Canine status epilepticus (CSE) is characterized by epileptic seizures that are longer than 5 min or more than one seizure with incomplete recovery. Currently, diazepam suppositories are generally prescribed for CSE. Levetiracetam (LEV) is one of the newest antiepileptic drugs currently available. This study compared the pharmacokinetics of intragastric and intrarectal administration in oral formula of LEV in four healthy beagles as a reference data when the owner administers levetiracetam to dogs by himself at home. Blood for measuring plasma LEV concen- trations was collected 0, 30, 60, 90, 120, 240, 360, and 540 min after LEV administration. The time to reach the maximum plasma concentration (Tmax) was markedly shorter with intra- rectal administration (45±26 min) than with intragastric administration (270±99 min). Intrarectal administration of LEV tablets could be an effective option for treating canine seizures although it might be a limit for treating CSE because the absorption rate is not fast enough.

In this study, we investigate the mechanical behavior of each skin layer, in terms of the nominal stress-strain curve by uniaxial tensile tests using specimens of porcine skin in two forms: dermis containing epidermis, and all three layers. All tests were performed under cyclic loading at the constant strain rate of 10–3 s–1 at ambient temperature. To measure the precise initial cross-sectional areas of each layer, the thickness of each skin layer was quantified by counting the number of pixels on the photo-image using image-processing software. In the tensile test, force-strain curves of the total skin and dermis with epidermis were obtained. Subsequently, a rule of mixtures was applied to determine the nonlinear mechanical properties of the hypodermis layer. In conclusion, we could define the uniaxial tensile behavior of the hypodermis, and additionally predict the weight effect of the dermis and hypodermis layers in the tensile test.