Double-Blinded Crossover Study With Marine Oil Supplementation Containing High-Dose Eicosapentenoic Acid for the Treatment of Canine Pruritic Skin Disease

摘要

Fatty acid supplements are considered a safe, effective alternative therapy for pruritis in dogs. Most supplements contain polyunsatu-rated fatty acids such as docosahexa-nenoic acid and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). Adding these substances to the dietpresumably decreases clinical inflammation by displacing use of arachi-donic acid in cell membranes resulting in a decrease in production of proin-flammatory eicosanoids. A double-blind crossover technique was used to evaluate the effects of supplementation with marine oil, which contains a high dose of EPA, on canine pruritic skin disease.