Abstract
Dogs with epilepsy are among the commonest neurological patients in veterinary practice and therefore have historically attracted much attention with regard to definitions, clinical approach and management. A number of classification proposals for canine epilepsy have been published during the years reflecting always in parts the current proposals coming from the human epilepsy organisation the International League Against Epilepsy (ILAE). It has however not been possible to gain agreed consensus, “a common language”, for the classification and terminology used between veterinary and human neurologists and neuroscientists, practitioners, neuropharmacologists and neuropathologists. This has led to an unfortunate situation where different veterinary publications and textbook chapters on epilepsy merely reflect individual author preferences with respect to terminology, which can be confusing to the readers and influence the definition and diagnosis of epilepsy in first line practice and research studies.In this document the International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force (IVETF) discusses current understanding of canine epilepsy and presents our 2015 proposal for terminology and classification of epilepsy and epileptic seizures. We propose a classification system which reflects new thoughts from the human ILAE but also roots in former well accepted terminology. We think that this classification system can be used by all stakeholders.
Highlights
Epilepsy is a complex brain disease where sudden and abnormal activity in neuronal networks causes the prominent clinical sign of seizures characterised by motor, autonomic and/or behavioural features
The mechanisms behind companion animal epilepsy are largely uncovered, it is clear that epilepsy in some purebred dogs is a direct result of a genetic defect, where seizures are the core clinical sign of disease
A high epilepsy prevalence in a specific breed or the accumulation of epileptic individuals within specific dog families are strong indicators of inherited epilepsy, but often it is unknown if genetic defects are the sole cause of the epilepsy or if the epilepsy might arise from multifactorial causal influences including environmental, developmental, provoking and genetic factors, and similar issues apply to human cases [5]
Summary
Epilepsy is a complex brain disease where sudden and abnormal activity in neuronal networks causes the prominent clinical sign of seizures characterised by motor, autonomic and/or behavioural features. The seizure will start with regional motor, autonomic and/or behavioural signs and rapidly be followed by a convulsive stage with bilateral tonic, clonic or tonicclonic activity and loss of consciousness This is the most common seizure type observed in the dog. 2.0 Epileptic seizure Manifestation(s) of excessive synchronous, usually self-limiting epileptic activity of neurons in the brain This results in a transient occurrence of signs which may be characterized by short episodes with convulsions or focal motor, autonomic or behavioural features and due to abnormal excessive or synchronous epileptic neuronal activity in the brain. 4.0 Modifiers and descriptors of epileptic seizure timing The following terms are listed in the form (adjective, noun, verb) according to principal usage; as adjective unless specified
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