Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Hair mineral and metal levels in dogs with epilepsy versus healthy
By Rosendahl, Sarah et al.·Published in Journal of veterinary internal medicine·2023·Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: Mineral, trace element, and toxic metal concentration in hair from dogs with idiopathic epilepsy compared to healthy controls.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of dogs with idiopathic epilepsy (IE) had their hair tested for levels of various minerals and toxic metals compared to healthy dogs. The results showed that dogs with IE had lower levels of phosphorus and higher levels of copper, zinc, selenium, and arsenic in their hair. These differences were particularly significant in dogs that were receiving treatment for their seizures. The findings suggest that the trace elements in a dog's body might play a role in epilepsy, and that some antiseizure medications could influence these levels.
People also search for: dog epilepsy treatment · why is my dog having seizures · dog hair mineral analysis · copper levels in dogs · phosphorus deficiency in dogs
Abstract
BACKGROUND: Altered trace element status is associated with epilepsy in humans and dogs with idiopathic epilepsy (IE). OBJECTIVES: Compare hair element concentrations in epileptic and healthy dogs. ANIMALS: Sixty-three dogs with IE (53 treated, 10 untreated) and 42 controls. METHODS: Case-control study using ICP-MS to determine hair calcium, magnesium, phosphorus, sodium, potassium, iron, copper, manganese, zinc, selenium, chromium, lead, mercury, cadmium, arsenic, aluminum, and nickel concentration. Groups were compared using nonparametric tests. Results were controlled for diet, sex, age, and hair color using generalized linear mixed models. RESULTS: Compared to healthy controls, dogs with IE had lower hair phosphorus (mean ± SD; IE: 286.19 ± 69.62 μg/g, healthy: 324.52 ± 58.69 μg/g; P = .001), higher hair copper (IE: 10.97 ± 3.51 μg/g, healthy: 8.41 ± 1.27 μg/g; P < .001), zinc (IE: 158.25 ± 19.64 μg/g, healthy: 144.76 ± 32.18 μg/g; P < .001), copper/zinc ratio (IE: 0.07 ± 0.02, healthy: 0.06 ± 0.01; P = .003), selenium (IE: 1.65 ± 0.43 μg/g, healthy: 0.94 ± 0.73 μg/g; P < .001), and arsenic (IE: 0.40 ± 0.78 μg/g, healthy: 0.05 ± 0.08 μg/g; P < .001). When comparing treated and untreated epileptic dogs with healthy dogs, the differences in phosphorus and selenium remained significant for both groups, whereas the differences in copper, zinc, and arsenic were significant only for treated dogs. Potassium bromide treatment was strongly associated with high hair arsenic (P = .000). CONCLUSIONS AND CLINICAL IMPORTANCE: Altered trace element status could be involved in the pathophysiology of IE in dogs. Antiseizure drugs might affect trace element and arsenic metabolism.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/37025060/