Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
High-field MRI results in epileptic dogs with normal exams
By Phillipps, Stephanie & Goncalves, Rita·Published in Frontiers in veterinary science·2024·Small Animal Teaching Hospital, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: High-field MRI findings in epileptic dogs with a normal inter-ictal neurological examination.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A 5-year-old Border Collie was experiencing seizures but had a normal neurological exam between episodes. After ruling out other causes, the dog underwent a high-field MRI, which revealed that only a small percentage of dogs with similar symptoms had structural issues in the brain. In this case, the MRI showed no significant abnormalities, indicating that the seizures might not be due to a structural problem. Most dogs with epilepsy and normal exams do not have underlying brain issues, but older dogs are at a higher risk for such findings.
People also search for: dog seizures causes · Border Collie epilepsy treatment · MRI for dog seizures · why is my dog having seizures · dog epilepsy management
Abstract
INTRODUCTION: Epilepsy is one of the most common chronic neurological conditions affecting dogs. Previous research exploring the likelihood of a structural cause of epilepsy specifically in dogs with a normal inter-ictal examination is limited to a small population of dogs using low-field MRI. The aims of this study were to establish high-field (1.0T and 1.5T) MRI findings in dogs presenting with epileptic seizures and a normal inter-ictal examination. METHODS: Medical records were retrospectively searched for dogs presenting with at least two epileptic seizure events more than 24 h apart. To be included in the study, patients had to have a normal neurological examination, high-field MRI of the brain and have had metabolic and toxic causes excluded. RESULTS: Four hundred and twelve dogs were eligible for inclusion. Crossbreeds were most commonly affected ( = 63, 15.3%) followed by Border collies ( = 39, 9.5%) and Labrador retrievers ( = 26, 6.3%). Seventy-six dogs (18.5%) had abnormalities detected on MRI, 60 (78.9%) of which were considered to be incidental. Overall, 16 dogs (3.9%) had a structural cause of their epileptic seizures including neoplasia ( = 13, 81.3%), anomalous ( = 2, 12.5%) and meningoencephalitis of unknown origin (MUO) ( = 1, 6.3%). When split into age group at first epileptic seizure structural lesions were documented in 0/66 dogs aged <1 year, 4/256 (1.6%) dogs aged ≥1 year ≤6 years (three neoplastic and one anomalous), 3/51 (5.9%) aged >6 years ≤8 years (two neoplastic and one MUO), and 9/39 (23.1%) dogs aged >8 years (eight neoplastic, one anomalous). Multivariate analysis identified two risk factors for structural disease: increasing age at first epileptic seizure ( < 0.001, OR = 4.390, CI 2.338-8.072) and a history of status epilepticus ( = 0.049, OR = 4.389, CI 1.010-19.078). DISCUSSION: Structural lesions are an uncommon cause of epilepsy at any age in dogs with a normal inter-ictal examination.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39881720/