Epilepsy in Dogs Epilepsy in dogs is much more common than people think. Some people may think that epilepsy only affects people. Well, anybody can develop epilepsy, whether it be a person or an animal. We all have a brain, and that means we all can develop this neurological disorder. Some animals may have this disorder from a genetic defect or may develop it later in life in an accident. Epilepsy is much more dangerous for dogs than it is for humans. People have recorded a lot more deaths in dogs than in people. Dogs that have epilepsy can be very devastating to the owner, especially if they are witnessing this for the first time. Sometimes, the veterinarian can control the seizures by prescribing medicine, …show more content…
There have also been cases of non-epileptic seizures in dogs. This, however, is less common and frequent. “The researchers recorded about 13 cases" according to Canine Epilepsy. Some dogs have both epileptic and non-epileptic seizures. There have been some studies done at big hospitals showing what the dog goes through when the seizures occur. According to the Kennel Club, "Epilepsy is a chronic condition that causes repeated seizures (which may be described by terms such as 'fits' or 'funny turns'), and is the most common chronic (long term) neurological disorder in dogs, affecting an estimated 0.6-0.7% of all dogs in the UK alone (around 1 in 130 dogs)". Many cases of this neurological disorder in dogs go undetected. This disorder can be disturbing for most people to see in their beloved pet. This disease is usually lifelong for them. We might as well help them get their quality of life back while we have the chance. Some breeds are more susceptible to this disease than others by how their structure and how their genes are. In many breeds, this disease is hereditary and are both predisposed and have a higher prevalence from
Partial seizures are also sometimes called local or focal seizures. They take place in one hemisphere of the brain. There are two subcategories of partial seizures including simple partial and complex partial.
An earlier study also confirmed that though quite rare, canines also suffered from neurological diseases parallel to human Alzheimer’s and provided and accurate portrayal of their human counterparts in terms of cellular degeneration and areas affected by the disease. (Barsoum, Callahan, Robinson & Chang 2000). This study also notes that the common body sizes and physiology between canines and humans is significant enough to use canines in an attempt to stand in for a human subject. They also list some of the diseases that present in Canines and mimick human forms such as Genetic Neuronal Ceroid Lipofuscinosis (compared to human seizures), Hereditary Canine Spinal Muscular Atrophy (similar to Human muscle atrophy), Mucopolysaccharidosis and MPS 1 (similar to the human presentation of the same disease).
Epilepsy is due to an upset in brain chemistry, which means that the messages that travel between nerve cells or neurons become scrambled. Because of this, the activity of neurons is disturbed and results in a seizure or loss of consciousness. Many types of seizure can occur and epilepsy can affect anyone at any age.
Epilepsy is a brain disorder in which individuals have recurrent seizures. Seizures can occur in children and adults of any age. There are around 50 million people in the world who has the disorder. Individuals in developing countries are at a higher risk for developing the disorder. Seizures occur due to hyper-excitability and hyper-synchronization of neurons. Action potential transmits messages and it leads to depolarization. When neurons are uncontrollably depolarizes because of hyper-excitability due to too little inhibition, it cause a seizure. Seizures can last from a few seconds to a few minutes. As spontaneously they can develop is also as fast and spontaneous they can end.
When many people think of epilepsy they think of someone falling on the ground shaking and jerking uncontrollably and the thought makes them uncomfortable. Some believe bystanders should put a wooden spoon in the mouth of the one having a seizure and hold them down. These are both misconceptions. Most people think that epilepsy and seizures are the same, this information is also incorrect. Epilepsy is an often misinterpreted disorder. To better understand the disorder and the lives of people with Ep more information and education is needed.
Seizures occur when abnormal signals from the brain and changes the way the body functions. Many people have seizures but they have different effects on them. Some people have a little shaking of their hands and do not lose consciousness, while others have a lot of shaking and do lose consciousness. While seizures have a range of life changing effects for adults, more needs to be focus on children.
Seizure disorders, according to the Mayo Clinic (2015), affect approximately 1 in 26 people in the United States. Persistent, or chronic, seizures result from a condition called epilepsy, a neurological disorder of the central nervous system. It can affect anyone regardless of age, but is more common during early childhood and after age 60. Given the number of people that seizure disorders, such as epilepsy, affect, it becomes helpful to gain a foundational understanding of the disease, including some of the causes, symptoms, and treatments available.
Epilepsy means reoccurring seizures. Seizures may happen as a one-time occasion in a canine from an assortment of causes, however just if the seizures reoccur over and over a timeframe do we call it epilepsy. Seizures are an indication of brain disease the same way a hack is an indication of lung infection. Saying a canine has epilepsy resembles saying it has a constant hack; it is an indication of an issue which is not leaving. Anything which harms the brain in the right region can bring about epilepsy. In the event that we can distinguish the reason for the seizures, say a cerebrum tumor or a stroke, then we say the pet has symptomatic epilepsy. That is, the seizures are a side effect of an illness handle we've possessed the capacity to distinguish.
A dog’s ability to predict an episode is also something profound. In fact, some have been able to predict incidents 6 to 24 hours in advance. In Gregory L. Krauss journal, “Pseudo seizure dogs” A study involved six patients with seizure response dogs. Four of the six experienced PNES while the other two patients had epilepsy. After the article went to press, they saw three additional patients with seizure response dogs – of whom two had PNES and one had epilepsy. They further cited one study in which a patient was “alerted by his dog 7 minutes prior to having psychogenic seizures.” (Neurology 2007; 68:308-309). In Melissa Fay Greene’s “Wonder Dog” article, published on the New York Times, Greene reports on Donnie Kanter Winokur and her husband,
Those seizures affect the whole body and brain of the patient, and are much more serious than partial or focal seizure, which only affects one muscle or one part of the body,
People uneducated about Epilepsy may have confused thoughts on what it really is. People have these "notions," which are partly or entirely not true. So, throughout this research paper, these notions will be proven untrue, mostly by factual information given by
In This Article review I will be talking about how dogs can be used as a treatment for many medical conditions. In “How Dogs Can Help Veterans Overcome PTSD” by Chris Colin and “Therapy Dogs Help Students De-Stress” by Jen Christensen they both talk about how dogs can reduce stress and anxiety. “Medical Detection Dogs Train Animals To ‘sniff out’ breast cancer” and “ Pets may help reduce your risk of heart disease” both say that dogs can be used to detect medical conditions like cancer and heart disease. In “Can Dogs Sense Seizures and Heart Attacks?” and “Seizure-Alert Dogs Save Humans With Early Warnings” similarly they say that dogs are nowadays used to detect when a seizure is coming soon. Dogs can be used in many ways as an alternate treatment.
Epilepsy, also called seizure disorder, chronic brain disorder that briefly interrupts the normal electrical activity of the brain to cause seizures, characterized by a variety of symptoms including uncontrolled movements of the body, disorientation or confusion, sudden fear, or loss of consciousness. Epilepsy may result from a head injury, stroke, brain tumor, lead poisoning, genetic conditions, or severe infections like meningitis or encephalitis. In over 70 percent of cases no cause for epilepsy were identified. About 1 percent of the world population, or over 2 million people, are diagnosed with epilepsy.
Epilepsy can happen to anyone of any age. The largest(47%) percent of people, developing epilepsy for the first time, being children from birth to nine years of age. The next largest age group would be ten year olds to ninteen year olds at 30%. The least amount of first time seizures comes from the forty plus age group. (According to EFA publications) Over 2.5 million people suffer from epilepsy. The international league against epilepsy describes a seizure as an alternative term for "epileptic attack". Seizures vary in there length and severity. A "tonic-clonic" seizure can last for one to seven minutes. " Absence seizures usually last for a few seconds. However, complex partial seizure" may last for thirty seconds or two
Epilepsy is a condition in which a person has two or more seizures affecting a variety of mental and physical functions. Epilepsy is one of the oldest conditions of the human race. Epilepsy Awareness is important because Epilepsy is a widely misunderstood disorder. The reason that Epilepsy has been misunderstood has been mainly due to research not being conducted until the middle of the nineteenth century. There are six main types of seizures and many treatments that can assist an epileptic patient. Many facts and myths exist about a person who has Epilepsy, which, is why it is an important disorder to understand. A person living with Epilepsy can typically have a normal life after seeking medical advice from doctors.