Epilepsy is the number one neurological problem in dogs

Dr. Diane Brown and the Canine Health Foundation are doing battle with neurological disease, specifically epilepsy, in an effort to improve the lives all dogs, and their people.

“Epilepsy is a complex disease,” Brown said. “It presents in different ways. It is present in all dogs, mixed breed and purebred, and in people.”

Epilepsy is a catch all term applying to different breeds, different ages, different causes of seizures. “Idiopathic epilepsy” in layman’s terms means, “we don’t know why your dog is having seizures, but we’re calling it epilepsy.”

Brown notes that seizures can be caused by clearly genetic cases, toxicity, structural defects, inflammatory diseases, brain tumors and other underlying issues. Even more terrifying, up to one-third of epilepsy cases are noted to be resistant to current medication

“We really wanted to make a concerted, multi-year effort trying to address epilepsy in dogs,” Brown said. She added that the research effort is focused on two broad areas: genetics and developing new therapies for the disease.

Break throughs and new studies

A CHF funded grant has already identified a new dosing option for dogs with seizures causing an emergency situation.

“It’s been 20 years since a new drug was identified that can be used in an emergency situation,” Brown said.

Alternatives to standard therapies are also being studied. Brown highlighted a study into the effects of treatment with CBD oil in a large clinical trial with rigorous scientific standards. The research is the first of its kind in the country, and CHF was the first to invest in this exciting effort.

As other studies investigate gene identification, the most recent breakthrough was identifying a form of epilepsy in juvenile Rhodesian Ridgebacks that is directly related to pediatric epilepsy in humans.

While the goal is to develop a DNA test for epilepsy, Brown notes that genetics are complicated and it’s rarely as simple as identifying one gene to breed out of a population.

An even more fascinating study is examining the role of the intestinal tract, the so-called gut-brain axis, that may have influence on neurological health

“We are for the health of ALL dogs. It can create a false impression that purebred dogs are less healthy, but the reality is, they are the ones who contributed to the funding to solve the problem,” Brown said.

CHF Epilepsy Research Initiative, includes grants, research publications, webinars, other resources

www.akcchf.org/epilepsy

Epilepsy white paper:

http://www.akcchf.org/canine-health/top-health-concerns/epilepsy/understanding-canine-epilepsy.html

CHF-funded research study on CBD for drug-resistant epilepsy in dogs

http://www.akcchf.org/research/research-portfolio/2323.html

Webinar with veterinary neurologist, Dr. Karen Munana: