Canine epilepsy is a mysterious disease.

Vizsla saved, Marzipan also participates in this thread. I will never forget my first shift! At the age of two, without any sign, he suddenly collapsed in the elevator, his entire body trembling, unconscious and filthy beneath. Having experienced the first shock, I immediately looked for a doctor who specialized in this disease. Based on the recommendations of our doctor, and several dog acquaintances and from different groups, I decided to become a doctor at Clapka Veterinary Center, Dr. Catalin Hermandy Berinch next to. The doctor already had a specialization in internal medicine and neuroscience at the university. After graduation he began dealing with epilepsy in dogs and cats. These cases still play a prominent role in his practice today.

My conversation partner is Dr. Catalin Hermandy Berenice, MD, at Clapka Veterinary Center.

– What is epilepsy?

Brain diseases. By definition: occasional symptoms that occur from time to time have an approximately similar course. Between two episodes, the animal is asymptomatic and has no cause.
The brain consists of several layers, inside of which there are neurons in the gray matter. Neurons constantly transmit electrical signals. This is how every living creature works, they control us. They help us speak, point, eat, sleep, etc. Everything is controlled by our brain. There is a continuous transmission of the electrical signal. In an epileptic seizure, the neurons develop abnormal function and begin to produce secretions, emitting larger and stronger electrical signals, and this disruption would be the seizure itself.

“Is this seen as a fireworks display in the animal’s head?”

In fact, yes, the excess electrical signals can be thought of as a shock-like electrical discharge.

– How, what can she do?

Of three things:

• It may be due to an internal medicine disease. (Liver disease, ion abnormalities, kidney problems, etc. can indirectly lead to such excretions.)
• There may be a structural change in the brain. (such as brain tumors, stroke, congenital malformations, encephalitis)
• Respectively, the most well-known and most common cause is congenital epilepsy. When a human or animal is born and its nerve cells do not function properly. In this case, due to a functional malfunction, they automatically turn on from time to time and discharge for no specific reason. The latter is usually hereditary.

At what age does this usually happen?

People with a history of hereditary epilepsy usually have a first seizure between the ages of 0.5 and 6 years.
In the case of structural abnormalities caused by brain tumors and strokes, in the elderly, it is usually more than 6-8 years.
In a developmental disorder, seizures can occur at a very young age, under the age of 0.5.
In the case of internal medicine, it can develop at any age.

– What are your symptoms?

In epileptic seizures, we see episodic symptoms that take many forms. It can have a variety of manifestations.
Looking at large gatherings called Focal seizures and generalized seizures. (The latter is also referred to as a Grand Mal forfeiture or GM forfeiture. – Author’s note.)
focal seizures – We always watch episodes that happen in the same way, but the animal is with you during the attack, and there is no loss of consciousness. You can even interact with your environment. Some even carry out instructions while doing something that does not suit them.
The generalized seizure And the typical Nuba that everyone imagines. There is a loss of consciousness, they are in a lateral or dorsal position, peeing, there is pee of feces, and their mouth is foaming.

What are the possible symptoms of a focal attack? What is the model?

The abnormal secretions affect a group of nerve cells smaller than the focal seizures. (In the case of a general seizure, all neurons are affected. There will also be loss of consciousness.) The onset of the seizure depends on which part of the brain is affected. There are times when there are movement-related symptoms, muscle stiffness, restricted gait, or freezing in posture due to muscle spasms – these are frontal lobe attacks.
Temporal lobe attacks often involve disorientation or verbal automation. It is as if the animal is licking the ice cream and swallowing and moaning. It may seem as if the animal is turned off, not reacting to the outside world at all, just staring at itself or hallucinating.

Are the different types of seizures concomitant or distinct? So if you have a focal seizure, can a generalized epileptic seizure be expected and vice versa?

– decent. There are times when the animal has only focal seizures. It is such that he has only generalized and exclusive seizures. On the other hand, a focal attack, if it lasts too long and comes back frequently, may generalize over time without treatment and go into a major attack.
Or there are times when epilepsy first appears as a focal seizure, then becomes generalized and persists as a genetically modified epileptic seizure.

– What about foreground effects? It can lead to a seizure, what is your experience?

“Literature has also written about it, and my own experience is that fronts can be quite worrisome. Of course, not all patients sensitive forehead, But there are many places where the owner has noticed that if there is a cold or warm front, possibly a double front, or a change in air pressure, his pet is causing a seizure. There is also one in which we can relate to the change of season that the patient has more seizures.

“Is there anything special about animal invasion?”

– It’s totally mixed up. Although I don’t keep statistics about it in my own practice.

Is there a high degree of stress that causes an epileptic seizure?

– Based on current literature data and my own experience, I do not know that stress causes an animal to develop epilepsy. In dogs, it is If the patient has epilepsy mainly, there are those who have a seizure due to stressBut for them, stress is not the cause, it’s the underlying disease

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Follow!

Thanks to Dr. Catalin Hermandy Berenice for the conversation!
Ask the doctor from the Clapka Veterinary Center in Bodaksee.
You can read more interesting and useful information on the topic on the Facebook page he created: https://www.facebook.com/epilepsy examination