Epidermolysis bullosa in the dog: four cases.

Epidermolysis bullosa is a rare hereditary mechanobullous disease characterized by dermoepidermal separation observed in both humans and animals. Three categories are currently known for the dog: EB simplex where detachment occurs in the basal layer of the epidermis; junctional EB in the lamina lucida of the dermoepidermal basement membrane; and dystrophic EB where anomalies are due to a deficit of type VII collagen, a major component that anchors fibrils in the skin basement membrane (Scott et al., 2001). In our cases, the age of onset of lesions, the histopathological assessment and the direct immunofluorescence assay (IFDA) permit us to define the disease as a form of congenital epidermolysis bullosa. Three of the four subjects were German shorthaired pointers and the other one was a cross breed of this race so it is reasonable to suggest that this race is particularly susceptible to EB development, as has already been described by other authors (Guaguere et al., 1997).