My dog was diagnosed with localized lupus. What are my options?

The mainstay of therapy for discoid lupus is immunosuppressive therapies such as prednisone or cyclosporine. Topical therapies are also sometimes added. Vitamin E can be useful too but other than that there are no special foods/diets that are indicated.

Hi and thanks for posting. Prednisone and Azathioprine are common immunosuppressive drugs given for this disease. If anterior uveitis is present, topical steroids may be administered as well. I hope this helps and thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach!

The likelihood of being able to diagnose a disease such as lupus with a skin (punch) biopsy of a skin lesion is very high. Here is a research paper, that gives you an idea of diagnostics used to diagnose Lupus in dogs: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5907183/

I would also suspect an autoimmune disease like systemic lupus erythematosis with what you are describing. These are terrible diseases that are often difficult to treat. It appears that Roxy's current treatment is not very effective, so I would recommend scheduling a recheck exam with your vet. There are stronger medications that can be given. I would also want to ensure the disease is accurately diagnosed. This usually requires that a skin biopsy be done and sent to the laboratory for analysis. If this has not been done, then I would ask your vet about it. It's not unheard of for a case to be treated for autoimmune disease when the actual diagnosis was something different (i.e. skin cancer, mite infestation), so it's important to have a biopsy and histopathology (lab analysis) done. For more information about the suspected condition and autoimmune diseases, I recommend you read the short articles at the links below. https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/systemic-lupus-erythematosis-sle-in-dogs https://vcahospitals.com/know-your-pet/autoimmune-skin-disease-in-dogs I hope that helps and poor Roxy gets better soon.

Conventional treatment includes immunosuppressive drugs such as steroids. Dietary changes and antioxidant supplements may also be indicated. There are multiple autoimmune conditions in dogs and treatment usually depends on the specific condition as well as the severity of the condition.

Hello. If the dermatologist suspects this to be an autoimmune pyoderma, then I am surprised that an immune suppressive medication was not prescribed. I think I would recommend getting a second opinion from another veterinary dermatologist. If a round of immune suppressive oral &/or topical medications will not clear this lesion then I would definitely want a biopsy to see what the next step will be. Thanks for using Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach.

Hi and thank you for your post on Petco Pet Education Center, formerly Petcoach. Uveodermatolgic syndrome is very common in Akitas. In fact 80% of dogs that develop uveodermatoligic syndrome are Akitas. Very common signs of this autoimmune disease are inflammation of the eyes which may lead to blindness and loss of pigmentation of the skin especially around the nose, kips, and footpads. From looking at the picture you posted, she appears to exhibit the loss of pigmentation around her muzzle and her eyes have clouded which may indicate she has lost her vision. The medications your veterinarian has prescribed for Kitta are 100% appropriate for this autoimmune disease. The best advice I can give you is to stay on her current medications. There have been no other therapies for uveodermatoligic syndrome that have proven to be been successful other than the medications she is on currently. Best of luck and best wishes to you.