Peer-reviewed veterinary case report
Levetiracetam cuts seizures in drug-resistant epileptic dogs
By Volk, Holger A et al.·Published in Veterinary journal (London, England : 1997)·2008·Department of Veterinary Clinical Sciences, United Kingdom·View original on PubMed →
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Original publication title: The efficacy and tolerability of levetiracetam in pharmacoresistant epileptic dogs.
- Species:
- dog
Plain-English summary
A group of 22 dogs with idiopathic epilepsy that didn’t respond to common medications were treated with levetiracetam, an add-on medication. After two months, 8 out of 14 dogs showed a significant reduction in seizures, with an average drop of 50% in seizure frequency. For those who still had seizures, the dosage was increased, leading to one more dog responding positively. While most dogs tolerated the treatment well, some experienced an increase in seizures after several months. Overall, levetiracetam proved to be a helpful option for managing difficult cases of epilepsy in dogs.
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Abstract
Twenty-two dogs with idiopathic epilepsy which were pharmacoresistant to phenobarbitone and bromide were treated with levetiracetam as an add-on medication. Records of eight dogs were used retrospectively to determine a safe, efficient levetiracetam dosage. Fourteen dogs were entered into a prospective, open label, non-comparative study. After 2 months of levetiracetam oral treatment (10 mg/kg TID), 8/14 dogs responded significantly to the treatment and seizure frequency was reduced by 50%. In dogs that remained refractory, the dosage was increased to 20 mg/kg TID for 2 months. One further dog responded to levetiracetam treatment. Levetiracetam responders had a significant decrease in seizure frequency of 77% (7.9+/-5.2 to 1.8+/-1.7 seizures/month) and a decrease in seizure days per month of 68% (3.8+/-1.7 to 1.2+/-1.1 seizure days/month). However, 6/9 responders experienced an increase in seizure frequency and seizure days after 4-8 months continuing with the levetiracetam treatment at the last effective dosage. Levetiracetam was well tolerated by all dogs and sedation was the only side-effect reported in just one of the 14 dogs.
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Search related cases →Original publication on PubMed: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17468024/