2015 ACVIM Forum Research Abstract Program

ES/ESE is relatively common in patients with suspected seizure and often has subtle clinical manifestations. No clinical characteristic can differentiate ES/ESE from control cases, highlighting the necessity for EEG to make this distinction. Prospective, multi-center studies are needed to define the true incidence in different populations, better define risk factors, outcome and then best treatment options. Feline dysautonomia (FD) is a disease of domestic cats characterised by extensive degeneration of the autonomic nervous system. It was first reported in 1982 in the UK but has now also been reported in the USA, UAE, New Zealand, and several European countries. The aetiology of this condition remains unknown but it has clinical and pathological similarities to primary dysautonomias affecting dogs, hares, rabbits, and horses. FD has been reported to cause a variety of clinical signs including reduced tear secretion, dry oral mucosa, dry nasal planum, mydriasis, prolapsed nictitating membranes, bradycardia, regurgitation and oesophageal dysmotility, constipation, proprioceptive deficits, dysuria, and anal areflexia. Clinical signs typically develop over a matter of days and less than a third of affected cats have survived. Diagnosis is by demonstration of chromatolytic change within neurons in autonomic ganglia but a clinical scoring system (CSS) and ocular pharmacological tests (OPT) have been proposed for ante-mortem diagnosis [Sharp NJH, Gookin JL (1995) BSAVA Manual of small animal neurology 2 nd Ed; 179-188]. OPT have included a reduction in pupil size within 15 minutes of topical application of 0.1% pilocarpine or retraction of prolapsed nictitating membrane within 15 minutes of topical application of 1:10,000 Epinephrine. The UK FD study group has investigated suspected cases of FD within the UK reported to us by veterinarians. We have used this data to assess the proposed CSS and the ocular pharmacological tests.