Epilepsy is the most common chronic neurological disease in dogs. Prof. Dr. Andrea Fischer, Head of the Department of Neurology at the Small Animal Clinic at LMU, has initiated the special consultation "Treating epilepsy in dogs and cats". "Living with a pet suffering from epilepsy also changes your own life," explains Prof. Fischer and continues: "I always compare the situation with that of parents who have a child suffering from epilepsy. In this situation, pet owners need a contact person who can help them adjust to the medication and is also available in emergency situations."
Collaboration with epilepsy experts from veterinary and human medicine
We are internationally networked in the International Veterinary Epilepsy Task Force and the Canine Epilepsy and Dyskinesia Consortium. Current research projects aim to collect data on epilepsy and non-epileptic movement disorders (dyskinesias) in dogs in a standardized international manner. To this end, Prof. Fischer and Prof. Lohi from the Canine Genetics Group at the University of Helsinki have jointly designed an international epilepsy and dyskinesia questionnaire, which is available here to any owner of a dog with epilepsy. Our collaborations are also particularly important to us, e.g. with the University of Veterinary Medicine Hanover for current studies and with the Human Epilepsy Network for the description of parallels in the manifestations of epilepsy in dogs and children. The discovery of an epilepsy gene in dogs of the Rhodesian Ridgeback breed was a major research success of the cooperation between our partners in human medicine and genetics. This epilepsy is similar in many aspects to one of the most common epilepsies in children and adolescents, juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. This work was recently awarded a prestigious epilepsy prize in human medicine.
The epilepsy consultation
The consultation is offered to pet owners and vets and is supported by Purina. Depending on the scope of your inquiry and need for advice, our team will decide whether we can clarify this with a short telephone call or whether we can offer you a meeting or an examination appointment.