GRR Health Canine Epilepsy In Golden Retrievers

1 By Kathy BurtonFoster Coordinator and Bob s mom If Gold Ribbon Rescue had been operationalback in 1995 when Bob came along, hewould have been the classic rescue the time Bob came to us he was 3months old and we were his third had been a surprise gift to a youngwoman living in an apartment from an ardent suitor. Surprise!, she did not wantthe suitor and did not want the puppy. Hisnext home was a nice family living inLakeway in a house with no back yard and ayoung son they soon discovered wasallergic to dogs. I brought Bob home to joinour family of one Golden girl, age of 6 and aformerly homeless cat.

2 Bob adjusted verywell, loved us, loved his companions, andLOVED tennis balls. All was well until lateone summer evening when Bob was withus in the backyard happily fetching tennisballs and suddenly collapsed and went intoconvulsions. We were fortunate the vet sclinic is very close to our home and eventhough it was after 10:00 pm on a Sundaynight, our vet was at the clinic tending to ahorse. We waited while Bob, then 4 yearsold, was examined fearing that he had heatstoke. The vet told us she did not think itwas heat related and after running testscould not determine a specific cause.

3 Sometimes dogs just have a one timeseizure and other times it reoccurs, all youcan do is watch him and call me if ithappens again . It did and that was thebeginning of our life with an Epileptic dog. WWhhaatt EEppiilleeppssyy iiss::An electrical storm whichoccurs in the brain when there is an over orunder firing of nerve-signal cells within thebrain. Seizures are a result of muscleresponses to this abnormal chaos of nerve-signal bursts. It can be caused by manyfactors and affects many breeds. TheGolden retriever is among the breedstypically suspected as having a possiblegenetic link.

4 It is also becoming morecommon in mixed breeds as well. The ageof onset of the seizures can sometime givea clue as to the cause:Less Than 1 Year of Age:Genetic links, birthdefects such as Hydrocephalus (water onthe brain), inflammatory diseases such ascanine distemper, parasitic, bacterial, orfungal infections, metabolic problems suchas hypoglycemia or diabetes, autoimmunethyroiditis, electrolyte disorders, andtrauma as a result of an acute injury or 11-55 YYeeaarrss ooff AAggee::Inflammatorydiseases as listed above, metabolic such asthyroid dysfunction, portosystmeic shunt,hypoglycemia, diabetes, electrolytedisorders, toxic exposure and/or sensitivityto lead and chemicals, drug & vaccinesensitivity, and trauma as listed YYeeaarrss ooff AAggee oorr OOllddeerr.

5 Immunemediated infections, vascular conditionssuch as blood clots, high blood pressure,spasms of the blood vessels themselves,stroke, metabolic causes as listed above,toxic exposure and chemical sensitivity,brain tumor, as well as traumatic injury or accident. There are tests that should be done to ruleout secondary factors before a diagnosis ofinherited (primary) Epilepsy are made:!Blood tests to check for lead poisoning,toxins or infectious antibodies present inthe blood. !Glucose tolerance test to check forhypoglycemia.

6 !Thyroid panel to check forhypothyroidism or low thyroid function(while it is not believed to be a direct linkof low thyroid function to Epilepsy arecent study did show that out of 634dogs tested 77% of the dogs that testedas hypothyroid also had seizures).*seeAugust 2002 edition of Gold Ribbon Gazettefor Monique's article on thyroid problems inGolden Retrievers .!Cerebrospinal fluid analysis to check forencephalitis, distemper or otherinfection.!CT scan or MRI to check for a brain lesionor a cause cannot be established aftertesting it is classified as Idiopathic Epilepsyalso called primary, inherited, or genetic.

7 Itis the most common diagnosis of epilepsyin dogs today. If the seizures occurfrequently medication is usually is some controversy in prescribingAED s (anti- Epilepsy drugs). One school ofthought is drugs should not be prescribeduntil the seizures become frequent or occurin clusters (more than 3 seizures within a 24hour period) due to the possible side2 GGoolldd RRiibbbboonn GGaazzeettttee NNoovveemmbbeerr 22000022 Gold Ribbon RescuePO Box 956 Austin, TX 78767-0956 Non-Profit 501(c)(3)Contact us 24-Hour Hotline:(512) of Directors:Maura Phelan, Monique Lenczycki, Katie Harris, Tim Tierney, Beth Freeman-Hoesman, David Mills, Laura ReedExecutive Advisors.

8 Lacy Browning, Sharon Mills, Cindy Moss, Linda WillardExecutive Director:Monique LenczyckiAdoption Director:Dana DeVoeIntake Director:Kathy BurtonFoster Director:Kristy KesslerHotline Coordinator:Becky LaBrumEvent Director:Sharon MillsBoutique Coordinators:Sandy Nordstrom, Jody Branson,Jane ParkeFoster Coordinators:Katie Harris, Kelly Hay, Beth Freeman-HoesmanNewsletter Editor:Brenda Forsythe GGRRRR HHeeaalltthhCCaanniinnee EEppiilleeppssyy IInn GGoollddeenn RReettrriieevveerrsseffects to liver functions. The other schoolof thought is to prescribe an AED if seizuresreoccur soon after the first one to helpprevent what is referred to as mirroring inthe brain.

9 Mirroring is the theory thatseizures which start on only one side of thebrain can in time mirror themselves onthe other side of the brain and thereforeincrease the frequency of the seizures. This may be why some dogs are more easilycontrolled with the use of drugs than others. There are two anti- Epilepsy medicationscommonly used to control Canine , used to be the mostcommon first line AED. It is a strong,addictive sedative which is processedthough the liver (dogs on PB should haveblood tests to check liver function on aregular basis as recommended by theirveterinarian).

10 Side effects of PB can includeincreased hunger, thirst, drowsiness, andhindquarter weakness. These side effectsusually diminish after the dog has been onthe medication for a period of is often effective in reducingthe number and/or the intensity of theseizures. Dosage is based on weight andadjusted as needed. Reducing or stoppingthe administration of Phenobarbital shouldonly be done under the supervision of aveterinarian as severe seizures can result ifmedication is suddenly stopped or reducedtoo or Sodium Bromide is used as asedative itself and often in conjunction withPhenobarbital.