Master Student: Anne Marie Fogh LarsenSpecialisation: Internal MedicineProject: Characterization of Alopecia X across breeds. A systematic review”. Master’s thesis brief:
Background
Alopecia X is an adult onset hair growth disorder seen primarily in double coated breeds such as Pomeranian, Alaskan Malamute, Samoyed, Keeshond and Siberian husky but has also been described in Miniature and Toy Poodles. The syndrome is poorly understood and it has never been proven whether Alopecia X can be considered a single distinct disease with the exact same etiology across breeds.
Methods and Objective
Based on a systematic review of peer-reviewed scientific literature the aim of this study was to investigate whether Alopecia X can be considered a single distinct disease across breeds or whether the syndrome differs so much from breed to breed that it more appropriately should be considered different individual breed specific diseases.
Conclusion
Alopecia X is by far best elucidated in Pomeranians both in terms of clinical signs, histopathology, hormone analysis, response to different types of treatment and genetic analysis. The question of whether Alopecia X can be considered a distinct disease across breeds or more appropriately should be considered different breed specific diseases could not be answered due to the low number of dogs (other than Pomeranians) representing each breed and the heterogeneity, low evidence quality and poor methodological quality of the studies included in this systematic review. Well-designed and adequately powered studies with the purpose of accurately characterizing the disease at breed level are warranted.
