Dog Lupus Erythematosus

Dog Lupus Erythematosus

Lupus erythematosus is another common problem that often affects joints. Here again, laboratory tests and X-rays are necessary for diagnosis. In many cases, corticosteroids and aspirin have kept this disease in remission for years. The dog lupus erythematosus is the result of the autoimmune disorder. The immune system of the affected dog produces antibodies to kill the cells and tissues of the dog’s body to protect itself. This disease is quite severe in form and can be very painful and troublesome in all it occurs in the dog. The following is some information on dog lupus erythematosus.

Dog Lupus Erythematosus Information

• The disease results in damage and inflammation of tissues of the skin in the regions of the heart, lungs, kidneys, joints, nervous system, and also the blood.
• When the disease occurs at one time more than organs are severely affected. If the disease occurs the severity of the disorder can be reduced to a great extent but in most cases, the disease is irrecoverable.
• On the incidence of the disease, the dog should be taken under lifelong treatment.
• The disease must not be mistaken with another disease called discoid lupus erythematosus. To detect the incidence of the disease right diagnosis is a must.
• The word lupus in Latin means wolf. The disease is so named that one of the symptoms of the onset of the disease is that in humans some individuals who get affected by the disorder get facial rashes that give the appearance of the face like that of a wolf.
• All breeds of dogs can suffer from the disease but medical examinations have shown that there are certain breeds of dogs that are more prone to the development of the disease than those belonging to other breeds. Breeds like Afghan hounds, Beagles, German Shepherds dogs, Irish setters, old English sheepdogs, poodles, rough collies, and Shetland sheepdogs are vulnerable to the disease.
• Middle-aged dogs and especially female dogs are more prone to the disease compared to male dogs belonging to other age groups.
• The common symptoms of the disease include the incidence of non-erosive polyarthritis. A nonerosive polyarthritis is a form of arthritis that affects several joints at one point in time.
• Apart from pain in the joints, the affected dog would also suffer from painful muscles, lameness, and the formation of skin sores and blisters. The dog would also have the presence of protein in the urine or proteinuria, decreased platelet and white blood cell count. The poor pet would also suffer from frequent spells of fever and immune-mediated hemolytic anemia or IMHA.

Apart from the above-mentioned symptoms, there are several others like mouth ulcers, inflammation of the lining of the chest cavity or the heart chamber,, and dementia. The lymph nodes also become quite swollen accompanied by occasional seizures. The disease mainly gets detected only when the dog is taken to a vet doctor for the incidence of rashes on its skin surface.

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