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Case Reports
. 2007 Dec;78(12):1395-7.
doi: 10.1136/jnnp.2006.088492. Epub 2007 Mar 27.

Sudden death in epilepsy recorded in ambulatory EEG

B N McLean  1 , S Wimalaratna
Affiliations
Case Reports

Sudden death in epilepsy recorded in ambulatory EEG

B N McLean et al. J Neurol Neurosurg Psychiatry. 2007 Dec.

Abstract

A woman with epilepsy died during a seizure and the event was recorded on ambulatory EEG. The circumstances were typical of sudden death in epilepsy (SUDEP). The EEG revealed that the patient had suffered a generalised seizure that abruptly ended with cessation of all cerebral electrical activity. Two other cases recorded on videotelemetry demonstrating similar EEG features were reported in the literature. We postulate that abrupt irreversible cerebral electrical shutdown during a seizure may be the primary mechanism of SUDEP.

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Conflict of interest statement

Competing interests: None.

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