Epilepsy, a condition of recurring seizures for which a cause most frequently cannot be found, is the most common neurological disorder seen in dogs. It affects an estimated one in 20 of them. In the past, veterinarians often prescribed unapproved phenobarbital tablets from the human drug marketplace to help control seizures. But the Food and Drug Administration has just conditionally approved phenobarbital for our canine pets. The drug manufacturer has five years to be granted full approval by moving evidence for the drug’s effectiveness and safety from “expected” to fully “demonstrated.”
One other drug has also received conditional approval for treating epilepsy in dogs: potassium bromide. It was granted in 2021, giving the manufacturer a couple more years to fully demonstrate efficacy and safety.