Letter to the Editor

I write to provide clarification to the recent JVIM publication on seizure disorders in goats and sheep by Chigerwe and Aleman. The authors are to be commended for this analysis, as reports of seizure disorders in large animal species are few. The seizures in the reported subjects were mostly nonepileptic and primarily the result of polioencephalomalacia—approximately 40% of the goats and 60% of the sheep—but the subjects nevertheless presented initially with seizures. I would be remiss in failing to point out an error made by the authors in their abstract, however, where they stated that “Currently, no reports describing seizure disorders in goats and sheep are available.” They also stated that “Goats and sheep are more likely to be presented for examination for seizures than are cattle”. We have previously reported a case of focal epilepsy in a Nubian goat and generalized epilepsy in a Hereford cow. Both cases were true epilepsy but initially presented clinically just as seizure disorders. Both case workups included extensive electroencephalographic and pharmacologic evaluations. As a consequence, such cases are probably less rare than suggested by the authors.