Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy News and Research

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NYU Langone professor offers guidance on risk factors, interventions for SUDEP

Over time, epileptic seizures can lead to major health issues, including significant cognitive decline and even death, warns Orrin Devinsky, MD, professor, Departments of Neurology, Neurosurgery and Psychiatry at NYU Langone Medical Center.

11 Nov 2011

Data analysis reveals significant risk factors for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is the most common condition-related cause of death in chronic epilepsy. Case-control studies using living people with epilepsy as controls have aimed at identifying factors that distinguish the epilepsy patient at risk of SUDEP, but there are disagreements between studies and a lack of precision in the risk estimates attributed, in part, to the small number of cases in each study.

7 Dec 2010

Sudden epilepsy death explained

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a condition that kills about 150 Australians a year. Now researchers have discovered the reasons behind such deaths. The study was conducted by scientists at the Centenary Institute at the University of Sydney who looked at blood samples taken from epilepsy suffers who had died suddenly and found that there were genetic faults in the heart and brain.

7 Nov 2010

Drops in blood oxygen levels may be key to sudden death in some epilepsy patients

A new study by researchers at UC Davis Medical Center suggests that the sudden unexplained deaths of some epilepsy patients may be a result of their brains not telling their bodies to breathe during seizures.

17 Nov 2008