Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Cats having complex partial seizures with face twitching
By Pakozdy, Akos et al.·Published in Journal of feline medicine and surgery·2011·Clinic for Internal Medicine and Infectious Diseases·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Complex partial cluster seizures in cats with orofacial involvement.
- Species:
- cat
Plain-English summary
Seventeen cats experienced sudden complex partial seizures, which included symptoms like salivation, facial twitching, and unusual chewing or licking behaviors. In many cases, these seizures were linked to damage in the hippocampus, a part of the brain. Out of the cats that were not euthanized right away, most lived for over a year, and four are still alive with a good quality of life. Treatments with supportive care and anti-seizure medications helped many of these cats improve significantly. This suggests that immediate euthanasia may not be necessary, as the long-term outlook can be quite positive.
People also search for: cat seizures treatment · complex partial seizures in cats · cat salivation and twitching · cat epilepsy prognosis
Abstract
Seventeen cats were presented with acute onset of complex partial seizures with orofacial involvement (salivation, facial twitching, lip smacking, chewing, licking or swallowing), motor arrest (motionless starring) and behavioural changes. In 11 cats hippocampal necrosis (HN) was confirmed by histopathology. In a further six cats hippocampal changes were suggested by magnetic resonance imaging. The mean monitoring time of eight cats which were not euthanased in the acute phase of the disease, was 408 days (60-908): four cats are still alive. In all surviving cases, the owners reported a good quality of life. We conclude that an acute cluster of complex partial seizures with orofacial involvement are often associated with HN and that HN is not necessarily a fatal condition. Supportive and antiepileptic therapy can result in remission. The long-term outcome can be good to excellent; therefore, euthanasia should be avoided in the acute phase of the signs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21795088/