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What is Sebaceous Adenitis? Sebaceous glands in the skin normally produce and deposit sebum on the skin. This is a natural oil that helps moisturize and protect the skin. Sebaceous Adenitis is an autoimmune disease that begins with inflammation of the sebaceous glands. Eventually they are destroyed. Although many breeds (Samoyed, Akita, Standard Poodle, and Vizsla) develop SA, it generally seems to be most severe in the Akita. Affected dogs probably look far worse than they actually are for companion animals, but spells the end of a showing career for affected dogs. Akitas also can develop secondary bacterial infections and fever with accompanying weight loss. Symptoms Symptoms vary between dogs but the end result is permanent hair loss. The dog may have a strong, musky odor; thickened skin; and lesions, either as a result of the disease or from skin infections. Unfortunately, the initial symptoms may be quite similar to other skin disorders. So the only way to definitively diagnose it is through a biopsy, and in order for the pathology lab to confirm the presence of SA, the biopsy must be from an affected area. Sampling problems, then, can give false negatives. The presence of SA can only be confirmed when the dog is symptomatic and an affected skin area is removed and examined. Complicating the picture even more, signs that a dog will develop SA are certainly not evident in either the puppy or the mature dog until symptoms begin to appear, as you can see in the pictures below. These are all of the same dog from puppy to adult-hood. Once she began to loose hair, it proceeded until she had virtually no guard coat whatsoever. Although the dog's appearance is not so attractive, with proper care, it can live a very normal life.
Cause An underlying genetic cause is suspected because of the familial aspect of incidence, but so far, it has eluded researchers. Certainly, they recommend strongly against breeding affected dogs. Prognosis & Treatment
Tremens regimens usually include baths with special shampoos, dietary changes and supplementation, special sprays for the skin. Secondary infections require antibiotic treatment. Retinoids and cyclosporines have been used as well. In another section of this website, we have suggestions from both an experienced owner and staff veterinarians at Texas A&M. Another source for information is the SA-Addison's Discussion list. One of our members recommends it, saying,
The list is on yahoogroups.com as SA_Addisons.
Email is SA_Addisons@yahoogroups.com MENTORS: Several
people with experience in dealing with SA dogs are willing to answer
questions about their experiences and what methods were successful in
dealing with the problem. You are welcome to email them.
Substitute @ for "at" in the addresses. Updated on 09/18/2008 |
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This
section of the ACA GHC site
Just
looking at this picture, it's easy to see how difficult diagnosing
SA is without a confirming biopsy. This could easily be a dog
shedding a heavy winter coat. Many new owners think something
is wrong with their dogs when they begin their first winter shed,
because of their bedraggled appearance.
There
is no cure for SA, only long-term treatment, and this will vary depending
on the response of the dog. Especially frustrating for both the
owner and veterinarian are bouts of spontaneous improvement or worsening
of the condition, independent of treatments. The presence of SA
shouldn't prohibit the dog from living a normal life. In fact,
our "poster" dog went through obedience competition quite
successfully. She's shown here earning a leg on her CDX title.