3 days ago
Discoveries for dogs with epilepsy
Since there are often no warning signs before a seizure, it's important to recognise the signs: stumbling and falling, stiffening of the legs and neck, loss of bladder control, drooling and violent shaking. — Dreamstime/TNS
Almsot everyone has been touched by, or knows someone, with epilepsy.
This complex, serious neurological disorder affects nearly three million adults in the United States, or around 1% of the population – causing abnormal and uncontrolled electrical activity in the brain called seizures.
Epilepsy also affects dogs at nearly the same frequency. Epilepsy can affect any dog, including mixed breeds, at any point in their life. In fact, nearly a million dogs have this disorder.
Since there are often no warning signs before a seizure, it's important to recognize the signs: stumbling and falling, stiffening of the legs and neck, loss of bladder control, drooling and violent shaking. If you notice these symptoms, seek veterinary care promptly.
Options for dogs with epilepsy
Finding the right treatment plan and appropriate drug dosage for each individual dog can be a long process.
Currently, the options for treatment are anti-epileptic drugs (AEDs), which can help manage seizures but may not work for every dog and come with the possibility of side effects that can impact a dog's quality of life.
One of the most challenging forms of the disease to manage is idiopathic epilepsy – the type with no known cause, which accounts for half of canine epilepsy cases.
Dogs with this disorder may experience cluster seizures, where multiple seizures occur close together. These episodes are frightening and can be life-threatening.
To help, veterinarians often prescribe emergency medication that can be administered at home when a seizure begins.
With support from the AKC Canine Health Foundation, Dr Karen Munana, a veterinary researcher at North Carolina State University, is leading a study on the two most prescribed at-home treatments.
Her goal is to give veterinarians the data they need to make the most effective choice for at home treatment for each dog.
Hope for drug resistant dogs
One in three dogs with idiopathic epilepsy will eventually develop drug means that even after treatment, seizures can continue, leaving families and veterinarians with limited options.
To change that reality, Dr Thomas Parmentier and team at the Universite de Montreal are conducting important research to predict which dogs are likely to become drug resistant.
To accomplish this, they're working to identify a combination of clinical features and blood-based biomarkers, along with analysing the electrical patterns of a dog's brain.
Offering a more individualised approach to treatment can bring better results for dogs with epilepsy. – American Kennel Club/Tribune News Service
