Autonomic Dysfunction in Patients With Chronic Epilepsy
Abstract number :
3.194
Submission category :
4. Clinical Epilepsy / 4B. Clinical Diagnosis
Year :
2018
Submission ID :
506923
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/3/2018 1:55:12 PM
Published date :
Nov 5, 2018, 18:00 PM
Authors :
Thirusivapragasam Subramaniam, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Olujimi Ajijola, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Mark Rosenberg, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; Julia Alexander, David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA; and Gary M
Rationale: Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) occurs in 1 out of every 1000 adults and 1 in 4500 children with epilepsy. Though not well understood, autonomic nervous system (ANS) dysfunction is among the commonly suspected causes underlying the disorder. The purpose of this research is to determine whether there is a relationship between known epilepsy variables related to SUDEP and ANS dysfunction. Methods: Autonomic testing was performed on fifteen seizure in-patients, ages 16 to 56, stratified according to known SUDEP risk factors. Baseline was captured before and after testing. ECG, continuous non-invasive blood pressure (CNAP), finger pulse volume (FPV), galvanic skin resistance (GSR), and respirations were captured and recorded. Biopac AcqKnowledge software was used to extract numerical autonomic factors. Relationships between SUDEP risk factors and autonomic factors were identified using Pearson correlation coefficients and corresponding p-values. Results: Apparent imbalance between sympathetic and parasympathetic innervation to the heart was positively associated with greater seizure frequency (r= 0.8761; p= 0.0001) and a longer PRQ interval was associate with higher number of SUDEP risk factors. Conclusions: ANS is dysfunctional in patients with chronic epilepsy with factors associated with chronicity of seizures and SUDEP risk factors. Funding: None