No abstract

Twenty dogs with canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) were treated with rush sublingual immunotherapy (SLIT), with a 48 hour build-up phase and 6 months maintenance phase (treated by antigen once every 3-4 weeks). The canine atopic dermatitis extent and severity index (CADESI)-4 was evaluated before treatment (baseline) and after 6 months. An open, non-controlled, non-randomized pilot trial was conducted to assess the effectiveness and safety of rush SLIT for environmental allergen extracts (Dematophagoides pteronyssinus and D.farinae mix and other). Three dogs dropped out and 17 dogs finished the trial. CADESI-4 at baseline was 60.6±27.1 (range 17-107, n=17). After 6 months of SLIT treatment, CADESI-4 was 37.4±36.0 (range 5-152, n=17) (p <0.01), which was a 38.3% reduction. A significant improvement, defined as a CADESI-4 reduction of > 30%, was observed in 13 out of 17 dogs (76%). A moderate improvement, defined as a CADESI-4 reduction of < = 30%, was observed in 2 dogs (12%). In the other 2 dogs (12%), CADESI-4 worsened or showed no change. However, no severe adverse effects were observed during the trial.Therefore, rush SLIT against environmental allergen extract for CAD showed effectiveness and safety as evidenced by the reduction of CADESI-4 after 6 months SLIT without severe adverse effects.

This study investigated effects of a fluoxetine (selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors; SSRI, 1 mg/kg) on pruritus in canine atopic dermatitis (CAD). After 4-weeks of base-line observation, 8 dogs with CAD entered a 2-months randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover trial comparing fluoxetine with placebo. Clinical efficacy was evaluated using a Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index (CADESI-03) and Pruritus Visual Analog Scale (PVAS). Six dogs completed the study [two out of eight dogs (both of them were Shiba Inu) dropped out from the study due to a depression]. CADESI-03 and PVAS between fluoxetine and placebo showed no significant difference statistically (P>0.05 and P>0.05 respectively). Fluoxetine showed no efficacy on pruritus in CAD. Further researches are needed for the treatment on pruritus of CAD.

In this study, dogs were separated into two groups and treated with immunosuppressant (Cyclosporin A: CsA). The first group was the canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) group, which is similar to extrinsic atopic dermatitis (AD) in humans (treated with a CsA dose of 2.5-5.5 mg/kg, n=8), and the second group was the canine atopic-like dermatitis (ALD) group, which is similar to intrinsic AD in humans (treated with a CsA dose of 2.5-6.5 mg/kg, n=14). The canine atopic dermatitis extent and severity index (CADESI)-4 was evaluated before treatment (PRE) and after treatment (POST) to assess the effectiveness of CsA for the two groups. In the CAD group, CADESI-4 showed no change (PRE:79±29, POST:77±28) and out of the eight dogs, no dogs showed complete remission, three dogs showed partial remission, and five dogs showed no effect. Whereas in the ALD group, CADESI-4 showed a significant reduction (PRE: 61±42, POST: 32±25, p<0.01) and out of the 14 dogs, 11 dogs showed complete remission, two dogs showed partial remission, and one dog showed no effect. The results indicate that the immunosuppressant showed effectiveness for the dogs diagnosed with ALD. One dog had to be treated for a year and eight months, which was the longest period in the study, this dog presented with hyperplasia of the lymphoidgland and mammary tumor.

This study investigated the influence of 0.00584% hydrocortisone aceponate spray (HCA; Cortavance Virbac SA, Carros, France) on blood serum cortisol levels and peripheral blood CCR4+ CD4+ T-lymphocyte levels in dogs with atopic dermatitis. Patients were randomly divided into group I (N = 8) and group II (N = 8). The dogs in group I were sprayed with HCA on the affected skin once a day for three weeks. The dogs in group II were treated once a day for 3 days followed by no treatment for 4 days for a total of three weeks. For the dogs in group I and group II the CADESI-03 scores before and after use of HCA showed significant reduction (P < 0.01). The postcortisol level after the use of HCA in group I showed 36.0% decrease and showed significant suppression (P < 0.01). By comparison, the use of HCA on group II did not show decrease in postcortisol levels. There was a tendency of suppression for hypothalamus—pituitary gland—adrenal gland system, but it was not serious influence. In addition, there was no influence on peripheral blood CCR4+ CD4+ lymphocytes percentage in dogs in group I after treatment with HCA.