title: Behavioral Abnormalities in Lagotto Romagnolo Dogs with a History of Benign Familial Juvenile Epilepsy: A Long-Term Follow-Up Study.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Lagotto Romagnolo (LR) dogs with benign juvenile epilepsy syndrome often experience spontaneous remission of seizures. The long-term outcome in these dogs currently is unknown. In humans, behavioral and psychiatric comorbidities have been reported in pediatric and adult-onset epilepsies.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  The objectives of this study were to investigate possible neurobehavioral comorbidities in LR with a history of benign familial juvenile epilepsy (BFJE) and to assess the occurrence of seizures after the remission of seizures in puppyhood.
  
  
  METHODS
  A total of 25 LR with a history of BFJE and 91 control dogs of the same breed.
  
  
  METHODS
  Owners of the LR dogs in the BFJE and control groups completed an online questionnaire about each dog's activity, impulsivity, and inattention. Principal component analysis (PCA) served to extract behavioral factors from the data. We then compared the scores of these factors between the 2 groups in a retrospective case-control study. We also interviewed all dog owners in the BFJE group by telephone to inquire specifically about possible seizures or other neurological problems after remission of seizures as a puppy.
  
  
  RESULTS
  Lagotto Romagnolo dogs with BFJE showed significantly higher scores on the factors Inattention and Excitability/Impulsivity than did the control group (P = .003; P = .021, respectively). Only 1 of the 25 BFJE LR exhibited seizures after remission of epilepsy in puppyhood.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Although the long-term seizure outcome in BFJE LR seems to be good, the dogs exhibit behavioral abnormalities resembling attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) in humans, thus suggesting neurobehavioral comorbidities with epilepsy.
authors.affiliation: Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: T S
authors.initials: TS
authors.lastname: Jokinen
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Research Programs Unit, Molecular Neurology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.|Department of Molecular Genetics, Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: K
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Tiira
authors.affiliation: Epilepsy Unit, Hospital for Children and Adolescents, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: L
authors.initials: L
authors.lastname: Metsähonkala
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Research Programs Unit, Molecular Neurology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.|Department of Molecular Genetics, Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: E H
authors.initials: EH
authors.lastname: Seppälä
authors.affiliation: Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: A
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Hielm-Björkman
authors.affiliation: Department of Veterinary Biosciences and Research Programs Unit, Molecular Neurology, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.|Department of Molecular Genetics, Folkhälsan Institute of Genetics, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: H
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Lohi
authors.affiliation: Department of Equine and Small Animal Medicine, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.
authors.forename: O
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: Laitinen-Vapaavuori
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001288:Attention; D001522:Behavior, Animal; D016022:Case-Control Studies; D004283:Dog Diseases / Q000523:psychology*; D004285:Dogs; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000523:psychology / Q000662:veterinary*; D005260:Female; D005500:Follow-Up Studies; D007175:Impulsive Behavior; D008297:Male; D009043:Motor Activity; D012075:Remission, Spontaneous; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires
keywords: Comorbidity; Epilepsy; Excitability; Impulsivity