SUDEP Risk And Biomarkers In The Surgical Epilepsy Population

Patients considering epilepsy surgery are at high risk for SUDEP. Lowering SUDEP risk is often a motivation for undergoing surgery, but even patients thought to be seizure-free after surgery have suffered from SUDEP. We will study records of patients evaluated for epilepsy surgery at our center spanning almost twenty years to determine whether surgery indeed reduces SUDEP incidence and whether factors besides seizure outcome may predict SUDEP risk. These include where seizures start and spread, features of seizure recovery, and effects of seizures on heart and breathing function. It is hoped that the information learned from this study will lead to an increased understanding of individual SUDEP risk prediction and help to guide patients and their doctors in making clinical care decisions related to epilepsy surgery.