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www.pbgv.org

Spring2015

ISaberTails

Epilepsyisadisorderofthebrainthatischaracterizedby
recurring,unpredictableseizures.Theseizuresarelikelydue
touncontrolledelectricalactivityinregionsofthebrain,
whichcanproducebehavioralchanges.Whennospecific
causefortheseizurescanbefound,thediseaseisknownas
idiopathicepilepsy(IE).Youngdogs(lessthan1yearofage)
thatexperienceseizuresoftendosobecauseofexposureto
aninfectiousagentortoadevelopmentalanomaly.
However,theseizurescouldalsobeduetoaninherited
degenerativediseaseormetabolicdisorder.Mostdogsthat
experiencetheirfirstseizurewhentheyaremucholderthan
5yearsofagemostcommonlydosobecauseofatumor,
oralate-onsetdegenerativeormetabolicdisorder.IEisthe
diagnosiswhenaspecificcausefortheseizurescannotbe
found.Ittypicallyoccursinbetweentheseveryearlyand
latecases,withanageofonsetbetween1and5years.IEis
onlydiagnosedafterallothercausesoftheseizureactivity
havebeenruledout.MostdogswithIEhaveanormal
lifespan.However,dogsthatexperienceseizureslastingat
leastfiveminutesorwhohavemultipleseizureswithout

recoveryinbetween(knownasstatusepilepticus)typically
haveareducedsurvivaltime.

Dr.NedPattersonisanepilepsyclinicianandresearcher

attheUniversityofMinnesotaClinicalInvestigationCenter.
HisCanineEpilepsyNetwork(www.canine-epilepsy.net)isa
wonderfulonlineresourceforownersandbreedersof
affecteddogs,aswellascliniciansandresearchers.He
gaveanexcellenthealthseminaronepilepsyatthe2009
PBGVCANationalinTucson.

Inthisrecentarticle,Dr.Pattersonfocusesontheneed

forurgentandaggressivetreatmentforseizuresthatlast
morethanafewminutesoroccurback-to-backwithout
recovery.Hecitesthestatisticthat40to60percentofdogs
withidiopathicepilepsysufferclusterseizuresorstatus
epilepticus.Theseareemergenciesthatcanleadto
irreversibleneuronaldamage.Prolongedorfrequent
seizurescanalsoleadtoheartandkidneydamage.

Dr.Pattersonoutlinesthegeneralstandardofpracticefor

caninestatusepilepticus.Unfortunately,therehasnotbeen
anexpertpanelconsensusstatement

continuedonpage54

W

heredoyougoforup-to-dateinformationon
medicalissuesthataffectyourPBGV?Mostofus
doanInternetsearch;however,thisoftenreveals

conflictinginformationthatleadstoconfusionratherthan
enlightenment.Hopefully,yourmainsourceofinformation
onPBGVhealthisyourprimarycareveterinarianora
veterinaryspecialistwhohasbeenconsultedforaspecific
problem.Butyoumightask,wheredoesyourveterinarian
gotobeupdatedonthelatestadvancesincaninehealth?
Oneexcellentresourceforveterinarianswhotreatcats,dogs,
andothersmallanimalsisthemedicaljournalVeterinary
Clinics:SmallAnimalPractice.Eachissueofthisjournal
focusesonasingletopicinsmallanimalmedicine,suchas
endocrinology,fluidsandelectrolytes,gastroenterology,
infectiousdiseases,neurology,oncology,urology,respiratory
issues,surgicalinformation,smallanimalbehavior,
laboratorymedicine,imagingmethods,ornutrition.

Thesearticlesarenotwrittenforthelayperson;the

detailsandterminologycanmakeyourheadspin.
Furthermore,thearticlesareonlyavailablewitha
subscriptiontothejournaloraheftysingle-articlecharge.
Fortunately,Ihaveasubscriptiontomostmedicaljournals
throughmyworkplaceandIperiodicallygothroughthis
journallookingforarticlesonhealthissuesthatmightbeof
interesttoPBGVowners.Herearesummariesoffourarticles
fromthepastyearthatIthoughtwouldbeofinterest.Enjoy!

UpdateonSeizures,Cancer,NeuteringandNutrition

StatusEpilepticusandClusterSeizures

Edward(Ned)E.Patterson,DVM,PhD
VetClinSmallAnim44(2014)1103-1112.

IPBGVHealthForum

byLauraLiscum,ViceChair,PBGVCAHealthCommittee

PhotobyBobCohen