Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
High-dose DHA added to treatment for dogs with epilepsy
By Yonezawa, Tomohiro et al.·Published in Open veterinary journal·2023·Department of Veterinary Medical Sciences, Japan·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Effects of high-dose docosahexaenoic acid supplementation as an add-on therapy for canine idiopathic epilepsy: A pilot study.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of six dogs with idiopathic epilepsy (a type of epilepsy with no known cause) were given high doses of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA), an omega-3 fatty acid, as an additional treatment alongside their regular medications. These dogs had been experiencing between 5 to 45 seizures a month before starting the DHA. Within 2 to 3 months, all the dogs showed a significant reduction in seizure frequency, with some experiencing only 0 to 1 seizure per month after 5 to 6 months. The dogs tolerated the treatment well, with no noticeable side effects.
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Abstract
BACKGROUND: The anti-epileptic effects of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) in dogs and humans remain controversial. The dosage and efficacy of DHA were various in the previous reports. AIM: The effects of high-dose DHA supplementation as add-on therapy for idiopathic epilepsy in dogs were evaluated. METHODS: An open-label clinical trial was designed in this pilot study. Six dogs (median age: 6 years) with idiopathic epilepsy were included. All the patients were diagnosed with idiopathic epilepsy using magnetic MRI and cerebrospinal fluid examination (median: 2.0 years before the trial). They had 5-45 seizures and/or auras (median: 9.0) in the month before starting DHA supplementation. DHA was adjunctively administered at doses of 69-166 mg/kg/day without changing other prescriptions. RESULTS: Four of the six patients completed the 6-month observation period. All the patients showed a decrease in seizure frequency of 50% or more within 2-3 months after the start of the administration, and three patients decreased to a frequency of 0-1 per month after 5-6 months. No clear adverse events were observed in the general condition or blood test results in any patients. CONCLUSION: Although the sample size was small and the study was not a randomized controlled trial, the data suggest that add-on supplementation of DHA could be useful in reducing the frequency of seizures in canine idiopathic epilepsy.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37614731/