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Toby's Foundation is co-sponsoring a Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) study for Dr. Dawn Merton Boothe at Auburn University.

September 2012

Single Dose Extended Release Anticonvulsant Shows Promise

Dr. Dawn Merton Boothe at Auburn University has completed her work evaluating extended release Keppra, and the results look promising!

From Morris Animal Foundation: Thank you and everyone involved with Toby's Foundation for your generosity and support of Morris Animal Foundation's commitment to creating a better and healthier tomorrow for animals. Because of the kindness of friends like you, the Foundation has been able to fund tremendous health breakthroughs for all animals, including dogs.

Toby's Foundation is a generous study co-sponsor of Dr. Boothe's study Pharmacokinetics of Single Oral Dose Levetiracetam Extended Release Tablets in Healthy Adult Dogs(D10CA-060).

Pharmacokinetics of Single Oral Dose Levetiracetam Extended Release Tablets in Healthy Adult Dogs Dawn Merton Boothe, DVM, PhD D10CA-060

Results: Single Dose Extended Release Anticonvulsant Shows Promise Epilepsy is a serious, late-onset seizure disorder that affects a large number of breeds and usually requires lifelong treatment. Dogs often develop a tolerance to therapy, so increasingly higher doses of anticonvulsants are needed. Previous studies showed that levetiracetam (commercially known as Keppra^® ), a human antiepileptic drug, is well tolerated by dogs, even at concentrations that exceed the maximum therapeutic range for humans. The drug also shows promise in controlling seizures. However, the half-life of levetiracetam is short in dogs. Researchers, funded by Morris Animal Foundation, studied the effectiveness in dogs of a new extended-release Keppra product that was recently approved for human-use. They found that the extended-release version levetiracetam is a safe, convenient anticonvulsant drug that can be given to dogs in a single oral dose with a longer half-life. These data suggest that the new product would be a better treatment option and would provide better long-term management of seizures in dogs with epilepsy.

March 2011

We are pleased to announce that we are co-sponsoring for $3,000 a Morris Animal Foundation (MAF) grant, Evaluating the Safety and Efficacy of a Drug to Control Epilepsy in Dogs, for Dr. Dawn Merton Boothe at Auburn University for one year. This study will determine the efficacy of levetiracetam (commercially known as Keppra) as a safe, convenient anticonvulsant drug that can be given to dogs in a single oral dose, allowing its use as a sole anticonvulsant drug for canine epilepsy patients.

Because of the generosity of donors and some corporate matching gifts we are able to help sponsor research for more effective treatments for dogs suffering from canine epilepsy while we continue to support research to find causative genes for canine epilepsy and develop a genetic test.

September 2011

This study suggests that extended release levetiracetam (commercially known as Keppra) would be a better treatment option for dogs with epilepsy. Please see below.

D10CA-060: Pharmacokinetics of Single Oral Dose Levetiracetam Extended Release Tablets in Healthy Adult Dogs, Dawn Merton Boothe, DVM, PhD

PROGRESS UPDATE: Epilepsy is a serious, late-onset seizure disorder that affects a large number of dog breeds. Dogs often require lifelong treatment and frequently develop a tolerance to therapy, so increasingly higher doses of anticonvulsants are needed. Previous studies showed that levetiracetam (commercially known as Keppra), a human antiepileptic drug, is well tolerated by dogs, even at concentrations that exceed the maximum therapeutic range for humans. The drug also shows promise in controlling seizures. However, the half-life of levetiracetam is short in dogs. To address this issue, researchers at Auburn University are studying a new extended-release Keppra product, approved for humans, that may allow for twice- or once-daily dosing in dogs. To date, researchers have completed all data collection from client-owned dogs and are in the process of conducting statistical analysis. Preliminary analysis suggests that the new extended-release Keppra product results in drug concentrations that stay above the minimum recommended therapeutic dose for 18 hours (compared to only 6 hours following intravenous administration). This study suggests that extended-release levetiracetam would be a better treatment option for dogs with epilepsy than regular-release levetiracetam, and it should be used in any further clinical trials studying the efficacy of levetiracetam for long-term management of seizures in dogs with epilepsy.