Incidence and nature of skin masses in dogs under one year of age
Doyun Kim and others, Royal Veterinary College, Potters Bar
The skin is the most common site for tumours in dogs, and samples from these lesions are the histopathological specimens most frequently submitted to diagnostic laboratories. Most canine patients with skin tumours are older animals and there is little published data on the types of skin masses detected in young dogs. The authors examined the records from 2,554 histopathology specimens from dogs aged up to one year old sent to a large commercial laboratory. The most common type of skin masses found in these cases were histiocytomas (86.6 percent). Overall, the great majority of submissions were neoplastic (94.3 percent) but nearly all those in that category were benign (98.5 percent).
Journal of Small Animal Practice, 63, 10-15
Influence of age and anatomical location on skin pH in dogs
Alexander Schlake and others, Ghent University, Belgium
Individual differences in skin pH levels are well documented in human medicine and have been shown to be important in wound healing. In contrast, there have been few studies into factors determining skin pH in dogs. The authors examined 77 healthy client-owned dogs of different ages and breeds. They found that skin pH was significantly lower in puppies under 12 weeks old compared to adult dogs, and that skin pH was also lower in the inguinal area than on the pinnae. Dogs with light-coloured hair on their ears also tended to have a lower skin pH.
Veterinary Dermatology, 33, 3-e2
Cutaneous squamous cell carcinomas in domestic rabbits
Alicia McLaughlin and others, Center for Bird and Exotic Animal Medicine, Bothell, Washington
Squamous cell carcinomas (SCC) are among several forms of cutaneous neoplasms that have been recorded in rabbits. The authors describe the presenting signs, response to treatment and prognosis in 39 cases of SCC examined over a 21-year period. The patients were between 2 and 10 years old with a median age of seven. The lesions commonly appeared on the rabbit’s ears or feet. Aggressive surgical resection was the most successful therapeutic option and proved curative in 12 out of 23 rabbits. The authors suggest that papillomavirus does not play a significant role in SCC in rabbits.
Journal of Exotic Pet Medicine, 39, 28-59
Photodermatitis associated with wild parsnip consumption in horses
Judith Winter and others, Free University of Berlin, Germany
Primary photosensitisation occurs as a consequence of phototoxic compounds accumulating in the skin, mucous membranes or eyes after ingestion or skin contact. The authors describe nine cases in horses in which the causative agent was a constituent of wild parsnip (Pastinaca sativa). The horses came from three different stables and presented with erythema, scaling, crusting and necrosis of unpigmented skin on the head and prepuce. Each stable had fed hay from the same source, which was found to contain wild parsnip, which contains furocoumarins, a family of photodynamic pigments.
BMC Veterinary Research, 18, 287
Maggots and acellular fish skin grafts in the management of severe burn injuries in a dog
Katherine Dawson and others, Iowa State University, Ames
A three-year-old spayed female American Bulldog was presented with burns affecting 50 percent of its body surface after a petrol can explosion. The dog received multimodal analgesia and systemic support. Debridement of necrotic tissue was achieved through a combination of surgery and maggot therapy. Reconstructive surgery involved six staged procedures and the application of acellular fish (cod) skin grafts and an autologous skin cell suspension. The dog was returned to its owners after 78 days in the university hospital’s intensive care unit.
Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association, 260, 428-435
Genetic analysis in a possible case of X-linked ectodermal dysplasia in a dog
Enio Moura and others, PUCPR, Parana, Brazil
X-linked hypohidrotic ectodermal dysplasia (XLHED) is a genetic disorder that affects ectoderm derivatives such as teeth, hair, sweat glands and sebaceous glands. It has an X-linked recessive inheritance pattern and is a relatively common mutation in humans, and is also known to occur in mice, cattle and dogs. The authors describe the genetic analysis of tissue from a six-month-old male Poodle with skin, hair, teeth and ocular abnormalities indicative of XLHED. The analysis showed no evidence of a point variation, deletion or insertion in the relevant EDA gene and so this phenotype may be associated with other genes in the EDA signalling pathway.
Journal of Small Animal Practice, 62, 1127-1130
Ectopic thymoma-associated exfoliative dermatitis and pemphigus foliaceus in a cat
Ekaterina Mendoza-Kuznetsova and others, Tufts University, North Grafton, Massachusetts
Exfoliative dermatitis and pemphigus foliaceus are both well-known clinical conditions in cats. The former has sometimes been associated with thymoma while the latter is usually considered idiopathic. The authors describe a case in which the two conditions co-existed in a cat diagnosed with ectopic thymoma. The eight-year-old castrated male domestic shorthair presented with pruritus, purulent paronychia, scaling, crusting and spontaneous alopecia. No thoracic mass was visible on a lateral radiograph but an ectopic thymoma was discovered on post-mortem examination.
Canadian Veterinary Journal, 62, 1067-1070
Outcomes and prognostic indicators in canine cutaneous T-cell lymphoma
Kazushi Azuma and others, the University of Tokyo, Japan
T-cells are involved in most canine cutaneous lymphoma cases and these can be classified into epitheliotropic and non-epitheliotropic disease. That distinction is known to determine the prognosis in human patients. The authors report the clinical findings and outcomes in 31 dogs with epitheliotropic cutaneous T-cell lymphoma (CTCL) and 15 cases of the non-epitheliotropic form. They found that survival times were significantly shorter in dogs with epitheliotropic CTCL. The presence of neoplastic lymphocytes in peripheral blood, thrombocytopenia and initial response to chemotherapy also affected the prognosis.
