Six horses with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) and 8 horses with recurrent urticaria were skin tested with 67 extracts from 58 allergens, including pollens, epidermals, cultivated farm plants, dusts, molds, and insects. Reactions were evaluated 3 times over a 24-hour period immediately after the injections. Results were compared with those obtained from 11 clinically normal horses. All horses had positive skin test reactions. Significant difference was evident between horses with COPD and clinically normal horses for only 3.0% of the possible extract reactions, and between horses with urticaria and clinically normal horses for only 4.5% of the possible extract reactions. Horses with COPD or urticaria had greater total percentage of allergen extract reactions than did clinically normal horses. Positive reactions were observed at all 3 evaluation periods, and late-onset reactions were not always preceded by positive reaction at earlier periods. All horses with COPD or urticaria had at least 1 skin test reaction that exceeded the mean +/- 2 SD, as calculated for each of the 67 extracts for the group of clinically normal horses.

Cell proliferation kinetic values were established for the epidermis, hair follicle epithelium, and sebaceous glands of 8 Cocker Spaniels with primary idiopathic seborrhea. Values were established by intradermal pulse labeling injections of tritiated thymidine followed by cutaneous biopsy and autoradiography.The epidermal basal cell-labeling index was 4.96 +/- 0.97%, and the epidermal nucleated cell-labeling index was 3.33 +/- 0.71%. Calculated epidermal cell renewal time for the viable layers of the epidermis was 7.85 +/- 1.80 days. The hair follicle infundibulum basal cell-labeling index was 5.48 +/- 2.01%, and the sebaceous gland basal cell-labeling index was 5.94 +/- 4.15%. When compared with previously reported cell kinetic values for Cocker Spaniels and Beagles with healthy skin, these data indicate accelerated cellular proliferation in all 3 cutaneous structures in seborrheic Cocker Spaniels.

Different types of skin lesions and their distribution in dogs withrecurrent pyoderma along with haematobiochemicalfindings were recorded in this study. Dogs with recurrent superficial pyoderma revealed papules, pustules, crusted papules, erythema, alopecia,crusts, scales, plaques, hyper-pigmentation and pruritus. Dogs affected with recurrent deep pyoderma had symptoms like papules,pustules, cellulitis, ulcers, crusted papules, nodules, fistulous tracts, alopecia, scale formation, crusts, hyper-pigmentation,erosions and furunculosis, pain and edema. The major locations of lesions for recurrent superficial pyoderma included lateral abdomen, lateral thorax and dorsum, axilla, groin, hind limb, foot, neck and fore limb and head. Lesions of recurrent deep pyoderma were predominantly observed over dorsum and lateral abdomen followedby head, neck, hind limb, lower abdomen, axilla and groin, forelimb and lateral thorax. Haemato-biochemical findings revealed leucocytosis, increased in absolute neutrophil count, eosinophil count and high serum cholesterol levels. Affected dogs also had decreased haemoglobin concentration, total erythrocyte count and serum albumin levels.

Pruritic skin diseases are common in cats and demand rigorous diagnostic workup for finding an underlying etiology. Measurement of a serum allergen-specific IgE in a pruritic cat is often used to make or confirm the diagnosis of a skin hypersensitivity disease, although current evidence suggests that elevated allergen-specific IgE do not always correlate with a clinical disease and vice versa. The aim of the study was to to assess the possible influence of age, deworming status, lifestyle, flea treatment, and gender on allergen-specific IgE levels and to evaluate the reliability of IgE testing in predicting the final diagnosis of a pruritic cat. For this purpose sera of 179 cats with pruritus of different causes and 20 healthy cats were evaluated for allergen-specific IgE against environmental, food and flea allergens using the Fc-epsilon receptor based enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay (ELISA) test. The results of the study showed positive correlation between age, outdoor life style, absence of deworming, absence of flea control measures and levels of allergen-specific IgE. Gender and living area (urban versus rural) did not seem to affect the formation of allergen-specific IgE. According to these findings, evaluating allergen-specific IgE levels, is not a reliable test to diagnose hypersensitivity to food or environmental allergens in cats. On the contrary, this test can be successfully used for diagnosing feline flea bite hypersensitivity.

The purpose of the present study was to investigate the effect of bovine amniotic membrane grafts on healing of full-thickness skin wound in dogs. Two 3cm*3cm area-matched full-thickness skin wounds were induced bilaterally on the dorsolateral aspect of the trunk of 15 dogs Chlorhexidine-treated amnion, dried amnion, silver sulfadiazine and 0.9% sterile saline solution were applied on the wound area and examined grossly and histopathologically. Begining 14 days after wounding, amnion applied group had appreciably less amount of inflammatory exudate and hemorrhage than sulfadiazine and saline treated groups. From 14 days after wounding, the degree of wound contraction in amnion groups, especially in the dried amnion group was greater than that of the sulfadiazine and saline treated groups. The percentages of wounds completely healed on 28 days after wounding in saline treated group, chlorhexidine-treated amnion group, dried amnion group and sulfadiazine treated group were 33%, 50%, 83% and 50%, respectively. Microscopically neovascularization and fibrosis were first noticed on 5 days after wounding in the dried amnion group and sulfadiazie treated group, on 7 days in the chlorhexidine-treated amnion group and on 14 days in the saline treated group. Epithlialization in thedried amion and sulfadizine treated groups ws first noticed on 9 days after wounding, which was faster than that in the other groups. The present study suggests that bovine amniotic membrane, especially dried bovine amnion is effective on healing of full-thickness skin wound in dogs through both wound contraction and epithelialization.

Dissection and injection studies in canine cadavers and in anesthetized dogs were conducted to determine the feasibility of using the latissimus dorsi, gracilis, and rectus abdominus muscles as musculocutaneous free flaps. Lengths of vascular pedicles for the latissimus dorsi (2 +/- 0.8 cm), gracilis (1.8 +/- 0.8 cm), and rectus abdominus (1.9 +/- 0.9-cm cranial deep epigastric, 1.7 +/- 0.5-cm caudal deep epigastric), as well as arterial diameters (1.28 +/- 0.31-mm thoracodorsal for the latissimus dorsi, 1.10 +/- 0.33-mm muscular branch for the gracilis, 1.25 +/- 0.25-mm cranial deep epigastric and 1.26 +/- 0.32-mm caudal deep epigastric for the rectus abdominus) were considered satisfactory for microvascular transfer. Fluorometry demonstrated overlying cutaneous perfusion in all flaps based on their muscle vascular pedicles, with the exception of the rectus abdominus flap based on the caudal deep epigastric artery. In this instance, up to 20% of the cutaneous element had questionable or no perfusion.

Holstein cow 1 was examined because of skin fragility and delayed healing of skin wounds, which were markedly exacerbated around the time of parturition. A skin biopsy sample was obtained, and light microscopy revealed irregular deposition of thin collagen fibers in a dermal matrix. Although diffuse inflammation did not occur, the number of plump fibroblasts was increased. Electron microscopy revealed poor construction of collagen fibrils in the dermal matrix. Biochemical analysis of the dermis revealed a normal amount of collagen and uronic acid, but sodium dodecyl sulfate-polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis reveled an increased proportion of soluble alpha-, beta-, and gamma-collagen chains of normal molecular weights. Neither procollagen nor its intermediates devoid of amino- or carboxy-terminal extension peptide were observed. Dermal collagen from cow 1 was more soluble in a neutral salt solvent, 0.5M acetic acid, and the acid containing pepsin than was dermal collagen from healthy cow 2. The peptic digestion profile of dermis from cow 1 revealed a lowered degree of intermolecular cross-linking and destabilization of helical structure in the dermis collagen. The extrahelical peptic cleavage of collagen before cyanogen bromide digestion resulted in release of more fragments derived from carboxy-terminal part of alpha1 chains in dermis of cow 1 than in dermis of healthy cow 2.

OBJECTIVE To compare the efficacy of application of an alcohol-based antiseptic (80% ethyl alcohol) hand rub (ABAHR) with that of a 2% chlorhexidine gluconate scrub (CGS2) for immediate reduction of the bacterial population on the skin of dogs. ANIMALS 50 client-owned dogs with no evidence of skin disease. PROCEDURES On each dog, 2 areas of hair on the ventral aspect of the abdomen were clipped with a No. 40 blade and cleared of debris. A direct contact plate holding tryptic soy agar with polysorbate 80 and lecithin was gently pressed (for 2 seconds) on each skin site (preapplication sample). The CGS2 and ABAHR were each aseptically applied to 1 skin site on each dog. A direct contact plate was subsequently applied to each site in a similar manner (postapplication sample). All plates were cultured, and bacterial isolates were identified and quantified by the number of CFUs per plate. RESULTS Application of the CGS2 and ABAHR significantly decreased skin bacterial colony counts, compared with findings for preapplication samples. The number of CFUs per plate or postapplication percentage reduction in CFUs per plate did not differ between treatments. There were no adverse skin reactions associated with either application. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL RELEVANCE Results indicated that applications of ABAHR and CGS2 were equally effective at immediately reducing the bacterial population on the skin of dogs, and there was no significant difference in percentage reduction in colony counts between the 2 applications.