus)

The wounding or death of a conspecific has been shown to elicit varied behavioral responses throughout thanatology. Recently, a number of reports have presented contentious evidence of epimeletic behavior towards the dying and dead among non-human animals, a behavioral trait previously considered uniquely human. Here, we report on the behavioral responses of Barbary macaques, a social, non-human primate, to the deaths of four group members (one high-ranking adult female, one high-ranking adult male, one juvenile male, and one female infant), all caused by road traffic accidents. Responses appeared to vary based on the nature of the death (protracted or instant) and the age class of the deceased. Responses included several behaviors with potential adaptive explanations or consequences. These included exploration, caretaking (guarding, carrying, and grooming), and proximity to wounded individuals or corpses, and immediate as well as longer-lasting distress behaviors from other group members following death, all of which have been reported in other non-human primate species. These observations add to a growing body of comparative evolutionary analysis of primate thanatology and help to highlight the multifaceted impacts of human-induced fatalities on an endangered and socially complex primate. © 2016, Japan Monkey Centre and Springer Japan

Movement Disorders and Liver Disease

The association of movement disorders with structural or functional hepatic disease occurs in three principal scenarios: (1) combined involvement of both organ systems from a single disease entity, (2) nervous system dysfunction resulting from exposure to toxic compounds in the setting of defective hepatic clearance, or (3) hepatic and/or neurological injury secondary to exposure to exogenous drugs or toxins. An important early step in the workup of any patient with combined movement disorders and liver disease is the exclusion of Wilson's disease. Diagnostic delay remains common for this treatable disorder, and this has major implications for patient outcomes. Thereafter, a structured approach integrating variables such as age of onset, tempo of progression, nature and severity of liver involvement, movement disorder phenomenology, exposure to drugs/toxins and laboratory/neuroimaging findings is key to ensuring timely diagnosis and disease‐specific therapy. Herein, we provide an overview of disorders which may manifest with a combination of movement disorders and liver disease, structured under the three headings as detailed above. In each section, the most common disorders are discussed, along with important clinical pearls, suggested diagnostic workup, differential diagnoses and where appropriate, treatment considerations