Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Dogs on antiseizure drugs often eat more and gain weight
By Morros-Nuevo, Anna et al.·Published in The Veterinary record·2024·Department of Physiology, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Caregiver-reported increased food motivation and adiposity in dogs receiving antiseizure drugs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with idiopathic epilepsy (a condition causing seizures) that were treated with antiseizure drugs showed increased food motivation and weight gain compared to healthy dogs. Caregivers noticed their pets were more eager to eat and reported struggling to manage their dogs' weight despite trying to restrict food intake. This suggests that while these medications help control seizures, they may also lead to increased appetite and obesity in dogs. It's important for pet owners to monitor their dog's weight and discuss any concerns with their veterinarian.
People also search for: dog epilepsy treatment weight gain · why is my dog always hungry · antiseizure medication side effects in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Idiopathic epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological disease in dogs and requires lifelong administration of antiseizure drugs (ASD). A decreased level of energy and increased food intake and weight gain have been described as long-lasting side effects. METHODS: We assessed food motivation (FM), using the previously validated dog obesity risk assessment questionnaire, in dogs diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy (n = 222) and healthy dogs (n = 7086) to determine if epilepsy and ASD were associated with increased FM and adiposity and decreased activity. We also assessed how caregivers managed weight gain in this population of dogs in the study. RESULTS: Dogs with idiopathic epilepsy receiving ASD had significantly higher FM than healthy dogs. Their carers also reported significantly greater interventional effort and food restriction compared with healthy dogs, yet they had significantly higher adiposity. Minimal modelling showed that within the epileptic group, ASD had the highest impact on FM, with an effect size of 32%. LIMITATIONS: Carer-reported data were used, which could have introduced bias. Furthermore, the sample size did not allow us to distinguish the effect of individual ASD. CONCLUSIONS: ASD increases FM in dogs, resulting in greater adiposity.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39658808/