A cream containing 5% imiquimod (an immune-boosting drug) effectively and completely treated aural plaques in horses, but side effects of the drug (e.g., inflammatory reaction) limit the cream's usefulness, reported a group of researchers from Minnesota and California.

Aural plaques are usually white, crusty lesions covering a layer of shiny red skin found on the inside (concave surface) of a horse's ear. The cause of aural plaques is unknown; however, they are suspected to be caused by a papilloma viral infection spread by biting insects.

According to lead researcher Sheila Torres, DVM, MS, PhD, Dipl. ACVD (dermatology), from the College of Veterinary Medicine, University of Minnesota, "Aural plaques can either be asymptomatic or cause severe ear sensitivity and head shaking."

Torres relayed that treatment options "are few and all anecdotal

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