Selected highlights from other journals: Audiogenic reflex seizures in cats
- Autores: M. Lowrie, C. Bessant, R.C. Harvey, Andy H. Sparkes, L. Garosi
- Localización: Veterinary Record, ISSN-e 2042-7670, Vol. 176, Nº. 22, 2015, págs. 575-575
- Idioma: inglés
- Enlaces
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Resumen
REFLEX seizures are consistently precipitated by an external or internal stimulus. They differ from spontaneous epileptic seizures, in which precipitating factors cannot be identified. Audiogenic seizures are predominantly induced by sounds. This study aimed to better define feline audiogenic reflex seizures (FARS).
Letters were published in Veterinary Record, other press outlets and on the internet asking for veterinarians and owners to contact the authors if they knew of a case of audiogenic seizures in a cat. Owners were asked to describe the seizure, and, if it appeared to have been an audiogenic seizure, they were sent a questionnaire. Vets were asked to submit a full medical history for relevant cases.
Ninety-six cases were included in the final analysis. The mean age at which seizures first began was 15 years. All of the reported seizures occurred after the cats heard a noise and all of the triggering sounds were high-pitched. The sounds that triggered seizures were reported not to have caused seizures in the past and in one-third of the cats the sounds did not always cause seizures after the seizures had begun. In three-quarters of the cats, avoiding the triggering noises stopped the seizures from happening, but several of the owners said that the nature of the sounds made it difficult to completely stop their cats being exposed to them. Twenty-three per cent of owners said that the loudness of the sound increased the severity of the seizures. All cats had experienced generalised tonic-clonic seizures, with urination occurring in 74 and salivation in 83. Ninety of the cats had also showed signs of myoclonic jerks. Forty-four cats were treated for the seizures. Fifteen were given phenobarbital and 29 levetiracetam. Eleven of the 15 cats on phenobarbital were reported to have no change in the frequency of seizures. Levetiracetam was reported to provide good control for generalised tonic-clonic seizures in 20 of 29 cats and for myoclonic seizures in 27 of the 29 cats....
