Peri-Ictal Autonomic Control of Cardiac Function and Seizure-Induced Death.

ABSTRACT: Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) accounts for the deaths of 8-17% of patients with epilepsy. Although the mechanisms of SUDEP are unknown, one proposed mechanism is abnormal control of the heart by the autonomic nervous system (ANS). Our objective was to determine whether the broad changes in ictal heart rate experienced by mouse models of SUDEP are (1) due to the ANS and (2) contribute to seizure-induced death. Seizures were induced by electrical stimulation of the hippocampus of a mouse carrying the human SCN8A encephalopathy mutation p.Asn1768Asp (N1768D; "D/+ mice"). Using standard autonomic pharmacology, the relative roles of the parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous systems on heart rate changes associated with seizures were determined. All induced seizures had pr

SUBMITTER: Wenker IC 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8813980 | biostudies-literature | 2021

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature