UPWr scientists test new drug for atopic dermatitis in dogs

The Department of Internal Medicine with the Canine and Feline Clinic of the UPWr, together with the Wrocław-based biotechnology company Bioceltix, is conducting clinical trials on a new drug for AD. It has both symptomatic and causal effects. – The drug we are currently working on is based on the immunomodulatory properties of mesenchymal stem cells – says Lukasz Bzdzion, CEO of Bioceltix.

Qualified patients (dogs with confirmed atopic dermatitis submitted to the study by their owners) receive the new drug intravenously. – This is a one-off treatment that is well tolerated by the patients – emphasises Prof. Jarosław Popiel, Head of the Department of Internal Medicine with the Department of Canine and Feline Clinic at the UPWr. He adds that the dogs are then observed and examined by veterinarians for a further three months, in order to determine whether and at what rate the skin lesions and itching resolve.

The results will be known in the second half of 2023.

Thousands of dogs in Poland will benefit from this safer and more effective therapy. According to a study conducted last year at chosen clinics in Poland, dogs with AD account for more than 28 percent of cases.

Professor Jarosław Popiel confirms that the treatment of atopic dermatitis in dogs is currently a complex and long-term process.

– You need to protect the animal from all possible complications – parasites, such as fleas, secondary bacterial or yeast infections, and exclude in advance the possibility of a food allergy that has similar clinical signs – this is where a so-called elimination diet comes to the rescue. The most important part of the treatment is to use medication that reduces inflammation and, as a result, reduces itchy skin. We use different groups of medicines, from some of the oldest glucocorticosteroids, cyclosporine to some of the most recent ones that came on the market a few years ago, such as oclacitinib or even monoclonal antibodies. For many years we have also been trying a specific immunotherapy, i.e. desensitisation. However, the use of drugs or desensitisation has its limitations, as each of these methods of treatment results in the elimination of clinical symptoms only for a certain time. It is therefore necessary to treat the animal for the rest of its life – says the UPWr scientist.

What is atopic dermatitis and how can you recognise it?

Atopic dermatitis (AD) is the most common allergic skin disease in dogs. It is a genetic disease and shows signs of inflammation and itchiness. The most common environmental allergens that affect the development of atopy in dogs are mites. It is generally assumed that dogs living in their owners' homes are more exposed to these allergens (the bedroom and kitchen have an increased concentration of mites) than, for example, dogs that sleep in kennels outdoors. Other allergens that may cause allergic reactions in dogs are tree, grass or weed pollen, and moulds.

When asked how to diagnose AD in dogs, Professor Jarosław Popiel emphasises that the diagnosis is made by a veterinarian on the basis of the history and clinical examination of the animal, and is supported by specially developed diagnostic criteria.

– The symptoms most often observed by dogs' owners, on the other hand, all concern some kind of itchiness: scratching, licking, rubbing, and associated complications. There are often postprandial lesions on the skin caused by the animal itself – hair thinning, alopecia, scabs or changes resulting from secondary complications such as visible lichenification or the occurrence of papules and pustules in purulent or yeast dermatitis – lists Prof. Popiel, adding that the location of skin lesions is distinctive. The head is a common place – especially the outer ear canals, the eye area, mouth, chin and distal parts of the limbs, especially the thorax. The interdigital spaces on both the dorsal and palmar sides – between the pads – are the areas most commonly injured from being licked by atopic dogs. 

Although AD is found in virtually every breed of dog and in crossbreeds, Labradors and Golden Retrievers are the most prone, along with a whole group of terriers, mainly WHWTs, and Boxers. Gender predilection is not observed, but the age of the animal at which the first dermatological signs appear plays an important role.