Eleven dogs diagnosed with refractory idiopathic epilepsy were treated orally with gabapentin for a minimum of three months at an initial dose of 10 mg/kg every eight hours. They were all experiencing episodes of generalised tonic-clonic seizures and had been treated chronically with a combination of phenobarbital and potassium bromide at doses sufficient to reach acceptable therapeutic serum levels without causing significant side effects. In each dog, the number of seizures per week, the average duration of the seizures and the number of days on which seizures occurred were compared for the three months before and after they were treated with gabapentin. A minimum 50 per cent reduction in the number of seizures per week was interpreted as a positive response to gabapentin, and six of the dogs showed a positive response. After the addition of gabapentin, both the number of seizures per week (P= 0·005) and the number of days with any seizures in a one-week period (P=0·03) were significantly reduced. Mild side effects of ataxia and sedation were observed in five of the dogs, but they were not severe enough to warrant the treatment being discontinued during the trial.

LEV was effective in reducing seizure frequency initially in the majority of dogs with PB and KBr resistant epilepsy. However, most of the dogs experienced an increase in their seizure frequency and frequency of seizure days after 4-8 months. LEV was well tolerated in most dogs and the only side-effect reported was sedation. However, further studies would be necessary before to confirm the absence of behavioural problems during LEV treatment.

From the owners' perspective, adequacy of seizure control is determined by the balance between ''the dog's quality of life'', ''adequate seizure frequency'' and ''acceptable side effects of antiepileptic drugs''. A frequency of less than one seizure every three months is associated with the perception by owners of adequate seizure control.

Cuando el tratamiento típico no funciona, los medicamentos que se pueden considerar.