Food allergens detected by lymphocyte proliferative and serum IgE tests in 139 dogs with non-seasonal pruritic dermatitis

Abstract

In the present study, the food allergen-specific lymphocyte proliferative responses and quantitative serum IgE levels of 139 dogs with non-seasonal pruritic dermatitis were examined. Of the dogs examined, 103 (74.1%) and 73 (52.5%) dogs exceeded the cutoff levels for one or more food allergens in the lymphocyte proliferation test and serum IgE test, respectively. There were multiple reactive food allergens in many cases. In addition, the allergens did not always correspond between the lymphocyte proliferation and IgE tests. The results demonstrated that sensitization to food allergens occurred with an unexpectedly high prevalence in dogs with non-seasonal pruritic dermatitis. These results also suggest the possibility that dogs with non-seasonal pruritic dermatitis have numerous food allergies. As food elimination and provocation trials are required to diagnose and treat food allergies in dogs, the simultaneous determination of allergen-specific lymphocyte proliferation and IgE quantification tests may be useful for selecting the food allergen in food elimination and provocation trials toward the dogs with non-seasonal pruritic dermatitis.