Epilepsy In Dogs And Cats

Epilepsy is a disease which frequently affects dogs. It is characterized by seizures of varying degrees of severity, ranging from quite mild alterations in behavior to severe grand-mal types of seizures.

Symptoms Of Epilepsy:

Your dog may experience seizure activity which involves staring vacantly into space for a time, fly-snapping types of behavior, or seizures involving full-body muscle tremors and/or stiffened muscles.

These episodes may be very short-lived, lasting from several seconds to minutes and may be isolated, with only one seizure occurring at a time or part of a cluster of seizures, with several seizures occurring within a short time frame.

Your dog may involuntarily urinate or defecate during these episodes.

You dog may also experience a condition known as "status epilepticus" in which the seizure simply continues without abating.

**Status epilepticus (a seizure which does not end) constitutes a medical emergency. If your dog is experiencing this type of seizure activity, you should seek medical attention immediately.**

Seizures can occur for many different reasons. Epilepsy is frequently referred to as idiopathic epilepsy, indicating that the exact cause of the seizure activity is not known.

Idiopathic epilepsy

• is usually diagnosed by ruling out other causes of seizures.
• is often hereditary. These dogs should not be bred.
• usually results in the first seizure activity occurring between 6 months and 5 years of age.
• often shows up initially as a period of weakness or unawareness.

Diagnosis Of Epilepsy:

Diagnosis of epilepsy, as stated previously, will be aimed at ruling out the other causes of seizure activity.

Your veterinarian will need to thoroughly examine your dog and obtain a complete history of your dog's medical history (including any previous seizure activity and the possibility of exposure to potential toxins).

Blood tests are likely to be necessary. At a minimum, a routine blood screen is mandatory.

In some cases, additional imaging studies, such as a CAT (computerized axial tomography) scan or an MRI (magnetic resonance imaging) may be necessary.

Your veterinarian may recommend an EEG (electroencephalogram) to examine the electrical activity of your dog's brain.

Examination of your dog's cerebrospinal fluid (a "spinal tap") may be necessary in some cases as well.

Treatment Of Epilepsy:

Once a diagnosis of idiopathic epilepsy has been reached, it must be decided whether your dog requires treatment for the condition or not.

Your dog's veterinarian will help you decide whether treatment is a necessity for your dog, based on the frequency and severity of your dog's seizure activity.

If the seizures are mild and occur less often than once every 4-6 weeks, your veterinarian may recommend against anticonvulsive therapy.

However, if your dog's seizures are severe, frequent, or occur in clusters, your veterinarian may advise treatment with an anti-convulsive medication.

Also, if your dog has suffered from "status epilepticus", your veterinarian may recommend continuing anti-convulsive therapy.

Anti-convulsive medications:

• may be required twice daily.
• will only attempt to control seizure activity, not cure epilepsy.
• may take time to get regulated properly.
• may become ineffective after a period of time, requiring altered dosages or different medications.
• can be detrimental to your dog's liver. Periodic blood testing to monitor your dog's liver function may be necessary while your dog is receiving these medications.

There are a variety of different anti-convulsive medications available. Your dog's veterinarian will help you determine which medication is best suited to your dog's needs.

You should also be aware that many dog's receiving anti-convulsive medications may still have "break-through" seizure activity. The seizures which result should be relatively mild and infrequent, but you shouldn't be surprised if some seizure activity continues even with medication.

You should, however, keep a log of any seizure activity and keep your dog's veterinarian apprised of any change in your dog's medical condition or behavior. Your dog's veterinarian will be able to help you make changes in your dog's medications and drug dosages seeking to control the seizure activity to the fullest extent possible.

If your dog has a seizure you should:

• Remain calm.
• Do not put your hand into your dog’s mouth. Your dog cannot control his/her body movements during a seizure and may inadvertently injure you.
• Be sure your dog is in environment where he/she will not harm him/herself. Remove nearby sharp objects and water. Move your dog away from any stairs or sharp drops.
• Observe your dog closely and call the clinic if the actual seizure is still continuing after 10 minutes or if repeated seizures occur.
• If your dog has never had a seizure before, or has never seen the veterinarian as a result, you should make an appointment with your dog's veterinarian for an examination and consultation.