ATOPY AND SKIN CARE

Q: Are commercially available fatty acid supplements (such as those purchased from human health food shops) comparable in efficacy to the specialist prescription diets you mentioned in the talk?

The commercial and fatty acid supplements available on the market are of variable efficacy. Those found in human health stores will not have conducted efficacy and safety studies in dogs and cats. For this reason, while adequate bioavailability and beneficial effects may occur as a consequence of supplementation, it cannot be quantified. Manufacturers of each of the FA supplements on the veterinary market will have their own data to support their product however direct inclusion in the diet not only makes the entire process more convenient for the owner but anecdotal evidence recently presented at dermatology meets (In: Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Veterinary Dermatology & American College of Veterinary Dermatology) suggest that ‘higher amounts’ may be delivered to the animal by this method (Roudebush 2001). This may be related to both the digestive process and also the greater compliance due to more reliable delivery via dietary methods.

Q: Does the Skin Care diet contain enough fatty acids that you do not need to supplement the animal as well, for example to support an atopic animal?

As detailed in our presentation, the Skin Care products have been trialled in the field on diagnosed Atopic dogs, precipitating impressive results with a highly significant 3x reduction in clinical CADESI score. So there is no need to supplement the fatty acid levels within the diet any further.

Q: Question for Catherine: please can you repeat the author of the study about fatty acids and its conflicting blends?

The publication is: Olivry T, Foster AP, Mueller RS et al. Interventions for atopic dermatitis in dogs: asystematic review of randomized controlled trials. Veterinary Dermatology 2010; 81: 143-146.Please note, this is a review discussing many different methods for the management of dogs with atopic dermatitis. The section discussing fatty acids makes up just a small part of it. You can view most Veterinary Dermatology articles for free online.

Q: Are royal canin looking at doing skin care diet for cats in the near future?

At present we know not of any plans to release a Feline Skin Care product. The Feline skin care market is developing however (as we’ll note in this week’s presentation) so we can only hope for the future!

Q: What are the advantages of the skin diet over the hypoallergenic diet which is also recommended for skin allergies as they both have similar dermal care properties?

The indications for using the Hypo and Skin Care products are similar in that they are both good options when dealing with dermatoses; both have an optimal level of highly digestible protein, both have the skin barrier complex which supports cutaneous ceramide production (Watson et.al. 2006)and both have supplemented omega-3’s (EPA and DHA). However the big difference between the two is that Skin Care contains a blend of fatty acids (particularly those from the linoleic acid andgamma-linolenic acid group) which we have demonstrated to be beneficial in our studies. This is why Skin Care is a good option for nutritional management in cases of atopy, FAD and pyoderma for example. Hypoallergenic, on the other hand incorporates hydrolysed proteins, so this diet is more geared towards food allergies and food elimination trials. Being hyper-digestible it has gastrointestinal benefits also, so a dog with combined skin and GI signs would do well on Hypoallergenic. Sensitivity Control backs up these diets as a secondary offering with select protein and carbohydrate sources (duck and tapioca in the canine dry and chicken or duck and rice in the canine wet formats). These are another option and are produced in the same ‘line-cleaned’ batches as Hypoallergenic to prevent stray protein sources from entering the food. However feeding Sensitivity Control as an elimination food is dependent upon a complete lack of previous exposure to its ingredients. (Watson AL, Fray TR, Bailey J et al. Dietary constituents are able to play beneficial role in canine epidermal barrier function. Experimental Dermatology 2006; 15: 74-81.)

Q: when to start with skin care / when with hypoallergenic or sensitivity control?

PLEASE SEE ABOVE

Q: What is the protein source of the Skin Care diet? Wheat gluten; found to be 99% digestible (RC internal data)

Q: which is the perfect omega 6 : omega 3 ratio for dogs and cats supplementation?

At Royal Canin our belief is that clinical studies are more valuable than relying on specific ratios of which fatty acids to supplement. This is because even published studies quote wide (and often very different) ranges of ratios as being optimal, so it is hard to know where the best ratio lies. Therefore, we feel clinical studies (which we have already performed and that I briefly detailed in the webinar) provide us with the information about our diets that we can most reliably trust, instead of relying on (at the moment) what seems to be inconsistencies in publications.

Q: Many of our clients use Evening Primrose Oil or Cod Liver Oil (human formations) in their dogs for healthy skin. Are the EFAs in these oils helpful in dogs and in the correct ratios?

The commercial and fatty acid supplements available on the market are likely to be of variable efficacy. Particularly those manufactured for human use will not have had efficacy and safety studies conducted in dogs. For this reason, we cannot make recommendations on these products because there are other highly effective options (such as the Skin Care diets) which have been demonstrated in the species in question and are nutrionally balanced for that species as well.