Two related potassium (K +) channel defects in benign familial neonatal convulsions (BFNC) have recently been identified.9 10 A defect in a receptor for a different neurotransmitter (acetylcholine) has previously been identified in a family with autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe
epilepsy (ADNFLE) 11, which was later shown to affect calcium (Ca +) movement.12 In humans, so far, there has not been any success in identifying genes associated with more common primary
epilepsy syndromes such as juvenile
absence epilepsy and juvenile myoclonic
epilepsy (JME).13 No gene or marker linked to an
epilepsy gene has been identified in any dog breed, as yet.