Several different diseases may cause seizures. The term
idiopathic epilepsy refers to a seizure disorder that has an unknown cause despite a thorough diagnostic evaluation. Treatment and prognosis (outcome) of seizures depend on their underlying causes.
The most common causes of seizures in young dogs (less than 1 year) may include:
Degenerative (storage diseases)
Developmental (hydrocephalous, porto-systemic shunts)
Toxic (lead, organophosphates)
Infectious (distemper or other viral, bacterial and fungal encephalitides)
Metabolic (transient hypoglycemia, enzyme deficiency)
Nutritional (common with parasitism)
Traumatic (acute head injury)
In dogs that are greater than 5 years, the causes may include:
Neoplasia (either primary or metastatic cancer)
Metabolic (hepatic or kidney failure)
Infectious (distemper or other viral, bacterial and fungal encephalitides)
Traumatic (acute head injury)
Heart causes
The most common cause of seizure in middle aged dogs (between 1 and 5 years) is idiopathic epilepsy. However, it is commonly recommended that some of the above causes of seizures be ruled out with blood tests and sometimes imaging studies.
