A retrospective study of 91 dogs with pemphigus foliaceus was performed. Clinical signs of the disease included crusts (n=79), pustules (n=36), and alopecia (n=33). Lesions were most common on the trunk (n=53), inner pinnae (n=46), face (n=37), and foot pads (n=32). Cytological evaluation revealed acantholytic keratinocytes in 37 of 48 dogs. Results of combination treatment with prednisolone and azathioprine were comparable to results with prednisolone therapy alone. More than half of the dogs achieved remission with appropriate therapy, and another 25% significantly improved.

Twenty-nine dogs were included in a double-blinded, placebo-controlled, randomised trial and were orally supplemented for 10 weeks with either flax oil (200 mg/kg/day), eicosapentaenoic acid (50 mg/kg/day) and docosahexaenoic acid (35 mg/kg/day) in a commercial preparation, or mineral oil as a placebo. For each dog, clinical scores were determined based on a scoring system developed prior to the trial. Total omega-6 and omega-3 intake and the ratio of omega-6:omega-3 (omega-6:3) were calculated before and after the trial. The dogs' clinical scores improved in those supplemented with flax oil and the commercial preparation, but not in the placebo group. No correlation was identified between total fatty acid intake or omega-6:3 ratio and clinical scores. Based on the results of this study, the total intake of fatty acids or the omega-6:3 ratio do not seem to be the main factors in determining the clinical response.

The purposes of this double‐blinded, randomized study were to determine the success rate of rush immunotherapy in canine atopic dermatitis and compare it to conventional immunotherapy, and to assess if rush immunotherapy leads to a quicker reduction in clinical signs than conventional immunotherapy. Twenty‐two atopic dogs diagnosed by history, physical examination and appropriate exclusion of differential diagnoses were included in the study. Offending allergens were identified with an intradermal test. All dogs were premedicated for 3 days with an antihistamine, and then hospitalized for 1 day. Injections with prepared treatment sets were administered every 30 min subcutaneously for 7 h; dogs were then discharged and continued on immunotherapy for 1 year. All dogs were evaluated monthly by their owners for 12 months, and by clinicians prior to therapy and after 3, 6, 9 and 12 months of therapy using a standardized scoring system to measure pruritus, lesions present and any concurrent medications given. Eleven dogs were treated with rush immunotherapy, and 11 dogs with conventional immunotherapy. Significant differences in mean pruritus, medication, lesion and total scores between groups were determined by use of a repeated‐measures ANOVA. Mean pruritus scores decreased from 13.5 to 6.7 (P = 0.0333) and from 13.9 to 10.3, medication scores from 23.6 to 10.6 (P = 0.0001) and from 14.1 to 13.6, lesion scores from 5.9 to 1.6 (P = 0.0001) and from 3.0 to 1.9, and total scores from 42 to 18.1 (P = 0.001) and from 30.6 to 21.5 in the rush immunotherapy group and in the conventional immunotherapy group, respectively. Using a Tukey–Kramer Multiple Comparison test, differences between the total scores at the beginning of the study and at the various time points reached significance after 3 months. An improvement of >50% in pruritus was noted in six of 11 dogs in the rush immunotherapy group and in five of 11 dogs in the conventional immunotherapy group; similar improvements in lesion scores and total scores were observed in dogs treated with rush immunotherapy (seven of 11 and five of 11 dogs, respectively) and in dogs treated with conventional immunotherapy (seven of 11 and four of 11 dogs, respectively). Based on these results, rush immunotherapy seems to be associated with a higher success rate than conventional immunotherapy, and improvement is typically seen within the first 6 months of therapy. Funding: Morris Animal Foundation.

This pilot study evaluated the effects of immunostimulatory liposome-plasmid-DNA complexes combined with specific allergens for immunotherapy of refractory canine atopic dermatitis. Seven dogs with previously diagnosed atopic dermatitis and unsatisfactory response to at least 12 months of conventional allergen-specific immunotherapy underwent a series of six intradermal injections (weeks 0, 2, 4, 6, 10 and 14), with patient-specific allergen extracts contained in cationic liposome-DNA complexes. Degree of pruritus was assessed on a visual analogue scale. Lesion scores were determined using the Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index (CADESI) and medication usage was recorded at weeks 0 and 14. Canine cytokine mRNA expression in peripheral blood mononuclear cells collected prior to treatment and at the completion of the study was determined for IFN-gamma, IL-4, TNF and IL-10 genes using quantitative reverse transcription competitive polymerase chain reaction. Repeated intradermal injections of specific allergens incorporated into liposome-nucleic acid complexes were well tolerated in all seven dogs. There was a significant improvement in pruritus scores (P = 0.0277) and concurrent significant decrease in IL-4 production (P = 0.0428) at the completion of the trial compared to pretreatment values. Medication scores, CADESI and production of other cytokines did not change significantly with treatment. These early results suggest that antigen-specific immunotherapy using a novel liposome-nucleic acid complex vaccine may be beneficial for treatment of established atopic dermatitis in dogs using lower antigen doses. Further investigations in larger numbers of dogs with earlier stages of disease are warranted.