2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

Archer 1 , Claire Fellman 1 , John Stokes 1 , Evangel Kummari 1 , John Thomason 1 , Jenica Haraschak 2 , Lesya Pinchuk 1 , Robert Wills 1 , Andrew Mackin 1 . 1 Mississippi State University, Mississippi State, MS, USA, 2 North Carolina State University, Raleigh, NC, USA Cyclosporine and aspirin are routinely used to treat immunemediated hemolytic anemia (IMHA) in dogs. Cyclosporine is a potent immunosuppressive agent that exerts its effects by decreasing cytokine production by lymphocytes, especially T-cell production of IL-2 and IFN-c. Recent research in dogs has shown that high dose cyclosporine reliably reduces expression of IL-2 and IFN-c, while lower doses of cyclosporine affect cytokine expression more variably. Low-dose aspirin is commonly used concurrently with immunosuppressive agents such as cyclosporine in dogs with IMHA to inhibit platelet function, since such patients are hypercoagulable and prone to life-threatening thromboembolic disease.