People with epilepsy are at a high risk of sudden death (e.g., SUDEP). Current SUDEP risk factors are not linked to the proposed biological causes for SUDEP. There is a higher prevalence of cardiac electrical abnormalities in people with epilepsy, and arrhythmias or irregular heart rhythms are reported to precede cases that almost result in SUDEP.
Dr. Auerbach’s team will use analytical tools that are well accepted in the cardiac field, but new to the field of epilepsy and SUDEP, to identify epilepsy patient populations at risk of cardiac arrhythmias. Additionally, his team will test whether these tools identify people with epilepsy who later died of SUDEP. The team’s long-term goal is to develop a comprehensive SUDEP risk assessment tool based on markers for each of the proposed biological causes of SUDEP, including cardiac arrhythmias.
Dr. Auerbach’s grant has been generously funded by The Cameron Boyce Foundation with The CURE Epilepsy Cameron Boyce SUDEP Research Award.
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