Hi Janice- I took him in to the vet becasue the tissue on his nose was losing pigment and starting to break down into ulcers that wouldn't heal.I hate giving him the tacrolimus (topical) which is an immune system suppresant, but his lesions are gone after only 4 days on it, so it did really help. He won't need the tetracycline now becasue the tacrolimus worked. I'm tring to fabricate a little shield for his nose rather than use sunscreen which is loaded with weird chemicals which I don't want him to ingest. Below is information from the article I linked in my first post-
Murray has DLE which is manageable: I was relieved when his biopsy came back with this diagnosis rather than lymphoma or SLE.
Quote from the link in my first post: (
http://www.rr-oona.com/DLE/AI-DLE-eng.html )
"In people several forms of Lupus are recognized, two of these forms are also identified in dogs: Discoid Lupus Erythematosus (DLE) and Systemic Lupus Erythematosus (SLE) ».
SLE is a severe, malignant and quite usually a lethal disorder (in dogs) in which the inappropriate immune response is widespread in the body both inside and outside. SLE may cause arthritis, kidney disease, anemia and skin disease.
"DLE is considered a benign and milder variant of SLE, and the lesions are confined to the skin. DLE is the second most common immune-mediate skin disease in the dog, and one of the most common skin disorders affecting the face.
Discoid Lupus is also the most common skin disorders that are exacerbated by sunlight (UV-radiation).
Discoid Lupus may have a waxing and waning course and therefore there may be times when medication is unnecessary.
Quite often DLE begins with loss of pigmentation of the planum nasale (nose) or on the lips. For example, a normally black nose may acquire partly slate-blue, grey or pink colour. The typical moist and cobblestone surface of the nose becomes dry and smooth and the depigmented lesions progresses into destruction of the tissue.
Prognosis for Discoid Lupus is usually good, although treatment must usually be continued for life.
In some rare, chronic cases, DLE may develop into a malignant squamous cell carcinoma, especially if the disorder is left untreated or there have been severe sunburns. And at least those ca. 5 % of DLE-dogs whose ANA test is positive, are in risk that the disease progresses to SLE."