Careful observation of the prodromal phase is important because localised
muscle twitching prior to the main seizure could indicate the presence of a
local lesion within the brain, and so rule out a diagnosis of idiopathic
epilepsy.
Clinical trials are currently being performed in humans on a device to
alert about the onset of a fit - and this may be applicable to animals later.CLICK
HERE
Treatment
Some authors do not advise treating animals unless they are having more than one
seizure every 3 months (or 4 in a year), or if the animal is having several
seizures in a session. Many animals are kept on long-term treatment, but all
drugs have potential side-effects, so the frequency of treatment and drug dosage
should be kept to the minimum required to control the seizure episodes. If an
animal does not have a fit for 6 months it is worth trying to gradually wean it
off treatment by reducing the dose by 25% each week.
Several drugs are
available to control epilepsy including :
Phenobarbitone -
Dogs - 2mg/kg body weight twice daily by mouth. Ideally, blood
phenobarbitione concentrations should be measured after 10 days treatment, and
the dose of treatment modified to keep the blood concentration between 25-35mg/ml.
This will control seizures in about 70% of epileptic dogs.
Cats - 1-2mg/kg
body weight twice daily by mouth. In cats phenobarbitone has been reported to
cause excessive thirst, increased appetite and increased frequency of
urination. In addition, dermatitis, anaemia and thrombocytopenia have been
reported as side-effects.
Diazepam
Dogs - diazepam has been used at a dose rate of 1mg/kg intravenously to
control dogs in status epilepticus.
Cats - 0.25-0.5mg/kg body weight twice
or three times daily by mouth has been recommended as being effective in
controlling fits in some reports.. However, acute hepatic necrosis and
subsequent death has been reported as a side-effect in cats.
Potassium bromide - used as a second-line drug
Dogs - potassium bromide has been used successfully in dogs at a dose rate
of 30-40 mg/kg body weight by mouth. The therapeutic serum concentration is
0.5-1.5mg/ml.
Cats - potassium bromide has been used to treat cats
with seizures at 20-30mg/kg once daily, or half the dose twice daily. It is
not licensed for use.
Imepitoin - recently launched first-line
drug in dogs
Advantage - do not need to run blood analyses
to titrate dose. Dose range of 10 mg to 30 mg imepitoin per kg bodyweight twice
daily, approximately 12 hours apart
Other drugs that have been used in dogs include : Primidone -