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Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is a fatal complication of epilepsy. It is defined as the sudden and unexpected, non-traumatic and non-drowning death of a person with epilepsy, without a toxicological or anatomical cause of death detected during the post-mortem examination. While the mechanisms underlying SUDEP are still poorly understood, it is possibly the most common cause of death as a result of complications from epilepsy, accounting for between 7.5 to 17% of all epilepsy-related deaths〔 and 50% of all deaths in refractory epilepsy. The causes of SUDEP seem to be multifactorial〔 and include respiratory, cardiac and cerebral factors, as well as the severity of epilepsy and seizures.〔 Proposed pathophysiological mechanisms include seizure-induced cardiac and respiratory arrests.〔 Instances of death as a result of prolonged seizures (status epilepticus) are not classified as SUDEP. == Risk factors == Consistent risk factors include: *Severity of seizures, increased refractoriness of epilepsy and presence of generalized tonic-clonic seizures:〔 the most consistent risk factor is an increased frequency of tonic–clonic seizures.〔 *Poor compliance.〔 Lack of therapeutic levels of anti-epileptic drugs, non-adherence to treatment regimens, and frequent changes in regimens are risk factors for sudden death.〔 *Young age, and early age of seizures onset.〔 *Male gender〔 *Poly-therapy of epilepsy. If this is an independent risk factor or a surrogate marker for severity of epilepsy remains unclear. *The use of lamotrigine in idiopathic generalized epilepsy cases.〔 *Being asleep during a seizure is likely to favour SUDEP occurrence. 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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