The intense itchiness caused by allergic dermatitis can make horses scratch to the point where they harm themselves, breaking the skin as they scratch in an attempt to relieve the itching. This inflammatory disease often affects a horse's ears, face, and other hair-free areas, and it can be caused by insect or environmental allergies. Humans also experience atopic dermatitis, often called eczema.
Dr. Rosanna Marsella reviewed literature on the current understanding of atopic dermatitis in dogs, cats, horses, and people to try to improve understanding of the disease and develop new treatments. In people and horses, allergy-related disease often first shows itself as dermatitis, but respiratory disease can occur later. Some atopic horses develop heaves and some affected humans can develop food allergies, rhinitis and asthma.
Atopic dermatitis is often diagnosed by analyzing the patient's history and clinical signs, though serology testing can be done to create a definitive diagnosis. Affected horses are often given glucocorticoids and antihistamines, but controlling triggers for itchiness is crucial to the success of therapy, Marsella says.
Allergen specific immunotherapy is recommended for horses that suffer from the disease and has a success rate of between 64 and 84 percent. Most improvement is seen after the first year of treatment. Some horses require other medical interventions while receiving immunotherapy, but the amounts of these medications may decrease the longer immunotherapy is administered. Interleukin-31, which causes intense itchiness, may be a target for therapy.
Though understanding of atopic dermatitis is limited, affected horses seem to suffer similarly to humans affected by the disease. Treatment has evolved from suppressing the immune system to a more holistic restoration of the immune system, often through allergen-specific immunotherapy.
Read the review here.
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