There have been no guidelines regarding clinical trials of antimicrobials for canine pyoderma in Japan. A novel guideline for evaluating clinical signs is introduced by the Japanese Society of Antimicrobials for Animals to improve the objective clinical evaluation. This guideline was validated using clinical cases of canine pyoderma. There was statistically significant correlaiton in clinical scores of erythema, papule/pustule, crust, hair loss, swelling, pain and total scores between two veterinarians. Then, the conventional evaluation method and a novel guideline were compared by the veterinarian, there was also significant correlation between two evaluation methods. From these results, a novel evaluation method in the newly proposed guideline is suggested to be appropriate to apply for clinical trial of canine pyoderma, and there seems to be minimum inconsistency between a conventional and a novel clinical evaluation system.

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A three-year-old, male Yorkshire terrier presented with nodules at the border area between the skin and nasus, and the auricula. The lesions around the nasus showed a petal-like alignment. A histopathological examination revealed inflammation at the upper dermis and adnexa. Those cells were predominantly histiocytes and lymphocytes with a few neutrophils. This dog was diagnosed as having Sterile Granuloma and Pyogranuloma Syndrome, and treated with prednisolone. Most of the lesions were improved, but recurrence was observed with its dose reduction. Griseofulvin was added, and then the lesions disappeared 4 weeks later. No recurrence was observed without any further treatment for 8 months.

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In human patients with atopic dermatitis (AD), increase of transepidermal water loss (TEWL) and decrease of the horny layer water volume are known to be recognized. Ceramide, an intracorneal lipid material, is known to prevent excessive TEWL and to maintain water contents in the horny layer. We herein report a dog with chronic AD, whose skin lesion was improved after supplementation with oral glycosylceramide. Our results suggest that oral glycosylceramide can be one of the choices as a supplement for canine AD.

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A four-year old, intact female Miniature Dachshund was presented with plaque-like eruption of approximately 5 cm diameter on the sternal area. The lesion contained two small soft nodules of 1 cm diameter. The patient exhibited neither pruritus nor pain on the skin lesion. Histopathologically, the lesion was characterized as a diffuse accumulation of round-shaped cells in the dermis and subcutis. Immunohistochemical analysis revealed that the accumulated round cells expressed CD1, CD11c, MHC class II and E-Cadherin, but not CD3, CD4, CD90 and CD45RA, on their surfaces. Thus, the dog was diagnosed as having cutaneous histiocytoma with atypical plaque-like eruption. The lesion was removed surgically, and no relapse or metastasis has been recognized for 9 months after surgery.

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