Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Zinc supplement may help dogs with atopic dermatitis itching and skin
By McFadden, Rendina A et al.·Published in Veterinary dermatology·2017·McKeever Dermatology Clinics, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: A double-blinded, randomized, controlled, crossover evaluation of a zinc methionine supplement as an adjunctive treatment for canine atopic dermatitis.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 27 dogs with chronic skin allergies (canine atopic dermatitis) were given a zinc methionine supplement along with their regular allergy medications to see if it would help improve their symptoms. After eight weeks, about half of the dogs on glucocorticoids (a type of steroid) showed significant improvement in their skin condition and itching, while some dogs on ciclosporin (another allergy medication) also had better skin scores. The study suggests that adding zinc may help dogs with skin allergies, especially those on glucocorticoids, but more research is needed to confirm these findings.
People also search for: dog skin allergies treatment · zinc supplement for dogs · glucocorticoids for dog itching
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Zinc is important for skin health and proper immune system function. HYPOTHESIS/OBJECTIVES: A zinc methionine, essential fatty acids (EFA) and biotin product (Zn supplement) was compared to an EFA and biotin product (control) in canine atopic dermatitis (CAD). ANIMALS: Twenty seven client-owned dogs with chronic CAD receiving ciclosporin or glucocorticoids. METHODS: A 24 week, randomized, double-blinded, controlled study with crossover at week 12 and 4 week period of allergy medication reduction at weeks 8 and 20. Evaluations included Canine Atopic Dermatitis Lesion Index (CADLI), pruritus Visual Analog Scale (VAS) and cytology sampling. RESULTS: In dogs receiving the zinc supplement and ciclosporin for eight weeks, 44% (n = 7) had significantly decreased CADLI from 11.9 to 6.0 (P = 0.0002) with no significant change in pruritus VAS (P = 1.0). In dogs receiving the zinc supplement and glucocorticoids for eight weeks, 55% (n = 6) had significantly decreased CADLI from 10.9 to 5.0 (P = 0.0043) and pruritus VAS from 7.4 to 3.2 (P = 0.0166). For dogs receiving either steroids or ciclosporin there was a reduction in use of such medications, for at least four weeks, in 63% of dogs receiving the zinc supplement and 37% of dogs receiving the control. This difference was not significant (P = 0.1027). Seventy eight percent of dogs were diagnosed and treated for superficial skin infections during the study. CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: This study supports a potential benefit of adjunctive zinc methionine supplementation in CAD. Dogs receiving glucocorticoids may be more likely to benefit. Further studies are needed to substantiate these initial results.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28736909/