Treatment hope for dogs with epilepsy
A groundbreaking, first-of-its-kind clinical trial in dogs could offer new hope for pets and their owners impacted by canine epilepsy.
Led by researchers at the University’s Small Animal Hospital in collaboration with the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland, the trial hopes to successfully treat dogs with severe epilepsy with a new medication, Ant-134.
So far, results from the trial have been encouraging, with some of the dogs experiencing a reduction of symptoms and an improved quality of life.
Canine epilepsy is the most common neurological disorder in dogs, causing debilitating and life-changing symptoms for both dogs and their owners. The condition affects just under 1% of all dogs in the UK, estimated to be around 1 in 130 dogs.
In most cases canine epilepsy is a lifelong disease, and while some cases can be managed with medication, other animals respond less well to treatments, or not at all.
The trial will use a new medication, never used in dogs or humans, to help treat some of the sickest dogs with epilepsy. To do this, the clinical trial team are trialling the drug Ant-134 to ‘silence’ a molecule called miRNA-134, known to be implicated in epilepsy. Silencing miRNA-134 is thought to produce neuroprotective effects in the brain, suppressing epileptic seizures and controlling the condition. Initial results in mice have showed long-lasting seizure control with no side effects.
The trial is led by Dr Rodrigo Gutierrez Quintana, Senior Veterinary Clinician in Small Animal Neurology: “Some dogs suffering from canine epilepsy can be very difficult to treat, affecting the dog’s quality of life and causing distress and frustration for owners and veterinarians. We are still in an early phase of the trial, but so far we have observed very good responses in some of the dogs treated.”