Fecal microbiota transplantation capsule therapy via oral route for combatting atopic dermatitis in dogs

Abstract

Given the role of the interaction between gut microbiome with dermatological diseases, namely “gut-skin axis”, the present author proved that gut restoration should alleviate canine atopic dermatitis (CAD), which was the purpose of the study. A 4-week, open-label, non-controlled case series involved 8 -owned dogs with CAD which had received no previous treatment. Evaluations included Canine Atopic Dermatitis Extent and Severity Index version 4 (CADESI-04 scores), Visual Analog Scale (VAS) pruritus scores and Polycheck in vitro allergen specific tests. Faecal samples were analysed by dual indexing one-step PCR and 16S rRNA targeted metagenomics for detecting gut microbiota alterations before and after fecal microbiota transplantation (FMT) capsule treatment twice daily for 4 weeks. All cases were presenting pruritus and all of those dogs showed elevated IgE levels. CADESI scores decreased on days 28 (4-21) compared to day 0 initial values (50-128). Similarly, decreased VAS scores were detected on days 28 (0-2) in contrast to prior values (6-10). Regarding epidermal barrier functioning epidermal hydration (55-100 vs. 4-24) and pH (6.-7.8 vs. 4.2-5.7) values were elevated after FMT treatment in contrast to prior ranges, respectively. Alpha diversity revaled both richness and diversity of gut microbiota were improved for all cases on day 28. Furthermore at the end of trial Firmicutes: Bacteroidetes ratio was 8, the benchmark detected for healthy dogs. The present study supports a potential benefit of FMT capsule treatment against CAD. This safe and tolerant treatment modality directed against CAD shifted the gut microbiome composition towards a healthy state for all 8 dogs enrolled.