DVM Diana Anghelescu
Hemopet Clinic
Congenital follicular parakeratosis is a hereditary disorder affecting females, which suggests a X-linked mode of inheritance, the particular aspect of the condition is not affecting the skin of the nose and footpads unlike other seborrheic disorders.
More about this particular condition can be found in Small Animal Dermatology 7th Edition.
THIS IS DEMI
This particular case seemed interesting as it occurs very rarely and even more so there are few cases when owners are willing to do everything they can to keep them in good shape.
Female stray dog presents to our clinic in gravely bad shape, with serious skin scaling , waxy material clumping together most of her coat, runny eyes and greasy smell.
Comes from a litter of 3 puppies, her other brothers being already twice her weight, with normal skin condition
Name: Demi
Age: 2 months
Sex: Female, Mixed breed
Waxy material concentrated mostly on the edges of the pinnae and on her neck
Waxy material covering most of her body, creating clumps of hair, general aspect of a dirty dog
Due to the severity of her condition, several tests have been performed to exclude potential affections:
-Skin scraping
-Trichogram
-Citology examination
-CDV test
-Otoscopic examination
-Bloodwork
-Giardia Test
-Coproparasitological exam
*CDV test – negative
*Otoscopic examination: Billateral ceruminous otitis, with buildup waxy hair follicles inside the ear canal
*Skin scrapings: Negative for ectoparasites
*Cytology from different sites of affected skin – keratinocyes, corneocytes accompanied with malassesia, no other signs of inflamation present
*Cytology from ears- copious amounts of ceruminous debris, flourishing with malassesia
*Cytology of the conjunctiva- chains of cocci, macrophages and neutrofiles
*Trichogram revealed normal hair structure, mostly in telogen phase, but embedded in a dense brown waxy material.
*Giardia test- negative
*Moderate Toxocara infestation
Skin cytology- Lots of corneocytes, rare cocci.
Otic cytology- Almost 90% Mallassezia levures
After ruling out most of the possible diagnostics, Demi was reexamined closely looking for particularities.
-It turned out that the keratosis was affecting especially the external areas of the pinnae, the ventral side of the neck, the entire back and along the limbs and in a smaller part the abdomen.
-It was peculiar that the skin on her nose was normal, as well as her footpads, which led me into thinking about this possible condition, that could only be 100% proved with a skin biopsy.
Trichogram- Almost all hair follicles were covered in waxy material
Trichogram- Almost all hair follicles were covered in waxy material
-Unfortunately the owner who rescued her did not agree with the biopsy so I had to move onto the therapy without knowing 100%, but shortly after I was sure that this was it.
TREATMENT
-Demi remained at the clinic for 2 months, giving us time to use proper treatment such as:
-Frequent bathing (2-3x/week) with Benzoyl peroxide followed by mixed shamoo (ketohexidine) and a conditioner
-High quality protein diet based on salmon
-Daily Omega 3 and 6 oral suppliments and weekly spot ons.
-Daily Vitamin complex with high ammount of vitamin A and E
-The otitis externa was treated with Clorexyderm oto and Surolan 2x/daily for 14 days
-The conjunctivits was resolved with cloramfenicol drops and daily cleansing of the ocular area – the hyperkeratosis also affected her eyelashes, constantly irritating the eyes, I had to remove each affected lash.
-She received deworming pills and sarolaner to control the endo and ectoparasites.
DEMI AFTER 7 DAYS OF TREATMENT
DEMI AFTER 7 DAYS OF TREATMENT
DEMI AFTER 7 DAYS OF TREATMENT
DEMI AFTER 14 DAYS OF TREATMENT
DEMI AFTER 14 DAYS OF TREATMENT
DEMI AFTER 14 DAYS OF TREATMENT
DEMI AFTER 1 MONTH OF TREATMENT
DEMI AFTER 1 MONTH OF TREATMENT
DEMI AFTER 1 MONTH OF TREATMENT
DEMI AFTER 2 MONTHS OF TREATMENT
DEMI AFTER 2 MONTHS OF TREATMENT
DEMI AFTER 2 MONTHS OF TREATMENT
CONCLUSIONS
As you can see, her condition can be kept under control especially if the owner understands that it’s a lifetime condition and she will require special treatment for the rest of her life
She had a brief period of time when I decided to see how long it takes until new keratin materials starts to form if I stop the treatment and it only took 6 days for the most affected areas to relapse.
It’s a rare condition, I was especially glad to be able to care for her and to see that there are people willing to do everything needed to keep her in good shape
I’m pretty sure most of these dogs don’t survive long if in the wild, or are discarded by breeders if not, let’s say Demi was lucky enough to be rescued at such a young age.
