Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dermatomyositis causing skin and muscle problems in Shetland
By Ferguson, E A et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2000·Department of Small Animal Medicine and Surgery·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Dermatomyositis in five Shetland sheepdogs in the United Kingdom.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
Five Shetland sheepdog puppies and one adult dog were diagnosed with dermatomyositis, a skin condition that caused patches of scaling, crusting, and hair loss on their faces and limbs. The puppies were all related, having the same father, while the adult dog was not related to them. Blood tests showed high levels of a muscle enzyme, and muscle function tests indicated issues in some of the dogs. Sadly, two of the puppies were euthanized shortly after diagnosis, but the remaining two puppies and the adult dog have remained stable and non-progressive for over a year.
People also search for: Shetland sheepdog skin problems · dog hair loss treatment · dermatomyositis in dogs · puppy skin disease · dog scaling and crusting on skin
Abstract
Five cases of dermatomyositis in four Shetland sheepdog puppies and one adult bitch are described. The dogs all had well-defined patches of scaling, crusting and alopecia over the muzzle, periorbital skin and distal limbs, and the tail, perineum and pinnae were affected in some of them. The affected puppies were all sired by the same stud dog. The affected adult bitch was unrelated to the puppies. Three of the four dogs tested had high serum creatine kinase concentrations and electromyographic abnormalities were detected in three of the four dogs tested. The histological changes observed in the skin of four of the dogs strongly supported the diagnosis of dermatomyositis, and in the fifth dog they were compatible with this diagnosis. Two of the puppies were euthanised shortly after being diagnosed. In the other two puppies and the adult the disease remains stable and non-progressive 15 to 18 months after diagnosis. The sire of the four affected puppies has been used extensively because it was considered to be genetically clear of collie eye anomaly.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10731070/