Diagnosis of partial epilepsy in a goat

A seizure disorder of 4.5 years' duration in a 6-year-old female Nubian goat was diagnosed as partial epilepsy on the basis of history, focal electroencephalogram (EEG) abnormalities, convulsive response to ketamine, and necropsy findings. The goat appeared to maintain consciousness during her seizures. A 1.5-day period of continuous seizures during a pregnancy at age 1.5 years may have resulted in a postanoxic seizure focus responsible for the seizures. A morphologic cause for the seizures was not detected. Two spontaneous seizures and 2 drug-induced seizures were detected during 1 month of observation after donation. The amplitude of the EEG over the left frontocentral cortex was depressed, and periodic bursts of high-frequency interictal spiking were detected over the same site. Acepromazine, intermittent photic stimulation, or ketamine after acepromazine failed to elicit seizures or EEG abnormalities, but ketamine alone (50 mg, IV) twice elicited seizures. Seizure severity appeared to parallel plasma estrogen concentration.