Lipid Profiles to Diagnose Atopy

Read more at https://www.akcchf.org/educational-resources/library/articles/lipid-profiles-to-diagnose.html

Author: Sharon M. Albright, DVM, CCRT

Atopic dermatitis, or atopy, is the most common inflammatory skin disease in people and dogs. It is caused by an abnormal immune response to environmental allergens that penetrate the skin’s outer protective layer. Clinical signs include itching, scratching, and licking which predispose the skin to secondary infection. There is no definitive diagnostic test for atopy in dogs. Instead, veterinarians analyze the timing and severity of clinical signs and rule out other causes of itch and skin infection to settle on the diagnosis. Similarly, there are no objective tests to assess the response to treatment, which varies widely. In human medicine, studies suggest that there are different types of atopy with different biochemical mechanisms. The same may be true in dogs.

Scientists do know that atopy is associated with changes in the amounts of various lipids, or fats, in the skin’s epidermal layer. Whether these changes are the cause or result of the abnormal immune response remains unknown. With funding from AKC Canine Health Foundation (CHF) Grant 02651: Discovery of Novel Biomarkers of Canine Atopic Dermatitis through Lipid Profiling, investigators at Purdue University studied these lipid changes in dogs with atopic dermatitis. They collected skin swabs and blood samples from affected dogs before, during, and after treatment with common atopy medications and compared the lipids present with those in samples collected from healthy dogs. Twenty-two dog breeds were studied, and mixed breeds were the most common.

https://www.akcchf.org/educational-resources/library/articles/lipid-profiles-to-diagnose.html

Short URL: http://caninechronicle.com/?p=222847

Posted by Maureen1 on Jan 25 2022. Filed under Featured, Health & Training, Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. Both comments and pings are currently closed.