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What is Epilepsy?
Epilepsy is a result of abnormal electrical activity within the brain. The classical epileptic seizure results in a sudden onset of unconsciousness with rapid rhythmic limb movements, salivation, and possibly the passing of urine or faeces. Any normal dog, cat or human can have a seizure once in their lifetime if the conditions within the brain are right – an animal is said to have epilepsy if it has more than one seizure, with no underlying cause.
What can cause seizures?
Seizures can be caused by abnormalities arising within the brain itself, or by factors outside of the brain. Factors outside of the brain include certain toxins and some diseases such as severe liver disease. Causes within the brain can include infections, previous trauma, abnormal brain structure and cancer.
For this reason a thorough evaluation of an animal with seizures includes blood tests and MRI imaging of the brain itself – a service we are proud to offer at Parkvets with a monthly visiting MRI scanner.
In many dogs the eventual diagnosis is ‘idiopathic epilepsy’, in which no abnormality is found despite thorough investigation – these dogs seem completely normal between seizure episodes. This disease must have a genetic link as certain breeds, eg: Border Collies, seem predisposed to it. Seizures occur less commonly in cats, but, when they do, there is often an underlying detectable cause.
How can we treat epilepsy,
and what can we expect from the treatment?
If such an underlying reason for the seizures is found then obviously it is best to treat this cause. Unfortunately, it is sometimes not possible to treat the underlying cause, or the pet may have ‘idiopathic epilepsy’ without any underlying cause. In these cases we use anti-epileptic medication.
It is important to realise that your pet may still seizure despite medication – we aim to reduce both the frequency and the severity of the seizures whilst minimising potential side effects of the medication.
The initial medication of choice is often phenobarbitone. This is given twice daily, 12 hours apart. Seizure therapy may have side effects that on very rare
occasions can be worse than the seizures themselves. Mild side effects such as increased hunger and thirst and mild sedation, are common for the first few weeks of treatment. Rare severe side effects include liver damage and changes in blood cell production. Also, it is often necessary to increase the dose of phenobarbitone medication over time to maintain the same level of drug in the bloodstream. For this reason it is very important to follow your vet’s advice regarding frequency of blood tests to measure drug levels in the blood, and also to check for liver damage and blood cell numbers.
It is sometimes necessary to add other anti-epileptic drugs if phenobarbitone
alone is not enough to control the seizures.
Suddenly stopping medication can itself lead to seizures as the brain adjusts to the drug levels in the blood.
Many animals do very well on lifelong anti-epileptic medication but in some cases it is not possible to control the seizures, even with multiple medications.
What should I do when my pet is having a seizure?
• Do not attempt to handle your pet as you may get bitten.
• Leave your pet in a quiet place with the lights turned down and the
television and radio turned off to avoid further stimulation of the brain.
• Time the seizure and record the date, time and length of the seizure.
When should I call Parkvets for help?
Contact us if a seizure continues for more than 10 minutes, if your pet has more than two seizures in a day, or if you notice that the frequency or severity of the seizures are increasing. Seizure activity of 30 minutes can be fatal or lead to permanent brain injury.
