Canine versus human epilepsy: are we up to date?

Area of Science:

• Veterinary Neurology
• Comparative Medicine

Background:

• Epilepsy affects both dogs (0.5-5.7% prevalence) and humans (1-3% prevalence).
• Human epilepsy research offers valuable frameworks for veterinary diagnosis and treatment.
• Current canine epilepsy understanding is limited by insufficient seizure description and classification, primarily due to a lack of electroencephalography (EEG)-video recordings.

Purpose of the Study:

• To compare features of canine and human epilepsy.
• To propose new tools for enhanced understanding of canine epilepsy.
• To establish a consensus protocol for ambulatory home video-recording in dogs with epilepsy.

Main Methods:

• Comparative analysis of human and canine epilepsy features.
• Review of existing human epilepsy classification and diagnostic standards.
• Proposal for a consensus protocol for home video-recording, including indications, monitoring duration, interpretation training, and methodology.

Main Results:

• Canine epilepsy prevalence is comparable to human rates.
• Human epilepsy studies provide a model for veterinary epilepsy classification and diagnosis.
• A significant need exists for standardized seizure description and classification in canine epilepsy.

Conclusions:

• Standardized home video-recording protocols are crucial for advancing canine epilepsy research.
• Detailed seizure analysis from video recordings will enable better pattern recognition.
• The ultimate goal is to improve the understanding and classification of canine epileptic seizures.