Grant Amount: $9,569

Dr. Curtis W. Dewey, DVM, Cornell University

February 1, 2007 - July 31, 2008

Sponsor(s): American Belgian Tervuren Club, Inc., Collie Health Foundation, Pyrenean Shepherd Club of America, Welsh Springer Spaniel Club of America

Breed(s): -All Dogs

Disease(s): Epilepsy

Abstract

Epilepsy is a very common and serious disorder of dogs. The standard epileptic drugs phenobarbital and bromide fail to adequately control close to one-third of all epileptic dogs. These dogs are referred to as refractory epileptics. Despite the introduction of several new and effective anticonvulsant drugs for dogs within the last 10-15 years, there are still limited options for treating refractory epilepsy in dogs. One of the ""newer"" anticonvulsant drugs, gabapentin, has shown moderate effectiveness in treating refractory epilepsy in dogs. The ""next generation"" of this drug, a drug called pregabalin, has recently been released for humanuse. In both experimental rodent seizure modela and human clinical trials, pregabalin has been shown to be superior to gabapentin as an anticonvulsant drug. Alghouth the side effects of bagapentin in dogs and people are minimal, they are reportendly less with pregabalin in people. To date, there is no information regarding the use of pregabalin in dogs, other than anecdotal scattered reports of veterinarians ""trying it out"" in canine patients. Pregabalin has the potential to be an effective and safe alternative anticonvulsant drug for dogs with refractory epilepsy. The purpose of the proposed study is to evaluate oral pregablain as an add-on drug in epileptic dogs who are poorly controlled on phenobarbital and/or bromide.