Evaluation of the effect of a lysozyme-chitosan sugar complex (LYZOX) and decanoic acid spray on local lesions of nine dogs suspected of Malassezia dermatitis

Abstract

Malassezia Dermatitis is a common skin disease in dogs and likely to recur. Conventionally, azole-based antifungals have been used systemically or topically, however their use has been associated with problems of drug resistance and hepatotoxicity, and the shampoo therapy can be very difficult for some patients and owners (at home). There is a skin conditioning spray product which is used mainly by human care facilities which contains D-LYZOX as the chief active ingredient. We evaluated its clinical effectiveness against local lesions on nine dogs with suspected Malassezia Dermatitis, applying it twice a day for three weeks. One case had mild erythema at the start of treatment, but natural recovery occurred immediately. The dermatitis severity score and PVAS of the spray-treated dogs significantly decreased (P<0.01). The counts of Malassezia spp. in the lesions were lower, but the results were not statistically significant. In order to verify the contribution of the anti-inflammatory property of this formulation to the improvement of the dermatitis severity score and PVAS of the cases, we examined the effects of D-LYZOX on neutrophil adhesion as an in vitro parameter of inflammatory reaction. D-LYZOX inhibited lipopolysaccharide-induced adhesion of neutrophils obtained from a normal dog, suggesting the anti-inflammatory activity of D-LYZOX. These results suggest that this spray formulation containing D-LYZOX can improve the PVAS and dermatitis severity score of suspected local Malassezia dermatitis in dogs. We also discussed the need to clarify these clinical effects and their association with the suppression of neutrophil function.