General Considerations

1. Currently, there are five variants of canine cutaneous lupus erythematosus (CLE), which include facial discoid CLE, generalized discoid CLE, exfoliative CLE, vesicular CLE, and mucocutaneous CLE.
2. Facial discoid CLE is the most common variant.
3. Most commonly reported breeds for each variant include: (i) German shepherd dog – facial discoid CLE, (ii) Chinese crested dog – generalized discoid CLE, (iii) German shorthaired pointer and Magyar viszla – exfoliative CLE, (iv) Shetland sheepdog, rough collie, and border collie – vesicular CLE, and (v) German shepherd dog – mucocutaneous CLE.
4. Exfoliative CLE occurs in juvenile or young dogs – median age: 0.7 years (0.2 – 3.5). The other variants occur in middle age to old dogs – median range (5.5 – 9.0 years).
5. Pedigree analysis and breeding studies determined that exfoliative CLE is transmitted on an autosomal recessive mode.
6. Systemic signs (i.e. lymphadenopathy, arthralgia, reproductive abnormalities) have only been reported in exfoliative CLE.
7. Interesting, a different presentation of CLE was reported in two greyhound dogs and could represent a novel variant of CLE in this breed. The dogs had prominent interdigital lesions affecting multiple paws but other parts of the body, such as the nares and anal ring (one dog), were also mildly affected (Wyatt EK, Schmidt V, Legnani S. Canine cutaneous lupus erythematosus with prominent interdigital lesions in two greyhounds. Vet Dermatol 2023; DOI: 10.1111/vde.13220).
8. A wide range of immunomodulatory/suppressive treatments are used to controlled canine CLE.
9. Most cases relapse with treatment discontinuation, thus, the lowest possible drug dosage that maintains the disease controlled should be pursued.
10. Sun avoidance is recommended.