SEASONAL ALOPECIA - HAIR LOSS

Coming out of a long dark winter there is a unique disease in certain breeds of dog. Light responsive Alopecia or Seasonal flank Alopecia is the most common seen at this time of year. It is not well understood but it is thought to be from lack of sunlight to the pineal gland. The pineal gland is located at the base of the brain and is responsible for telling bears to hibernate and perhaps telling us to crawl into bed early in the long winter nights, eat fatty foods,and in general not have much energy.

These changes are not recognised in dogs but physical changes such as trunkal alopecia and hyperpig-mentation are evident light responsive alopecia and is more common in the country with dark winters. It is more evident in dogs that are housed during the daylight hours for a prolonged period of time.


examples of trunkal alopecia with hyperpigmentation due to seasonal flank alopecia



DIAGNOSIS -
Clinically, the patient is affected with a bilaterally symmetrical pattern usually involving the flanks with a progressive involvement over the dorsal lumbar area. The hairloss is non-pruritic and maybe accompanied by Hyper-pigmentation and follicular Keratosis. the typical clinical picture involves the bilateral flanks but other areas such as the dorsal nasal planum, periocular area, preauricular areas and lateral pinna may be involved. There is no sex predilection and the disease maybe hereditary or some more suseptable. Breeds effected include the Boxer,English bulldog,French bulldog,Airedale,Doberman Pinscher,Bouvier De Flanders,Scottish terrier,Sharpei,Labrador Retreiver,Giant schnauzer and Akita.
Different diagnosis include Hypothyroidism,Cushings disease and Alopecia x.
The diagnosis is made by noting the breed effected,areas of the body effected,time of year effected and by performing skin biopies. Skin biopsies may include follicular atrophy ' foot like' comedones with excess keratin plugging of the follicular infundibular, normal epidermal thickness an Hyper pigmentation of the basal cell layer.

Treatment includes more sunlight exposure and/or melatonin beginning Sept. 23 through March 23 (vernal equinox). The prognosis is good with most patients regrowing hair upon more sun exposure, however some patients skip a year before they regrow hair and some may not regrow hair completely or at all. This appears to be a benign disease but the more common diseases resulting in bilaterally symmetrical alopecia such as Cushing's disease and hypothyroidism should be ruled out.
It is uncertain how the lack of sunlight to the pineal gland results in alopecia of certain specific areas of the body. The role of melatonin release by this gland upon lack of sunlight exposure via the eyes results in depression and lethargy in humans. Prolactin may also play a role as its concentration in the body may be affected by photo period changes and Serotonin concentrations in humans are reduced in dark, cold environments. Oral doses of Melatonin at a range of 3-24mg/day may be helpful in light responsive alopecia. In Canada melatonin injections have been administered on mink farms to cause production of thick coats nonseasonally for the fur industry. It is possible that melatonin injections are more effective than oral melatonin tablets however melatonin injections can be painful. Melatonin has many actions ranging from contraception to use as an antianxiety agent. Its action in seasonal flank alopecia still remains controversial.

Valene, a 4-year-old intact female English bulldog, presented with a nine-month history of nonpruritic bilateral alopecia and hyperpigmentation of her flanks. The owners reported that the same pattern of hair loss had occurred in the early summer of the two previous years, but oral antibiotic therapy had seemed to resolve the problem. Antibiotic therapy for this year's recurrence resulted in no improvement

The physical examination revealed a patchy, irregular symmetrical alopecia and hyperpigmentation on both flanks. The skin was normotonic, and the hair around the areas did not epilate easily.

Differential diagnoses

Focal alopecia in dogs can be due to folliculitis (e.g. caused by superficial pyoderma, dermatophytosis, demodicosis), endocrinopathy (e.g. hypothyroidism, hyperadrenocorticism, sex hormone imbalance), alopecia areata, and canine recurrent flank alopecia.

Diagnostic tests

Microscopic examination of skin scrapings for mites and a dermatophyte culture were negative. The results of a complete blood count and serum chemistry profile including resting thyroxine concentration were normal. Histopathologic examination of the affected skin revealed a normal epidermis and dermis except for epidermal hypermelanosis. `The hair follicles were filled with keratin, had narrowed follicular ostia and pigmentary incontinence, and were abnormally truncated at their bases with fingerlike projections into the surrounding tissue. The histologic findings confirmed a diagnosis of canine recurrent flank alopecia.

Discussion

Canine recurrent flank alopecia (also known as cyclic flank alopecia, seasonal flank alopecia, and cyclic follicular dysplasia) is an idiopathic disorder most commonly seen in boxers, bulldogs, Airedales, and schnauzers, although it can affect any breed. Mean age of onset is 4 years (range 8 months to 11 years).1-5 It can affect intact or neutered males and females. Clinical signs include a nonpruritic, noninflammatory, well-demarcated alopecia of the flanks, which is usually bilaterally symmetrical. Sometimes it affects only one flank. Occasionally, alopecia may also involve the dorsum of the nose, base of the tail or ears, and perineum.

In the Northern hemisphere, the onset of alopecia usually is between November and March.2,3 Most dogs regrow their hair within three to eight months, although new hair may have altered pigmentation or regrowth may be incomplete.l-3 In some cases, the hair never regrows. Some dogs losethe same amount of hair each year others lose more and more hair and for longer periods. Also, some affected dogs have only one or two episodes of hair loss.

The cause of this disorder is unknown.

i never know any of that...not that mine sufer from it....
very good post look forward to reading more....

Thanks for sharing the information Staffsrock. I also didn't know about it.

Cheers, Stich and Shoei, thought it may help someone

Hi, have just found this site by 'googling' 'Alopecia in Staffies'.

I have a six year old Staffie who has lost hair down both flanks. The vet has run all the tests and ruled out anything physical.
Now, the only thing we are left with is the fact that this hair loss began just after Rio was attacked by another dog. (mine was on his lead, the attacker wasn't. but that's another story!).
The vet has concurred that the hair loss was probably caused by the stress and has said the hair may re-grow and stay, may re-grow and be lost again or may never re-grow.

Does anyone have a staffie who has lost hair in a similar way?

Love the site!

Judith

Can`t help you with that sorry

Wulfrunia wrote:Hi, have just found this site by 'googling' 'Alopecia in Staffies'.

I have a six year old Staffie who has lost hair down both flanks. The vet has run all the tests and ruled out anything physical.
Now, the only thing we are left with is the fact that this hair loss began just after Rio was attacked by another dog. (mine was on his lead, the attacker wasn't. but that's another story!).
The vet has concurred that the hair loss was probably caused by the stress and has said the hair may re-grow and stay, may re-grow and be lost again or may never re-grow.

Does anyone have a staffie who has lost hair in a similar way?

Love the site!

Judith

Carley has something similar but probably not to the same extent as hers is just a little bald patch. No idea how its happened as we got her from rescue and she already had it when we got her but i asked the vet about it but they just said it was nothing to worry about and it should grow back. Well, this was about 2 months ago and it still hasnt even started growing back. Here is a pic of it:

Hi Judith it could well be her nerves as the vet said. But shock can also cause hairloss and it should normally re-grow

Hi Jay i have come across this before they call it besides other things a 'thumb print usually first appears when they come into season as it being hormonal'. Sometimes goes of is own accord sometimes not. I will try find the info and post it for you.

Bronson has one similar to Carley, i thought it was down to the fact he tries to force his way through is enclosure to play with the Akitas as he's always at it