Canine epileptoid cramping

Re: Canine epileptoid cramping

Mair Tyler — Mon, 12 Aug 2013 22:38:00 GMT

Thanks everyone for your suggestions. Unfortunately the dog was put to sleep as the episodes became unmanageable and stressful for the owner too so unfortunately no diagnosis or video either!

Re: Canine epileptoid cramping

Yantha Smyth — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 16:07:51 GMT

I am in the middle of the 'neurology bootcamp' sessions from CPD solutions, and just this morning watched Laurent Garosi's session- it included a section on 'movement disorders' ie dyskenesias/cramping syndromes; his two examples were a border terrier and a CKCS.I got the impression that different things work in different breeds- eg SSRIs in Scottie's, acetazolamide in CKCS, and there was mention of hypoallergenic diet in relation to Border Terrier.

As others have said the best thing is to get hold of a video of the episode to see for yourself. I understand that the neuros at Davies are generally happy for you to email videos to them also for comment.

Good luck!

Re: Canine epileptoid cramping

Michael Woodhouse — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 00:57:18 GMT

A condition that naturally seems to come and go. That episodes may go from frequent to very infrequent. That has been known to spontaneously resolve?

I suspect even homoeopathy may have worked in your example........................

Re: Canine epileptoid cramping

Roger Meacock — Thu, 08 Aug 2013 00:32:52 GMT

[quote user="Michael Woodhouse"]It won't. [/quote]

Sorry to disagree Michael but I don't believe you know the case I'm talking about? Changing to RMB made a difference very quickly and episodes were frequent prior to the diet change and increasingly so. No it's not election time but this is a very rare condition and although the only one I've seen it was 100% successful with no other change introduced.

Re: Canine epileptoid cramping

Mark Lowrie — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 12:18:23 GMT

I suppose there are two things to mention in this case.

Firstly I would see if the owners can obtain video footage for you to observe an episode yourself. I am frequently surprised by how different a video can look compared to an owner’s description. I have seen cases in which their owners believe they may have CECS as they have compared the episodes to online videos of dogs suspected to have the condition but when I finally receive the videos it often looks quite different to CECS. You say the episodes are frequent enough to be affecting QOL so hopefully obtaining video footage shouldn’t be too hard for the owners and certainly worth doing before considering PTS as this test is relatively inexpensive depending on how your practice charges for this.

Secondly, diet. Well there is no scientific peer reviewed evidence but anecdotally we are starting to find a significant proportion of dogs that respond to a change in diet (specifically a hypoallergenic diet). However, I must stress this is anecdotal and the only thing published on this is a non-peer reviewed abstract (based on an owner survey – so anecdotal only) that was presented at the European veterinary Neurology conference in Belgium last year (see abstract below). It is difficult to assess as this disease waxes and wanes so introduction of a new diet may coincide with a period of disease quiescence leading to the false belief of a response. Furthermore, many dogs have infrequent episodes (once or twice a year) making a significant response almost impossible to judge. BUT I stress we must first establish whether this is likely to be CECS using video footage.

If you get a video you could post it here so we can establish whether this owner’s dog looks to be afflicted with CECS.

For those that are interested the reference is: J Vet Intern Med 2013;27:394.

PHENOTYPIC CHARACTERIZATION OF CANINE EPILEPTOID CRAMPING SYNDROME IN THE BORDER TERRIER.

V Black1, L Garosi1, M Lowrie1, RJ Harvey2, J Gale3.

1 Davies Veterinary Specialists, Higham Gobion, UK,

2 UCL School of Pharmacy, London, UK,

3 Hythe, Southampton, UK.

A disorder referred to as canine epileptoid cramping syndrome (CECS) has been observed in Border Terriers (BT). Episodes consist of an inability to stand or walk, involuntary flexion or extension of one or multiple limbs while maintaining consciousness during the episode. An owner-directed survey was conducted to characterize the phenotype and identify possible precipitating factors. BT with at least a 12-month history of episodes of abnormal involuntary hyperkinetic movement or muscle tone, without autonomic signs or loss of consciousness were included on the basis of video recording review of the episodes (15/29) or the owner’s detailed description of the episodes (14/29). Twenty-nine BT met these inclusion criteria. Age of onset ranged from 10 weeks to 7 years of age (mean and median of 3 years). Most affected dogs had their first episode before 3 years of age and there was no sex predisposition. The majority of episodes lasted from 2 to 30 minutes (25/29) [ranging from 30 seconds to 2 ½ hours]. Episodes occurred as often as several per day (16/29) or infrequently with several months or years between episodes.

Overall frequency was very variable between dogs and for a given dog, with the majority of owners (15/29) reporting clusters over a few days interspaced by weeks or months of normality. The majority of owners (18/29) felt that they could predict an episode, with dogs becoming quieter (11/29), seeking to be near owners (6/29), vomiting bile or eating grass (4/29) shortly before onset. None of the owners felt they could stop the episode. The most frequent observations during the episodes were difficulty walking (27/29), mild tremor (21/29) and dystonia (22/29). Episodes affected all four limbs (25/29), head and neck (21/29); with back and abdomen (16/29) and tail (11/29) less frequently involved. Borborygmi were reported in 11/29 dogs. Although the majority of episodes appeared to be totally random (16/29) owners identified waking up from sleep (13/29), excitement (10/29), stress (9/29), hot/cold temperatures (7/29), as precipitating factors. 14/29 dogs were reported to have episodes of vomiting and diarrhoea with half of these being linked to the occurrence of episodes of CECS (7/14). Most owners (26/29) had changed their dog’s diet after a presumptive diagnosis of CECS was made, with over half (14/26) reporting an improvement in frequency of the episode following this. Therapeutic trials with phenobarbitone (5/29), potassium bromide (2/29), diazepam (3/29), and buscopan (3/29) failed in all dogs tested. This survey may provide the basis for candidate gene investigation and for further study of the role of diet and gastro-intestinal involvement for this condition.

Re: Canine epileptoid cramping

Michael Woodhouse — Thu, 01 Aug 2013 00:35:01 GMT

It won't.

Re: Canine epileptoid cramping

Mair Tyler — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 23:34:54 GMT

Thanks I'll send him an email. Didn't realise the food change would make a difference so quickly!

Re: Canine epileptoid cramping

Mair Tyler — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 23:33:51 GMT

What is RMB?!

Re: Canine epileptoid cramping

Michael Woodhouse — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 23:20:54 GMT

Is it election time?

Re: Canine epileptoid cramping

Roger Meacock — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 22:59:35 GMT

I have seen one case. Put it on RMB and it hasn't had any episodes since except for a brief episode when it stole some commercial pet food from another dog's bowl. Simples!

Re: Canine epileptoid cramping

J G Wray — Wed, 31 Jul 2013 22:31:34 GMT

[quote user="Mair Tyler"]

I'd be really grateful for any suggestions on diagnostics and treatment and your stories of whether you've succesfully managed one of these cases before.

[/quote]

I think you could talk to the neurologists at Davies Vet Specialists Laurent Garosi for instance

Anecdote - put the dog on z/d and see what happens within a few days, not my Border, but a colleague's. Others have reported success with renal diets. WHo knows why, but it is in the realms of doing something which can do no harm?

JGW