Page 66 - Showsight April 2013

below and then discuss treatment
and/or limiting vaccines with
your veterinarian.
There is a lot of discussion about
the frequency of rabies boosters,
especially in older or health-com-
promised dogs. Talk to your vet
and depending on state law, you
may find it useful to download
and print a rabies exemption form
for your vet.
Ischemic Skin Disease in the
Dog, by Peter J. Ihrke, VMD,
DACVD Professor of Dermatol-
ogy, Chief, Dermatology Service,
VMTH, Department of Medicine &
Epidemiology, School of Veterinary
Medicine, University of California,
Davis, is presented by TheDog-
Place.org in full detail. A synopsis
of the condition is as follows:
Vasculitis is a process by which
inflammation is directed against
vessel walls resulting in microhe-
morrhage into surrounding tissue.
‘Cell poor’ vasculitis or ‘vascu-
lopathy’ is a subgroup of vasculitis
characterized by vascular damage,
vascular depletion, and only sparse
inflammation. Loss of endothelial
cells and thickening of the vessel
wall are noted. Ischemic derma-
topathy is a term used to group
multiple vasculopathic syndromes
unified by similar clinical and his-
topathologic characteristics.
Diagnosis can be confirmed
through the use of Diascopy, a
simple clinical tool used in the
diagnosis of skin diseases with
a vascular component. Dr. Ihrke
explains, “A clear microscope
slide is pressed onto skin to deter-
mine if erythema is due to dilated
blood vessels or hemorrhage into
the skin. Blanching of the skin
indicates that erythema is due to
dilated blood vessels and inflam-
mation. If erythematous skin does
not blanch, diascopy confirms
hemorrhage and suggests either
vasculitis or vasculopathy.”
The condition can have a
hereditary component. Ischemic
Dermatopathies often present as
“a juvenile onset heritable inflam-
matory disease of uncertain eti-
ology affecting skin and muscle,
seen predominantly in the Col-
lie, Shetland Sheepdog, and their
related cross-breeds.”
Not uncommon is “Local-
ized post-rabies vaccination
panniculitis” which is ischemic
skin disease associated with a
rabies vaccination site. “Gener-
alized vaccine-induced ischemic
dermatopathy (GVIID): A gen-
eralized ischemic skin disease
with a temporal linkage with
rabies vaccination, but with
more severe generalized post-
rabies vaccination-associated
disease.” And then there is this
form: “Generalized idiopathic
ischemic dermatopathy (GIID):
An adult-onset generalized
ischemic dermatopathy without
a correlative history indicating
the likelihood of induction by a
rabies vaccine reaction.”
Although the disease can devel-
op only at the site of vaccination, it
can “develop as generalized, more
severe, and usually adult-onset
skin disease.”
How often have we seen a rash
resembling that shown in this
photo? I have although they were
not as severe and because the
rash was associated with a large
breed nursing mother, we felt
sure it was from oozing milk and
puppy scratches.
The point is, if you observe a
rash or pustules such as shown
in any of these photos kindly pro-
vided by Dr. Patricia Jordan, and it
doesn’t clear quickly, get your dog
to the vet.
There are specific breeds with
a higher genetic component listed
in the research papers but it would
be unfair to list them here. Nota-
bly “long-haired toy or miniature
breeds seem to be at greater risk”
but other smooth coated breeds
can be affected.
For complete information and
the full report, visit TheDogPlace.
org and go directly to the Canine
Health section or just type “isch-
emic” in the search box in the
upper top right corner.
D iagnosis can be confirmed
through the use of a diascopy,
a simple clinical tool used in
the diagnosis of skin diseases
with a vascular component.
66 • ShowSight Magazine, April 2013