Abstract
This article aims to review the similarities between canine atopic dermatitis and eczema in people and how currently used treatments in the two species compare to each other. Dogs are currently the best model for the human disease and research in this species can benefit people. While many parallels exist in how this disease is approached in both species, some differences also exist. Interestingly treatment options used in dogs (eg. Allergen specific immunotherapy, the use of an oral Janus Kinase Inhibitor and of a biologic targeting Interleukin 31) have equivalents in human medicine. Areas of interest for the future range from ways to increase the efficacy of allergen specific immunotherapy, modulations of the immune response that are not allergen specific, the administration of oral or injectable cytokines to modulate the allergic milieu, the restoration of cutaneous and gut microbiome either by topical cutaneous application of benign bacteria or by fecal transplant and the use of stem cell therapy for its immunomodulatory properties. The overall goal is to find treatments that are safe and sustainable to avoid broad spectrum immunosuppressive medications and to repair the bacterial imbalances that occur in atopic patients thus minimizing the use of antibiotics and bacterial resistance.