Companion rats (Rattus norvegicus) with cutaneous lesions: a retrospective study of 470 cases at two university veterinary teaching hospitals (1985-2018).

Background: Rats are popular companion animals that are often presented to veterinarians for treatment of skin diseases. However, descriptions of dermatoses in rats have primarily been limited to case reports and text books.

Hypothesis/objectives: To document skin diseases and their prevalence in companion rats examined in northern California, USA and Nantes, France and to investigate predilections for the most common conditions over a 33 year or 15 year period, respectively.

Skin disease in donkeys (Equus asinus): a retrospective study from four veterinary schools.

Background: Donkeys are important throughout the world as work animals and occasionally as pets or a meat source. Most descriptions of skin disease in donkeys are reported in small case series, textbooks or review articles.

Hypothesis/objectives: To document skin diseases and their prevalence in donkeys and to investigate predilections for the most common conditions.

Reliability of different sets of criteria in diagnosing canine atopic dermatitis applied to a population of 250 dogs seen in a veterinary teaching hospital.

Background: Different sets of criteria are available in veterinary dermatology for the diagnosis of canine atopic dermatitis (cAD); there are limited data to assess their reliability.

Hypothesis/objectives: The aim of this study was to assess the discriminative and predictive ability of four sets in diagnosing cAD in a population of dogs with different skin diseases.

Animals: Two hundred and fifty dogs examined in the dermatology unit of a veterinary teaching hospital.

Companion hamsters with cutaneous lesions; a retrospective study of 102 cases at two university veterinary teaching hospitals (1985-2018).

Background: Hamsters are popular companion animals which may present to veterinarians for treatment of skin diseases. Most descriptions of dermatoses in hamsters have primarily been in case reports and in text books.

Hypothesis/objectives: To document skin diseases and their prevalence in companion hamsters examined in northern California, USA, and Nantes, France, and to investigate predilections for the most common conditions documented in medical records over a 33 year or 15 year period, respectively.

Tight junction proteins in the canine epidermis: a pilot study on their distribution in normal and in high IgE-producing canines.

Epidermal tight junctions (TJ) have been well-described in human medicine and are involved in many skin diseases such as atopic dermatitis (AD). In dogs, there are no data regarding the implication of TJ in skin diseases including canine AD. The aim of this study was to compare the expression and the distribution of ZO-1, occludin and claudin-1 in the epidermis of healthy and atopic dogs.

Characterization of pruritus in canine atopic dermatitis, flea bite hypersensitivity and flea infestation and its role in diagnosis.

Background: In dogs, flea infestation (FI), flea bite hypersensitivity (FBH) and canine atopic dermatitis (CAD) have been mainly characterized by their lesions but never by their pruritus. In clinical practice, many of these dogs exhibit only pruritus.

Hypothesis/objectives: The purpose of this study was to evaluate the characteristics of pruritus in these dermatoses and their potential usefulness for diagnosis.