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Neurocysticercosis: a new trend in SUDEP research?

2012; Brazilian Society of Tropical Medicine; Volume: 45; Issue: 2 Linguagem: Inglês

10.1590/s0037-86822012000200032

1678-9849

Fúlvio A. Scorza, Ricardo Mário Arida, Philipe Ribeiro Furtado de Mendonça, Ésper A. Cavalheiro, João Pereira Leite,

Neonatal Respiratory Health Research

Epilepsies constitute one of the most common serious brain disorders and have no geographic, social, or racial boundaries; they occur in men and women and affect people of all ages, although more frequently affecting young people in the first 2 decades of life and people aged >60 years.Worldwide, there are at least 50 million people who have epilepsy, and many of these have seizures that are refractory to treatment with the currently available therapies 1 .From all of the effects of the epilepsies, perhaps the most concerning is sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP).Unfortunately, very little progress has been made in preventing the occurrence of SUDEP and, in addition, SUDEP is rarely discussed among neurologists and scientists.As we know, ~1 in 1,000 patients with chronic epilepsy will die suddenly, unexpectedly, and without explanation each year 2 .Furthermore, epilepsy is associated with a 2-to 3-fold increase in mortality compared to the general population, and SUDEP is the most important direct epilepsy-related cause of death 3 .To date, a wide range of factors for SUDEP have been assessed, including refractoriness of the epileptic condition, occurrence of generalized tonic-clonic seizures, antiepileptic medication (polytherapy with antiepileptic drugs), young age, duration of the seizure disorder, early onset of epilepsy, and winter temperatures 4 .Knowledge of the risk factors underlying SUDEP could guide investigations into its pathophysiologic mechanisms 5 .In this context, understanding the mechanisms underlying SUDEP may lead to the identification of previously unrecognized risk factors that are more amenable to correction 6 .Although different mechanisms may play separate roles in different cases, the 2 major domains that are involved in SUDEP are autonomic, i.e., cardiovascular, and respiratory 6 .