Can seizures cause paralysis in dogs?

Answer 1

Answer

Seizures are fairly common in infants. They can be caused by trauma at delivery, lack of oxygen, infections or many congenital and acquired conditions. Paralysis after a seizure is not unusual, but it usually only lasts a short time. How long has she had the paralysis? The important thing at this time is to find out what caused the seizures and treat the cause.

causes and symptoms A seizure is an episode of abnormal electrical activity in a particular part of the brain. There are many kinds of http://www.answers.com/topic/seizures, and they may affect any specific part of the brain, or may spread to affect a wider distribution of the brain. The behavior of an individual suffering from a seizure may range from a simple, brief staring episode to complete loss of consciousness, with http://www.answers.com/topic/involuntary jerking of the muscles. The aftermath of a seizure is referred to as the postictal state. During the postictal period, although the seizure itself has ended, the brain is still recovering from the abnormal electrical discharges that http://www.answers.com/topic/precipitate the seizure activity. During this time period, the individual may be http://www.answers.com/topic/drowsy-2, less responsive than normal, or confused. Todd's paralysis is thought to occur due to depressed activity in the area of the brain that underwent the seizure. The symptoms of Todd's paralysis depend on the area of the brain where the seizure took place. For example, if the seizure occurred in the motor cortex (that part of the brain responsible for purposeful movement of the muscles), Todd's paralysis may result in hemiparesis, an inability to move the muscles of one-half of the body. Because the http://www.answers.com/topic/occipital-lobe (the lower back part of the brain) is responsible for vision, an occipital lobe seizure may result in visual change or outright blindness during the postictal phase. In fact, tracking the specific symptoms of Todd's paralysis may actually help the physician diagnose the specific area of the brain in which an individual's seizures are occurring.

Answer 2

It is possible, but this is pretty uncommon. Seizures in dogs typically don't cause permanent neurologic deficits unless the seizure was very bad or there was secondary trauma during the seizure.