Abstract
BackgroundEpilepsy in the cat is a serious medical condition. To date there are no licensed treatments for feline epilepsy and no well-controlled clinical studies on the efficacy or safety of antiepileptic drugs in cats. The aim of this study was to collect tolerability data and first exploratory efficacy data of imepitoin in both healthy and epileptic cats.ResultsIn two tolerability studies, 30 healthy cats received imepition twice daily in doses of 0, 30, 40 or 80 mg/kg bodyweight for 30 days. No serious adverse events were observed in any of the dose groups. In the imepitoin treated groups, emesis was observed in some animals temporarily and intermittently mainly in the second and third weeks of treatment.In a small, single-arm, open label, uncontrolled clinical trial eight cats suffering from idiopathic epilepsy were treated with imepitoin twice daily at doses of 30 mg/kg bodyweight for 30 days. Four of these cats (50%) achieved seizure freedom for at least 8 weeks under treatment. Adverse events, mostly lethargy, decreased appetite and emesis, were often mild and transient.ConclusionIn summary, imepitoin was well tolerated in healthy and epileptic cats and showed in a pilot trial indication for efficacy in treating feline epilepsy.
Highlights
Epilepsy in the cat is a serious medical condition
Appropriate treatment can be especially difficult in cats since to date there are no licensed treatments for feline epilepsy and no well-controlled clinical studies on the efficacy or safety of antiepileptic drugs in cats [3]
Imepitoin was well tolerated by healthy cats No serious adverse events were observed in any of the dose groups
Summary
To date there are no licensed treatments for feline epilepsy and no well-controlled clinical studies on the efficacy or safety of antiepileptic drugs in cats. Appropriate treatment can be especially difficult in cats since to date there are no licensed treatments for feline epilepsy and no well-controlled clinical studies on the efficacy or safety of antiepileptic drugs in cats [3]. Benzodiazepine-like agents act through positive allosteric modulation of gamma-aminobutyric acidA (GABAA) receptors, potentiating the inhibitory effects of GABA in inducing Cl− currents, leading to hyperpolarisation of neurons and inhibitory effects on transmission [5] Benzodiazepines such as diazepam or clonazepam are considered highly efficacious in treating many forms of epilepsy. These benzodiazepines act as full agonists of GABAA receptors, and long-term treatment is associated with loss of efficacy (tolerance) and development of physical dependence in both dogs and humans [6, 7]
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
