Heart Rate Variability and Electroencephalogram as Predictors of the Therapeutic Outcome of Vagus Nerve Stimulation in Dogs with Epilepsy: A Preliminary Study

This preliminary study aimed to investigate the potential of heart rate variability (HRV) and electro-ecephalogram (EEG) as predictors of a therapeutic outcome of vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) therapy in dogs with epilepsy. We performed serial HRV and EEG analyses befor and until 6 months after VNS initiation and assessed temporal changes in HRV and EEG in four dogs that underwent VNS therapy. Two of the four dogs had reductions in seizure frequency and were determined to be responders, and the other two were non-responders. No differences in temporal changes in HRV and EEG were observed between responders and non-responders. However, HRV before VNS initiation showed that responders had higher parasympathetic activity than non-responders. EEG before VNS initiation revealed that both responders had their irritative zone in the temporal lobe. HRV and EEG assessments before VNS therapy probably helps predict its therapeutic outcome in dogs.P(論文)原著論文application/pdfORIGINAL ARTICLEdepartmental bulletin pape