Drug treatment of canine acral lick. An animal model of obsessive-compulsive disorder

Arch Gen Psychiatry. 1992 Jul;49(7):517-21. doi: 10.1001/archpsyc.1992.01820070011002.

Abstract

Canine acral lick dermatitis is a naturally occurring disorder in which excessive licking of paws or flank can produce ulcers and infection that require medical treatment. Forty-two dogs with severe chronic canine acral lick dermatitis were treated in three double-blind crossover comparisons of clomipramine hydrochloride/desipramine hydrochloride, fluoxetine hydrochloride/fenfluramine hydrochloride, and sertraline hydrochloride/placebo. The serotonin uptake blocking drugs were clinically effective, while the other drugs were not. Based on phenomenology and pharmacological response, we propose canine acral lick dermatitis as an animal model of obsessive-compulsive disorder.

Publication types

  • Clinical Trial

MeSH terms

  • 1-Naphthylamine / analogs & derivatives
  • 1-Naphthylamine / therapeutic use
  • Animals
  • Clomipramine / therapeutic use
  • Dermatitis / drug therapy
  • Dermatitis / veterinary*
  • Desipramine / therapeutic use
  • Disease Models, Animal*
  • Dog Diseases / drug therapy*
  • Dog Diseases / physiopathology
  • Dogs
  • Double-Blind Method
  • Fenfluramine / therapeutic use
  • Fluoxetine / therapeutic use
  • Follow-Up Studies
  • Grooming / drug effects
  • Grooming / physiology*
  • Humans
  • Neurotransmitter Uptake Inhibitors / therapeutic use*
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / drug therapy
  • Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder / physiopathology*
  • Serotonin / physiology*
  • Sertraline
  • Ulcer / drug therapy
  • Ulcer / veterinary

Substances

  • Neurotransmitter Uptake Inhibitors
  • Fluoxetine
  • Fenfluramine
  • Serotonin
  • 1-Naphthylamine
  • Clomipramine
  • Sertraline
  • Desipramine