Benign Familial Juvenile Epilepsy

Body function:

Muscle & Neurological

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Benign familial juvenile epilepsy, also known as remitting focal epilepsy, is a genetic disease affecting Lagotto Romagnolo dogs. A mutation in the LGI2 gene causes dogs to develop benign seizures between 2 and 4 months of age. These seizures almost always go away on their own and are shown to have no lasting effects.

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List of affected breeds:

Genetic research has linked this gene and condition in the following breeds:

Lagotto Romagnolo

A black and white dog with a happy expression is looking up at the camera with its mouth open. The dog's ears are perked up, and it appears to be excited.

What does this mean for a dog with this trait?

There is no known cure for benign familial juvenile epilepsy; dogs simply grow out of it around 4 months of age. Seizures are fairly harmless and don’t require medication, though anti-seizure medication can be used if seizures are frequent or severe.

Symptoms

Dogs with benign familial juvenile epilepsy begin to show symptoms around 6 to 8 weeks of age. They experience chronic seizures, ranging in severity from mild shivers to severe seizures, with or without ataxia. Dogs with the condition return to normal behavior between seizures.

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