Effectiveness of regionally-specific immunotherapy for the management of canine atopic dermatitis

Abstract

BackgroundCanine atopic dermatitis is a common pruritic skin disease often treated with allergen immunotherapy (AIT). AIT in dogs traditionally begins with attempting to identify clinically relevant environmental allergens. Current allergen testing methodologies and immunotherapy techniques in dogs are not standardized. Immunotherapy with a mixture of allergenic extracts selected based on regional aerobiology rather than intradermal tests or serum IgE assays has been described. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effectiveness of regionally-specific immunotherapy in dogs with atopic dermatitis. The medical records of a veterinary dermatology referral clinic were searched for dogs with atopic dermatitis that began regionally-specific subcutaneous immunotherapy from June, 2010 to May, 2013. An overall assessment of treatment effectiveness (excellent, good, fair, or poor) was assigned based upon changes in pruritus severity, lesion severity, and the reduction in concurrent medication(s) during a follow-up period of at least 270 days. Baseline characteristics that might predict treatment success were analyzed with the Spearman’s correlation and the Kruskal-Wallis tests.ResultsOf the 286 dogs that began regionally-specific immunotherapy (RESPIT) during a 3 year period, 103 met the inclusion criteria. The overall response to RESPIT was classified as excellent in 19%, good in 38%, fair in 25%, and poor in 18% of dogs. The response classification correlated significantly with a reduction in pruritus severity (r = 0.72, p < 0.001) and lesion severity (r = 0.54, p < 0.001), but not with the dogs’ baseline characteristics. Adverse reactions were reported in 7/286 (2.4%) of treated dogs.ConclusionsUnder the conditions of this study, RESPIT was safe and effective for the treatment of atopic dermatitis in dogs.

Serum allergen-specific IgE reactivity: is there an association with clinical severity and airway eosinophilia in asthmatic cats?

“…28,29 Much of our knowledge and use of allergens in veterinary patients is extrapolated from the human field. 26 Veterinary labora tories performing serum IgE testing within the USA divide regions into aerobiological zones and select aller gens implicated in that zone based on many factors; 30 however, the methods for detection of IgE and the num bers and types of allergens between laboratories varies greatly. 31 For example, serum from cats that were experi mentally sensitized to either house dust mite or Bermuda grass allergen were divided and sent as blinded samples to two commercial laboratories with different methods for IgE testing, with dramatically discrepant results.…”

Antioxidant, Anti-Inflammatory and Antiproliferative Effects of the Vitis vinifera L. var. Fetească Neagră and Pinot Noir Pomace Extracts

“…intramuscularly ( Toyohara et al., 2013 ). On day nine, under general anesthesia induced by pentobarbital (50 mg/kg IP) ( Zatroch et al., 2017 ), blood was withdrawn by retro-orbital puncture, serum was separated and stored at −80°C until use, and animals were euthanized by cervical dislocation.…”

Allergen-specific immunotherapy in dogs with atopic dermatitis: is owner compliance the main success-limiting factor?

“…3 6-8 Some retrospective and non-controlled studies have suggested that ASIT is efective in controlling the clinical signs of AD in 50-80 per cent of treated dogs. [9][10][11][12][13][14] However, it is still diicult to understand how and why some dogs show an excellent response to ASIT, whereas others show little or no improvement after months of treatment.…”