TY  - JOUR
AU  - Beynen, A. C. 
AU  - Saris, D. H.J. 
AU  - Paap, P. M. 
AU  - Altena, F. Van 
AU  - Visser, E. A. 
AU  - Middelkoop, J. 
AU  - De Jong, L. 
AU  - Staats, M. 
PY  - 2012
TI  - Dietary Beta-1,3/1,6-Glucans Reduce Clinical Signs of Canine Atopy 
JF  - American Journal of Animal and Veterinary Sciences
VL  - 6
IS  - 4
DO  - 10.3844/ajavsp.2011.146.152
UR  - https://thescipub.com/abstract/ajavsp.2011.146.152
AB  - Problem statement: There was evidence that beta-1,3/1,6-glucans modulate inflammatory activity. In an open, non-controlled trial, purified beta-1,3/1,6-glucans were found to improve the clinical signs of dogs with undefined chronic skin disorders. Given the design of that study, further work was required on the efficacy of beta-1,3/1,6-glucans in the treatment of canine atopy. Approach: The influence of a purified preparation of beta-1,3/1,6-glucans (MacroGard®) on canine atopy was assessed in a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial. Privately owned dogs were used and the clinical signs of atopic dermatitis were evaluated by the owners. For a period of 8 weeks, the dogs daily received a complete dry food without (n = 16) or with 800 ppm beta-1,3/1,6-glucans (n = 15). During the trial, all dogs were treated three times with the use of a flea remedy in order to exclude any influence of flea-bite allergy. To assess the severity of atopic dermatitis, the clinical signs scored were itching, redness, scaling, thickening and stripping of skin. Results: For all five clinical signs, the group-mean improvement, expressed as change of severity score over time, was greater in the test group than in the controls. Within each group, the changes for the five clinical signs were added up to arrive at an overall index of improvement of atopic dermatitis. The extra improvement caused by the ingestion of beta-1,3/1,6-glucans was 63%. The difference between the pooled group-mean changes of the scores for the control and test dogs was statistically significant (P