Autoimmune skin diseases are uncommon in dogs, but they look like common things, especially bacterial pyoderma, and they need long courses of drugs that can do real harm. Pemphigus foliaceus and the cutaneous forms of lupus erythematosus account for most cases in practice; the deep blistering diseases and systemic lupus are rarer and more serious.
Key facts
Immune-mediated skin disease (pemphigus, discoid lupus, etc.) at a glance- Species and system: dog; haired skin, nasal planum, footpads, mucocutaneous junctions and, in the deep forms, the oral mucosa.
- Main conditions: pemphigus foliaceus (PF), the most common autoimmune skin disease of dogs; discoid and other cutaneous lupus (CLE); rarely pemphigus vulgaris (PV), subepidermal blistering diseases and systemic lupus erythematosus (SLE).
- Cause: autoantibodies against desmosomal proteins (pemphigus) or basement membrane proteins (subepidermal blistering diseases), or lymphocytes attacking basal keratinocytes (cutaneous lupus).
- Classic presentation: an Akita or Chow Chow with symmetrical crusts on the muzzle, pinnae and footpads (PF); a German shepherd with a depigmented, smooth, eroded nasal planum (discoid lupus).
- Definitive test: skin biopsy and histopathology.
- Public health: not infectious or zoonotic.
What's inside
12 sections in the full guide- Key facts
- How the NAVLE tests this
- Cause and pathophysiology
- Clinical signs
- Diagnosis
- Differential diagnoses
- Treatment and management
- Prevention, control and public health
- Prognosis
- Quick review
- Test yourself
- References
The full guide also has 4 tables, 3 figures, 3 self-test questions and 24 references, available to NAVLE members.
Read the full study guide
The full guide is part of every NAVLE plan, with diagnosis and treatment tables, figures, a quick review and self-test questions. Start a free trial to try the question bank, or log in if you are already a member.