Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Activity levels and sleep in dogs treated for epilepsy compared
By Barry, Megan et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2021·Department of Medical Sciences, United States·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Daytime and nocturnal activity in treated dogs with idiopathic epilepsy compared to matched unaffected controls.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with idiopathic epilepsy (IE) on antiepileptic drugs (AEDs) showed lower activity levels compared to healthy dogs. Specifically, those treated with a combination of phenobarbital and potassium bromide (KBr) had an average decrease in activity of 28%. While their sleep quality didn't seem to differ from the control dogs, higher doses of KBr were linked to lower sleep scores. This suggests that while AEDs can help manage seizures, they may also make dogs less active, especially with certain medications.
People also search for: dog epilepsy treatment · potassium bromide side effects · why is my dog so tired on medication
Abstract
BACKGROUND: In dogs, antiepileptic drugs (AED) cause lethargy but quantitative data regarding the effects of AED on activity levels are not available, and little is known about how AEDs affect sleep quality. OBJECTIVE: To quantitatively compare activity levels and nocturnal activity in dogs previously diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy (IE) receiving AEDs compared to age- and breed-matched control dogs. ANIMALS: Sixty-two dogs with IE and 310 control dogs. METHODS: This is a 3-month prospective parallel observational study. An activity monitoring device for dogs was used to measure daily activity levels and sleep scores in all dogs. RESULTS: Dogs with IE treated with AEDs had an 18% average lower baseline activity level compared to control dogs (P = .005; point estimate = 0.82, 95% confidence interval [CI], 0.75-0.90). The combination of phenobarbital and potassium bromide (KBr) was associated with an average 28% decrease in activity in dogs with IE compared to control dogs (P = .03; point estimate = 0.72; CI, 0.62-0.82). Mean sleep scores were not significantly different in dogs with IE receiving AEDs compared to control dogs (P = .43). However, higher dosages of KBr were associated with lower sleep scores (P = .01). CONCLUSIONS: Dogs with IE receiving AEDs have lower activity levels, but no difference in sleep scores, compared to controls. The combination of phenobarbital and KBr had the largest decrease in activity between groups. Higher doses of KBr may affect nocturnal activity in epileptic dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34223667/