Working with medically skilled service dogs is related to a 31% discount in seizures in contrast with regular care in treatment-resistant epilepsya brand new research confirmed.
Investigators speculate that the dogs might ease members’ stress, resulting in a lower in seizure frequency, though they word this relationship warrants extra research.
“Despite the event of quite a few antiseizure drugs over the previous 15 years, as much as 30% of individuals with epilepsy expertise persistent seizures,” research writer Valérie van Hezik-Wester, MSc, of Erasmus University Rotterdam in Rotterdam, the Netherlands, stated in a press launch.
The unpredictable nature of seizures is without doubt one of the most disabling elements of epilepsy, Hezik-Wester added. Seizure dogs are skilled to acknowledge seizures and reply once they happen.
“The duties that these dogs carry out together with their companionship might cut back seizure-related anxiousness, additionally probably lowering seizures brought on by stress, the most typical set off for seizures,” she stated.
The findings had been published online on February 28 in Neurology.
Improve Quality of Life
The research included 25 people with medically refractory epilepsy who had a median of two or extra seizures per week, with seizure traits related to a excessive threat for accidents or dysfunction. They additionally had to have the ability to take care of a service canine.
All had been noticed underneath regular care, which included antiseizure drugs, neurostimulation units, and different supportive therapies. Participants may then select to work with a service canine that had accomplished socialization and obedience coaching or be assigned a puppy they might practice at home.
The median follow-up was 19 months with regular care and 12 months with the intervention. Participants recorded seizure exercise in diaries and accomplished surveys on seizure severity, high quality of life, and well-being each 3 months. Daily seizure counts had been transformed to acquire cumulative seizure frequencies over 28-day intervals.
Of the 25 unique members, six discontinued trial participation earlier than the top of follow-up, 4 of whom left the research attributable to problem with canine care and coaching.
Participants receiving regular care reported a median of 115 seizures per 28-day interval, whereas these with skilled service dogs recorded 73 seizures in the identical interval, or a 37% distinction between teams.
Researchers discovered that members had a median of 31% fewer seizures in the course of the previous 3 months once they had seizure dogs, with seven members reaching a 50%-100% discount in seizures.
The variety of seizure-free days elevated from a median of 11 days per 28-day interval earlier than receiving a service canine to fifteen days after working with a canine.
Scores on the EQ-5D-5L, which measures perceived well being issues, decreased on common by 2.5% per consecutive 28-day interval with the intervention, reflecting a rise in generic health-related high quality of life (0.975; 95% CI, 0.954-0.997).
“These findings present that seizure dogs may also help individuals with epilepsy,” stated van Hezik-Wester. “However, we additionally discovered that this partnership with seizure dogs may not be the best match for everybody, as some individuals discontinued their participation on this program. More analysis is required to higher perceive which individuals can profit from working with seizure dogs.”
Enhanced Quality of Life
In an accompanying editorialAmir Mbonde, MB, and Amy Crepeau, MD, of Mayo Clinic in Phoenix, Arizona, famous the findings add to a rising physique of labor on the effectiveness of service dogs in lowering seizure frequency.
“In addition to improved seizure management, the EPISODE research demonstrated the good thing about seizure dogs in enhancing the standard of life for sufferers, an important element of complete epilepsy care,” they wrote.
In prior research, seizure dogs have recognized an odor {that a} person emits earlier than a seizure in as much as 97% of individuals, they famous, including that this skill “provides immense medical advantages to individuals with epilepsy, enhancing their independence, social engagement, employment alternatives, self-confidence, and thus high quality of life.”
Study limitations embrace its small pattern dimension and excessive attrition charge.
The research was funded by the Netherlands Organization for Health Research and Development and Innovatiefonds Zorgverzekeraars. Smith and Jones reported no related monetary relationships. The authors reported no disclosures.
