Survival in 76 cats with epilepsy of unknown cause: a retrospective study

Szelecsenyi, Arlette Cornelia; Giger, Urs; Golini, Lorenzo; Mothersill, Ian; Torgerson, Paul R.; Steffen, Frank

doi:10.1136/vr.104281

Cited by 14 publications

(23 citation statements)

References 39 publications

(92 reference statements)

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…The age of seizure onset has been used as a diagnostic criterion for idiopathic epilepsy in dogs, with a ratio for age at onset established from 6 months to 6 years9. Interestingly, a younger age of onset has been reported in cats compared with dogs; in a study by Szelecsenyi, the range of seizure onset for cats with epilepsy of unknown cause was 3 months to 18 years 14. Therefore, early onset could also be considered to occur in the Iberian lynx with idiopathic epilepsy.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benign juvenile focal epilepsy in a captive Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)

Mínguez¹,

Martínez

Vargas

et al. 2019

Vet Record Case Reports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

An 8-week-old intact male lynx cub (Lynx pardinus) from a captive breeding colony was presented with a 2-day history of cluster seizures. There was no history of intoxication. Physical and neurological examinations were normal. Complete blood profile, infectious diseases panel, MRI of the brain and cerebrospinal fluid analysis were unremarkable. A diagnosis of suspected idiopathic epilepsy was made. The lynx cub was treated with increasing doses of phenobarbital and seizure activity stopped within 28 days. After 23 seizure-free months, phenobarbital was tapered over 4 months and finally discontinued. No further seizures were observed during the follow-up period of 8 years. Given the early onset followed by rapid and maintained remission, seizure semiology and the lack of underlying disease, a presumptive diagnosis of benign focal epilepsy similar to benign childhood focal epilepsies as described in human medicine is postulated.

show abstract

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Benign juvenile focal epilepsy in a captive Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)

Mínguez¹,

Martínez

Vargas

et al. 2019

Vet Record Case Reports

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Szelecsenyi and others 9 report that of the cats that died during the study period (24 of 76), the majority were epilepsy‐related deaths (66.6 per cent, n=16). This was defined by the authors as euthanasia motivated by circumstances directly associated with seizures.…”

Section: Feline Epilepsy and Euthanasiamentioning

confidence: 94%

“…In a recent small‐scale study, which included 18 cats with EUC, the one‐year survival rate was 73 per cent, which was significantly higher than the survival rate of cats with structural epilepsy or acute symptomatic seizures (35 per cent; 22 of 63 cats) 8 . A new study, summarised on p479 of this week's issue of Veterinary Record, 9 builds upon these findings in a larger population of 76 cats with EUC.…”

Section: Survival Analysis and Epilepsymentioning

confidence: 98%

“…In a retrospective study of cats presenting with seizures over a 15‐year period, Szelecsenyi and others 9 explored the effects of seizure semiology and type upon treatment outcome and survival. The authors demonstrate that of 76 cats with EUC, the majority were alive at follow up (68 per cent), with a median follow up time of 3.2 years.…”

Section: Survival Analysis and Epilepsymentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Survival in feline epilepsy: the long and short of it

Packer

2017

Veterinary Record

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

BOTH quality and quantity of life are of importance to the owners of companion animals, 1 and in ideal circumstances, each veterinary treatment would ensure high quality of life and increase longevity. 2 Understanding which disease-and treatment-related factors influence survival in diseased animals may help guide their management; for example, whether a treatment that compromises quality of life provides sufficient additional lifespan to justify its use. In animals with life-limiting diseases, mismatches may exist between owners' expectations of survival versus reality. For example, in a study of dog and cat owners' perceptions of medical treatment for cancer, a mismatch was observed between the number of owners expecting treatment to extend their pet's lifespan (87.0 per cent) and the actual number that experienced this (60.9 per cent). 3 As such, robust estimates of survival time are potentially valuable statistics for guiding owner expectations after diagnosis. Indeed, in a study of owner perceptions of quality versus quantity of life for dogs with heart disease, owners' reported high levels of concern regarding their inability to know how long their pet was going to live. 2

show abstract

“…In one study, up to 18% of cat owners elected not to start recommended antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment because of difficulty with PO administration. 7 Transdermal (TD) drug administration has been reported to be better tolerated and easier to administer than PO administration in cats. 8,9 In one study comparing PO and TD methimazole administration, 35% of cat owners reported missing at least one PO dose vs 8% during TD administration.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Prospective crossover clinical trial comparing transdermal with oral phenobarbital administration in epileptic cats

Heller

Trepanier

Robertson

et al. 2019

Journal of Feline Medicine and Surgery

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Objectives The aim of this study was to compare serum phenobarbital concentrations, adverse events and client satisfaction during 14 weeks of transdermal vs oral phenobarbital administration to epileptic cats. Methods This was a prospective, fixed-order, crossover pilot study. Nine client-owned cats with presumptive or diagnosed idiopathic epilepsy were enrolled. Oral phenobarbital (PO-PB) was administered for weeks 1–14 (median starting dosage of 3.8 mg/kg [2.0–5.4 mg/kg/day] q12h); transdermal phenobarbital (TD-PB) was administered for weeks 14–28 (median starting dosage 18.8 mg/kg/day [17.6–24.0 mg/kg/day] q12h). Serum phenobarbital concentrations (S-PB) were measured at weeks 2, 14, 16 and 28. Client satisfaction questionnaires and biochemistry were evaluated at 14 and 28 weeks. Results Median S-PB concentrations during oral administration were 21 µg/ml (observed range 11–40 µg/ml) at week 2 and 22 µg/ml (8–35 µg/ml) at week 14, and at the higher TD dosage were 18 µg/ml (0–42 µg/ml) at week 16 and 17 µg/ml (7–50 µg/ml) at week 28. Phenobarbital concentrations were significantly correlated with PO dosage at week 2 ( r = 0.75, P = 0.03) but not at weeks 16 and 28. Significantly more dose adjustments were needed during the TD phase ( P = 0.03), but 6/9 owners (67%) still preferred TD to PO administration. Adverse effects were mild and comparable in both groups. Conclusions and relevance Therapeutic S-PB concentrations were achievable in some cats using TD-PB at 18 mg/kg/day q12h. Poor correlation between TD dosage and S-PB concentrations was observed and more dosage adjustments were required during TD administration. These findings necessitate close therapeutic drug monitoring if TD-PB is prescribed.

show abstract

Survival in 76 cats with epilepsy of unknown cause: a retrospective study

Cited by 14 publications

References 39 publications

Benign juvenile focal epilepsy in a captive Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)

Benign juvenile focal epilepsy in a captive Iberian lynx (Lynx pardinus)

Survival in feline epilepsy: the long and short of it

Prospective crossover clinical trial comparing transdermal with oral phenobarbital administration in epileptic cats

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About