Barazone®

This article is sponsored content brought to you by Dermacare-Vet.

Once weekly treatment for allergic skin disease in dogs

Dermcare’s new prescription product, Barazone®, is a novel topical therapy for the symptomatic treatment of Canine Atopic Dermatitis, contact allergy and other pruritic conditions of the dog. The active ingredient is budesonide, a glucocorticoid, formulated in a leave-on conditioner base. 

Canine Atopic Dermatitis

Canine atopic dermatitis is one of the most common inflammatory and allergic skin diseases in dogs. It is described as a genetically predisposed inflammatory and pruritic allergic skin disease with characteristic clinical features associated with immunoglobulin E (IgE) antibodies¹. 

Contact Allergy

Allergic contact dermatitis is an inflammatory skin reaction in response to contact with an allergen. This is an immune reaction and requires previous sensitisation to the offending substance².

Activity of Barazone®

Barazone® contains the active ingredient, budesonide, which exhibits prolonged retention in target tissues making it an ideal choice for the topical treatment of allergic skin disease and allows for a reduced frequency of application. Within the cell, budesonide is reversibly converted to lipophilic esters, which are inactive, and stored intracellularly⁶. The esters form a reservoir of inactive budesonide within the cell. Over time, these esters are hydrolysed back to reform active budesonide, allowing for prolonged anti-inflammatory activity. This process is known as reversible esterification⁶. 

Efficacy 

Barazone® has been shown to reduce the extent and severity of lesions associated with allergic skin disease in dogs. In a study comparing Barazone® to placebo, the lesion scores on dogs treated with Barazone® improved significantly, whereas dogs treated with placebo had deterioration in their lesion scores³. In an additional study, Barazone® significantly improved pruritus in dogs when compared with placebo and overall, it improved the quality of life for these dogs⁴. 

In a randomised, controlled, blinded study, Barazone® demonstrated comparable efficacy to cyclosporine, a widely recognised treatment for the management of canine atopic dermatitis⁵. There were no detectable differences in CADESI severity scores at any time point assessed. This study showed that Barazone® was comparable to cyclosporine with regards to both reduction in pruritus and lesion scores⁵. 

Safety

Due to the topical application and local activity of Barazone®, systemic effects, often seen with oral or systemic corticosteroids, are uncommon. 

Benefits

• Barazone® is a once weekly application.

• Local activity of budesonide within the skin.

• Barazone® is formulated in a leave-on conditioner that is not greasy, will not cause matting of the fur or leave a residue on the coat, meaning it can be easily applied to haired areas of the skin. 

• As it is a topical treatment, Barazone® can be used to target affected areas, which will be appropriate in many cases of allergic skin disease. If the lesions are severe and affecting the whole body, however, a maximum dose of 1g/kg once weekly may be used for up to 6 weeks. As with all corticosteroids, the dose should be gradually reduced to the lowest effective dose and frequency to manage the clinical signs. 

With allergy season around the corner, Barazone® will play an important role in the multimodal management of canine allergic skin disease. 

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References: 

1. Hensel, P., Santoro, D., Favrot, C., Hill, P., & Griffin, C. (2015). Canine atopic dermatitis: detailed guidelines for diagnosis and allergen identification. BMC veterinary research, 11(1), 1-13.
2. Ho, K. K., Campbell, K. L., & Lavergne, S. N. (2015). Contact dermatitis: a comparative and translational review of the literature. Veterinary dermatology, 26(5), 314-e67.
3. Ahlstrom, L. A., Mason, K. V., & Mills, P. C. (2010). Barazone decreases skin lesions and pruritus and increases quality of life in dogs with atopic dermatitis: a randomized, blinded, placebo controlled trial. Journal of veterinary pharmacology and therapeutics, 33(6), 573-582.
4. Mason, L., A double blinded placebo controlled multicentre clinical field study assessing dose response of 0.0125% budesonide and 0.025% budesonide in a topical leave-in conditioner base, 2011. Commercial in confidence, Dermcare-Vet.
5. Mason, L., A multicentre randomized controlled blinded trial comparing Atopica® (oral cyclosporine) to Barazone® (topical budesonide lotion) for the control of atopy in dogs, 2011. Commercial in confidence, Dermcare-Vet.
6. Brattsand, R., & Miller-Larsson, A. (2003). The role of intracellular esterification in budesonide once-daily dosing and airway selectivity. Clinical therapeutics, 25, C28-C41.