View clinical trials related to SUDEP.
Filter by:Children with generalized tonic-clonic seizures (GTCS) have about a 1 in 4500 of succumbing to sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). For that reason, the American Academy of Neurology recommends that clinicians caring for these children make their families aware of this small but important risk and provide appropriate supportive follow-up resources. Moreover, existing evidence suggests that children with poorly controlled GTCS have a strikingly increased odds of SUDEP, 3-24 fold, raising the importance of improving seizure control. Clinicians caring for these patients have multiple issues to address in the typical visit. The investigators propose to use information technology to help providers assure that addressing SUDEP is incorporated into their routine care. The investigators have developed the Child Health Improvement through Computer Automation system (CHICA), a computer based clinical decision support system for pediatric care. CHICA captures patient reported data in the waiting room and prioritizes clinical advice to the physician through the electronic health record (EHR). CHICA is used in five primary care clinics in the Eskenazi health system where it supports general pediatric care. The goal of this project is to test the effectiveness of a SUDEP module in this setting where CHICA is already in use - with a future goal of developing a full suite of CHICA modules for child neurologists.
Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy patients (SUDEP) is devastating outcome for some patients with epilepsy. It ranks second only to stroke among neurological diseases in years of potential life lost. Patho-mechanisms of SUDEP remain not well understood, however peri-ictal respiratory dysfunction likely plays an important role in many cases. Literature supports a critical role for the serotonergic system in central control of ventilation. Serotonin neurons in the raphe nuclei of the brainstem sense rising carbon dioxide and low pH, thereby stimulating breathing and arousal. These responses may serve as mechanisms that protect against asphyxia, particularly during sleep or the post-ictal state. In mouse models of seizure-induced sudden death, pre-treatment with selective serotonin reuptake inhibitor (SSRI) agents prevents death following seizures. Hence, the investigators hypothesize that a subset of drug resistant epilepsy patients who have impaired central chemo-responsiveness have a greater degree of peri-ictal respiratory depression, therefore a higher risk of SUDEP. The investigators further hypothesize that fluoxetine will improve central chemo-responsiveness and therefore will reduce peri-ictal respiratory depression.