Question submitted by the audience in our recent webinar: What’s Feeding Those Seizures? An Update On Refractory Canine Epilepsy And The Potential Link to Gastrointestinal Health:
So the concern of "kindling effect" ... not treating epilepsy immediately or seizures will get worse ... is not still a "thing”?
Answer by: Karen R. Muñana, DVM, MS, DACVIM (Neurology)
Kindling has been demonstrated in experimental models of epilepsy, but its clinical significance has not been proven. In fact, recent evidence suggests that the seizure density prior to treatment is more important that the total number of seizures or the length of time before treatment is instituted. This likely is a manifestation of the inherent seizure severity – individuals who have frequent seizures at the onset of disease are likely to have a more severe seizure phenotype, and are at greater risk of developing refractory epilepsy regardless of when treatment is initiated.
