Published in Scientific Works. Series C. Veterinary Medicine, Vol. LXI
Written by Gabriela-Dumitrița STANCIU, Mihai MUSTEAŢĂ, Gheorghe SOLCAN
The goal of the current study was to evaluate electrophysiological status of primary (EP) and secondary epilepsy (ES) regarding clinical and neurological findings. Other purpose was to analyze the interictal, intraictal and postictal parameters that could help to differentiate between the two types of epilepsy and a description of interictal epileptiform discharges (EDs) for a better understanding of canine epilepsy. Methods - 93 dogs with histories of seizures were referred to the Clinic for Internal Medicine from Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Iași, during the study period. Electrical potentials acquisition was performed using the electroencephalograph Neurofax S, MEB 9400K Nihon Kohden. Before the test, all dogs underwent general anesthesia with medetomidine hydrochloride (Domitor, Pfizer) 30 μg/kg inj. i.m. Stainless steel needle electrodes were subcutaneously placed, in an 8 channel bipolar montage, according to the model Redding and Knecht (1984). Results – In the present study, the neurological examination was suggestive of ES in 70% of cases in ES group, but in EP group clinical and neurological examination were typically unremarkable and postictal behavioural changes were occasionally observed. Interictal electroencephalographic examination of dogs with epilepsy often showed EDs. We found EEG changes that could be considered EDs in 88.88 % from dogs with primary epilepsy and 100% in those with secondary epilepsy. The EEG abnormalities identified were polispikes, spikes, sharp waves and spikes-waves complexes. As the EDs in our epileptic dogs, were often detected, the diagnostic value of the EEG in the work-up appeared to be very high. Conclusion – The clinical and neurological findings are important indicators, but not enough to distinguish between ES and EP. EEG in epileptic dogs seems to have a high sensitivity for detecting EDs in this clinical setting.
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