Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Movement disorders during sleep in cats and dogs.
- Journal:
- Journal of the American Veterinary Medical Association
- Year:
- 1989
- Authors:
- Hendricks, J C et al.
- Affiliation:
- School of Veterinary Medicine · United States
Plain-English summary
Researchers looked at sleep movement disorders in five cats and three dogs. They found that all the animals showed unusual movements during sleep, which were confirmed through monitoring. In three of the pets, the movements were linked to central nervous system (CNS) disease, while the cause remained unknown in the other five, although two had thyroid tumors found after they passed away. Many medications didn’t help, but a tranquilizer called clonazepam showed promise in reducing violent movements during a specific sleep phase. Overall, the treatment with clonazepam appears to be a potentially effective option for managing these sleep disorders.
Abstract
Spontaneous sleep movement disorders in 5 cats and 3 dogs were studied. Objective abnormalities during sleep were confirmed by electrographic or behavioral monitoring techniques in all animals. The cause of the disorder was CNS disease in 3 animals. A cause was not discovered in the other 5 animals, although at necropsy, 2 were found to have thyroid tumors. Many pharmacologic treatments were ineffectual, but trials with the benzodiazepine tranquilizer, clonazepam, suggested it will prove useful in controlling violent movements during rapid-eye-movement sleep.
Find similar cases for your pet
PetCaseFinder finds other peer-reviewed reports of pets with the same symptoms, plus a plain-English summary of what was tried across them.
Search related cases →Original publication: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/2925485/