Breed Occurrence
Pemphigus vulgaris is the commonest autoimmune skin disease in humans, but it is
rare in cats and dogs.
Most authors now agree that there is no breed, sex or age predilection for
this disease, but some breeds are mentioned by other authors. eg German Shepherd
Dog,
Treatment
- Prednisolone at dose - 2-4 mg/kg body weight every 12 hours by mouth .
- If corticosteroids alone do not induce remission after 14 days a cytotoxic
drug** should be added to the regimen, the following have been used
successfully :
- Azothiaprine* 2 mg/kg body weight (50mg/m2 ) on alternate
days (Contraindicated for use in cats)
- Cyclophosphamide 2 mg/kg body weight (50mg/m2) for 4 days
per week
- Aurothioglucose *1mg/kg body weight by intramuscular injection once
weekly
- Auranofin* 0.05-0.2 mg/kg body weight by mouth every 12 hours
- Chlorambucil (preferred for cats) - 2-5mg/m2 every 1-2 days
by mouth
* Bone marrow suppression is common with these drugs and blood cell status
should be monitored regularly.
** Extreme care is needed when handling these drugs
With all the above therapeutic agents, the dose rate is gradually reduced to
the minimum maintenance dose (eg alternate day therapy) once the animal is in
remission.