Evidence map›Paper›PMID 37674206›Full record

ArticleBMC veterinary research2023

Efficacy evaluation of a commercially available MCT enriched therapeutic diet on dogs with idiopathic epilepsy treated with zonisamide: a prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover dietary preliminary study.

Kazumasa Nakatsuka, Brian Zanghi, Daisuke Hasegawa

Open access · goldAbstract readRandomized Controlled Trial, Veterinary
In one paragraph

Article in BMC veterinary research, 2023. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 1 paper.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
1citing papers in PubMed
0.9field-weighted citation impact, top 26% of its field
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

1 citing paper in PubMed, 4 citations in OpenAlex.

  1. Exploring Gut Microbiota-Targeted Therapies for Canine Idiopathic Epilepsy.International journal of molecular sciences · 2025
    Review
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

3 authors at 2 institutions in 1 country.

Kazumasa NakatsukaDepartment of Veterinary Pharmacology, Faculty of Agriculture, Tottori University, Tottori, Japan.
Brian ZanghiGlobal Nutrition and Communications, Nestlé Purina PetCare, St. Louis, USA.
Daisuke HasegawaLaboratory of Veterinary Radiology, Faculty of Veterinary Science, Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University, Tokyo, Japan. disk-hsgw@nvlu.ac.jp.
Nippon Veterinary and Life Science University · JPTottori University · JP

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundIdiopathic epilepsy (IE) is a common, chronic brain dysfunction in dogs. Recently, the effect of feeding a diet enriched with medium-chain triglycerides (MCTs) on seizure frequency has been evaluated in several studies in dogs with IE. However, most dogs with IE in previous studies were treated with phenobarbital as the main antiseizure medication (ASM). In Japan, zonisamide (ZNS) is the most prescribed ASM for dogs with IE. The interaction between ZNS and various nutrients including MCTs and the potential effects on treatment efficacy resulting from combining these therapies have not been previously studied. A prospective, randomized, double-blinded, placebo-controlled, crossover dietary study was conducted. Dogs (n = 7) treated with ZNS were fed either a placebo diet (PL) or Purina ProPlan Veterinary Diet NeuroCare (NC) for 3 months, after which treatments were crossed over and continued for another 3 months. Seizure frequency (seizures/month; sz/m), blood tests including concentrations of ZNS and β-hydroxybutyric acid, and owner's visual analogue scale score were collected from all dogs for both treatment periods.

resultsThere was no significant difference in the seizure frequency between PL (2.95 ± 0.80 sz/m) and NC (1.90 ± 0.57 sz/m) during the 6 months of trial. Three of 7 dogs showed ≥ 50% seizure reduction, and 1 of those 3 dogs achieved seizure freedom in NC period. However, 2 of 7 dogs had no changes in epileptic seizure frequency, 2 of 7 dogs had a deterioration in seizure frequency in the NC period. Feeding the MCT diet concurrent with ZNS showed no apparent adverse effects and did not affect ZNS concentration.

conclusionsThis study indicated that the commercially available MCT-enriched diet (NC) can be safely used concurrently with ZNS for dogs with IE.

Indexed as

Dog DiseasesEpilepsyAnimalsDietDogsProspective StudiesSeizuresSulfidesTriglyceridesZinc CompoundsZonisamideSulfidesTriglyceridesZinc Compoundszinc sulfideZonisamideEpilepsyMCT oilMedium-chain triglycerideNeuroCareSeizureZonisamideβ-hydroxybutyric acid

Identifiers

PMID37674206
PMCPMC10481612
OpenAlexW4386482276

What Socratic holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the Socratic graph.