Intranasal administration of benzodiazepines has shown superiority over rectal administration for terminating emergency epileptic seizures in human trials. No such clinical trials have been performed in dogs. To evaluate the clinical efficacy of intranasal midazolam (IN-MDZ), via a mucosal atomization device, as a first-line management option for canine status epilepticus and compare it to rectal administration of diazepam (R-DZP) for controlling status epilepticus before intravenous access is available. Client-owned dogs with idiopathic or structural epilepsy manifesting status epilepticus within a hospital environment were used. Dogs were randomly allocated to treatment with IN-MDZ (n = 20) or R-DZP (n = 15). Randomized parallel-group clinical trial. Seizure cessation time and adverse effects were recorded. For each dog, treatment was considered successful if the seizure ceased within 5 minutes and did not recur within 10 minutes after administration. The 95% confidence interval was used to detect the true population of dogs that were successfully treated. The Fisher's 2-tailed exact test was used to compare the 2 groups, and the results were considered statistically significant if P < .05. IN-MDZ and R-DZP terminated status epilepticus in 70% (14/20) and 20% (3/15) of cases, respectively (P = .0059). All dogs showed sedation and ataxia. IN-MDZ is a quick, safe and effective first-line medication for controlling status epilepticus in dogs and appears superior to R-DZP. IN-MDZ might be a valuable treatment option when intravenous access is not available and for treatment of status epilepticus in dogs at home.

Background The intranasal (IN) route for rapid drug administration in patients with brain disorders, including status epilepticus, has been investigated. Status epilepticus is an emergency, and the IN route offers a valuable alternative to other routes, especially when these fail. Objectives To compare IN versus IV midazolam (MDZ) at the same dosage (0.2 mg/kg) for controlling status epilepticus in dogs. Animals Client‐owned dogs (n = 44) with idiopathic epilepsy, structural epilepsy, or epilepsy of unknown origin manifesting as status epilepticus. Methods Randomized parallel group clinical trial. Patients were randomly allocated to the IN‐MDZ (n = 21) or IV‐MDZ (n = 23) group. Number of successfully treated cases (defined as seizure cessation within 5 minutes and lasting for ≥10 minutes), seizure cessation time, and adverse effects were recorded. Comparisons were performed using the Fisher's exact and Wilcoxon rank sum tests with statistical significance set at α < .05. Results IN‐MDZ and IV‐MDZ successfully stopped status epilepticus in 76% and 61% of cases, respectively (P = .34). The median seizure cessation time was 33 and 64 seconds for IN‐MDZ and IV‐MDZ, respectively (P = .63). When the time to place an IV catheter was taken into account, IN‐MDZ (100 seconds) was superior (P = .04) to IV‐MDZ (270 seconds). Sedation and ataxia were seen in 88% and 79% of the dogs treated with IN‐MDZ and IV‐MDZ, respectively. Conclusions and Clinical Importance Both routes are quick, safe, and effective for controlling status epilepticus. However, the IN route demonstrated superiority when the time needed to place an IV catheter was taken into account.

The availability of data for reference values in cerebrospinal fluid for healthy humans is limited due to obvious practical and ethical issues. The variability of reported values for metabolites in human cerebrospinal fluid is quite large. Dogs present great similarities with humans, including in cases of central nervous system pathologies. The paper presents the first study on healthy dog cerebrospinal fluid metabolomic profile using ¹H NMR spectroscopy. A number of 13 metabolites have been identified and quantified from cerebrospinal fluid collected from a group of 10 mix breed healthy dogs. The biological variability as resulting from the relative standard deviation of the physiological concentrations of the identified metabolites had a mean of 18.20% (range between 9.3% and 44.8%). The reported concentrations for metabolites may be used as normal reference values. The homogeneity of the obtained results and the low biologic variability show that the ¹H NMR analysis of the dog’s cerebrospinal fluid is reliable in designing and interpreting clinical and therapeutic trials in dogs with central nervous system pathologies.

Objectives: A previous single‐country pilot study indicated serum anti‐GM2 and anti‐GA1 anti‐glycolipid antibodies as potential biomarkers for acute canine polyradiculoneuritis. This study aims to validate these findings in a large geographically heterogenous cohort.Materials and Methods: Sera from 175 dogs clinically diagnosed with acute canine polyradiculoneuritis, 112 dogs with other peripheral nerve, cranial nerve or neuromuscular disorders and 226 neurologically normal dogs were screened for anti‐glycolipid antibodies against 11 common glycolipid targets to determine the immunoglobulin G anti‐glycolipid antibodies with the highest combined sensitivity and specificity for acute canine polyradiculoneuritis.Results: Anti‐GM2 anti‐glycolipid antibodies reached the highest combined sensitivity and specificity (sensitivity: 65.1%, 95% confidence interval 57.6 to 72.2%; specificity: 90.2%, 95% confidence interval 83.1 to 95.0%), followed by anti‐GalNAc‐GD1a anti‐glycolipid antibodies (sensitivity: 61.7%, 95% confidence interval 54.1 to 68.9%; specificity: 89.3%, 95% confidence interval 82.0 to 94.3%) and these anti‐glycolipid antibodies were frequently present concomitantly. Anti‐GA1 anti‐glycolipid antibodies were detected in both acute canine polyradiculoneuritis and control animals. Both for anti‐GM2 and anti‐GalNAc‐GD1a anti‐glycolipid antibodies, sex was found a significantly associated factor with a female to male odds ratio of 2.55 (1.27 to 5.31) and 3.00 (1.22 to 7.89), respectively. Anti‐GalNAc‐GD1a anti‐glycolipid antibodies were more commonly observed in dogs unable to walk (OR 4.56, 1.56 to 14.87).Clinical Significance: Anti‐GM2 and anti‐GalNAc‐GD1a immunoglobulin G anti‐glycolipid antibodies represent serum biomarkers for acute canine polyradiculoneuritis.

The present study aimed to analyse the wave morphology, amplitude, latency, and intervals of the brainstem auditory evoked responses (BAERs) in dogs with central vestibular syndrome (CVS) recorded with surface electrodes. Ten dogs with CVS were examined by mono- and binaural stimulation, using the Neuropack electrodiagnostic system, with stimulus intensities of 90 dBSPL. BAERs examinations revealed morphological changes of waves I, II, III, and V and decreased amplitudes of all waves in 7/10 dogs. P values obtained were = 0.014 for wave I amplitude, 0.031 for II, and III and 0.032 for V. Comparing the latencies of waves I, II, III, and V generated by right and left monoaural stimulation in dogs with CVS, we did not observe significant differences (P>0.05). No statistical differences were observed for BAERs latencies of the waves recorded after binaural and monaural stimulation (left or right). As far as we know, this is the first study of BAERs using surface electrodes, obtained from dogs with CVS.