Investigators Workshop | Rationalizing Intervention Targets for SUDEP Risk Reduction: A Neuroimaging Perspective
Saturday, December 4, 2021
-
You may need to log in to view video on this page.
OVERVIEW :
This session unmasks factors, such as neural damage and network abnormalities, to help prevent Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).
SUDEP is the most common cause of premature mortality in epilepsy. It often affects young people, especially those with generalized tonic-clonic seizures. Clinical care teams now need to understand the processes involved in this devastating outcome, move beyond epidemiological studies to risk stratification, and develop interventions.
This workshop outlines central functional and structural abnormalities in cardiorespiratory systems of patients who later die of SUDEP or have frequent focal to bilateral tonic clonic seizures and are therefore at high risk for SUDEP, as revealed by neuroimaging studies. Unmasking neural damage and network abnormalities allows consideration of best approaches to intervene using a range of options indicated by recently described characteristics.
Learning Objectives:
Following participation in this activity, participants will be able to:
- Describe the relationship between structural abnormalities found in MR imaging studies and SUDEP risk, and how these may increase the risk of postictal cardiovascular and respiratory collapse
- Discuss the relationship between postictal hypoxia, postictal generalized EEG suppression and structural alterations
- Describe alterations in functional networks found in fMRI studies of patients with convulsive seizures and those who succumbed to SUDEP, and how this knowledge may enable development of interventions
Program:
Moderators: Beate Diehl, MD, PhD and Ronald Harper, PhD
Speakers: Beate Diehl, MD, PhD, Michalis Kassinopoulos PhD, and Michael Sperling, MD
Education Credit:
1.5 Nursing Contact Hours
1.5 Pharmacy Contact Hours
1.5 CME