Heart rate variability in patients with untreated epilepsy

Exercise-induced central and peripheral sympathetic activity in a community-based group of epilepsy patients differ from healthy controls

Ictal and interictal activity within the autonomic nervous system is characterized by a sympathetic overshoot in people with epilepsy. This autonomic dysfunction is assumed to be driven by alterations in the central autonomic network. In this study, exercise-induced changes of the interrelation of central and peripheral autonomic activity in patients with epilepsy was assessed. 21 patients with epilepsy (16 seizure-free), and 21 healthy matched controls performed an exhaustive bicycle ergometer test. Immediately before and after the exercise test, resting state electroencephalography measurements (Brain Products GmbH, 128-channel actiCHamp) of 5 min were carried out to investigate functional connectivity assessed by phase locking value in source space for whole brain, central autonomic network and visual network. Additionally, 1-lead ECG (Brain products GmbH) was performed to analyze parasympathetic (root mean square of successive differences (RMSSD) of the heart rate variability) and sympathetic activity (electrodermal activity (meanEDA)). MeanEDA increased (p < 0.001) and RMSSD decreased (p < 0.001) from pre to post-exercise in both groups. Correlation coefficients of meanEDA and central autonomic network functional connectivity differed significantly between the groups (p = 0.004) after exercise. Both patients with epilepsy and normal control subjects revealed the expected physiological peripheral autonomic responses to acute exhaustive exercise, but alterations of the correlation between central autonomic and peripheral sympathetic activity may indicate a different sympathetic reactivity after exercise in patients with epilepsy. The clinical relevance of this finding and its modulators (seizures, anti-seizure medication, etc.) still needs to be elucidated.

[Impact of COVID-19 on some neurological and psychological features in epilepsy]

The new coronavirus infection spread around the world in a very short time and turned into a pandemic with a wave-like flow for more than two years. COVID-19infection affects selectively various organs and systems, including the nervous system; neurological manifestations have been reported, including anosmia, encephalopathy, stroke, epileptogenic disorders, which necessitates studies of the course of brain diseases, among which epilepsy occupies a significant place.

Fitness, performance, and cardiac autonomic responses to exercise in people with epilepsy

People with epilepsy (PWE) are less fit and have an increased risk of sudden cardiac death. Imbalances within the autonomic nervous system (ANS) are believed to mediate some of those effects. However, results are mostly derived from patients whose seizures are refractory to medical therapy. In this study, an exhaustive bicycle ergometer test was delivered to 25 PWE (19 seizure free in the last 6 months) recruited in a community-based setting and 25 age-, sex-, and BMI-matched healthy controls. During the exercise test a 12-channel ECG was recorded and spirometry was carried out to determine the maximal oxygen uptake (VO₂peak) as the gold standard to assess fitness. Before and after exercise, heart rate variability (HRV) and electrodermal activity (EDA) were measured along with an electroencephalogram (EEG). Blood samples were collected to determine anti-seizure drug (ASD) serum levels and physical activity of daily living was evaluated via the International Physical Activity Questionnaire (IPAQ). People with epilepsy and healthy controls were similarly fit and physically active. However, PWE had a lower maximum heart rate, a lower heart rate reserve, and a lower chronotropic index. The ratio between low- to high-frequency HRV changes (LF/HF ratio) was lower in PWE. Two patients with idiopathic genetic epilepsies revealed generalized interictal epileptiform discharges only after, but not before exercise. However, post-exercise EEG measurement was three times longer than pre-exercise and those patients did not report exercise induced seizures in the history. Besides epileptogenesis, anti-seizure medications may also contribute to those autonomic differences.

Epileptic heart: A clinical syndromic approach

Prevention of premature death in patients with chronic epilepsy remains a major challenge. Multiple pathophysiologic factors have been implicated, with intense investigation of cardiorespiratory mechanisms. Up to four in five patients with chronic epilepsy exhibit cardiovascular comorbidities. These findings led us to propose the concept of an "epileptic heart," defined as "a heart and coronary vasculature damaged by chronic epilepsy as a result of repeated surges in catecholamines and hypoxemia leading to electrical and mechanical dysfunction." Among the most prominent changes documented in the literature are high incidence of myocardial infarction and arrhythmia, altered autonomic tone, diastolic dysfunction, hyperlipidemia, and accelerated atherosclerosis. This suite of pathologic changes prompted us to propose for the first time in this review a syndromic approach for improved clinical detection of the epileptic heart condition. In this review, we discuss the key pathophysiologic mechanisms underlying the candidate criteria along with standard and novel techniques that permit evaluation of each of these factors. Specifically, we present evidence of the utility of standard 12-lead, ambulatory, and multiday patch-based electrocardiograms, along with measures of cardiac electrical instability, including T-wave alternans, heart rate variability to detect altered autonomic tone, echocardiography to detect diastolic dysfunction, and plasma biomarkers for assessing hyperlipidemia and accelerated atherosclerosis. Ultimately, the proposed clinical syndromic approach is intended to improve monitoring and evaluation of cardiac risk in patients with chronic epilepsy to foster improved therapeutic strategies to reduce premature cardiac death.

Interictal Heart Rate Variability Analysis Reveals Lateralization of Cardiac Autonomic Control in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Purpose: The temporal lobe, a critical hub for cognition, also plays a central role in the regulation of autonomic cardiovascular functions. Lesions in this area are usually associated with abnormalities in the regulation of heart rate (HR) and blood pressure (BP). The analysis of the heart rate variability (HRV) is useful to evaluate the cardiac parasympathetic nervous system activity. This study aims at comparing HRV changes occurring in two groups of patients suffering from Temporal Lobe Epilepsy (TLE). To that aim, we evaluated patients differentiated by the right or left location of the epileptic foci.

Materials and Methods: Fifty-two adult patients with a diagnosis of TLE were enrolled. Each patient underwent a 20-min EEG + EKG recording in resting state. According to the localization of epileptic focus, patients were divided into two subgroups: right TLE (R-TLE) and left TLE (L-TLE). HRV parameters were calculated with a short-lasting analysis of EKG recordings. Time-domain and frequency domain-related, as well as non-linear analysis, parameters, were compared between the two groups.

Results: Compared to the R-TLE group, L-TLE subjects showed a significant decrease in low frequency (LF) (p < 0.01) and low frequency/high-frequency ratio (LF/HF) (p < 0.001) as well as increased HF values (p < 0.01), a parameter indicative of the presence of an increased cardiac vagal tone. These results were also confirmed in the subgroup analysis that took into account the seizure types, responses to antiepileptic drugs, seizure frequencies, and etiology.

Conclusions: The main finding of the study is that, compared to R-TLE, L-TLE is associated with increased cardiac vagal tone. These results indicate that patients with TLE exhibit a lateralized cardiac autonomic control. L-TLE patients may have a lower risk of developing cardiac dysfunctions and less susceptible to develop Sudden Death for Epilepsy (SUDEP).

Cardiac biomarkers associated with epilepsy in a captive baboon pedigree

The epileptic baboon provides a natural model of idiopathic generalized epilepsy and sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). This retrospective, case-controlled study aims to evaluate cardiac biomarkers of epilepsy, specifically QT-interval prolongation and heart rate variability (HRV), in pedigreed, captive baboons undergoing scalp electroencephalography (EEG). We retrospectively identified 21 epileptic (nine females, mean age = 11.4 ± 5.4 years) and 19 asymptomatic control (12 females, mean age = 10.5 ± 6.3 years) baboons, who had undergone scalp EEG studies with an artifact-free, 10-beat electrocardiogram sample. All baboons were sedated with subanesthetic doses of ketamine prior to electrode placement. PR, QT, and RR intervals were measured, and Fridericia-corrected QT duration (QTcF) and root mean square of successive differences between RR intervals (RMSSD; representative of HRV) values were compared between the groups. The epilepsy group had significantly prolonged QT and QTcF intervals (P = .005) compared to controls. RMSSD values were nonsignificantly decreased in epileptic baboons compared to the control group. This study demonstrates cardiac repolarization anomalies and reduction of HRV in epileptic baboons, providing new cardiac biomarkers in pedigreed baboons and potential risk factors for SUDEP.

Impact of repeated kindled seizures on heart rate rhythms, heart rate variability, and locomotor activity in rats

Although an impact of epilepsy on circadian rhythmicity is well-recognized, there are profound gaps in our understanding of the influence of seizures on diurnal rhythms. The effect on activity levels and heart rate is of particular interest as it might contribute to the disease burden. The kindling model with telemetric transmitter implants provides excellent opportunities to study the consequences of focal and generalized seizures under standardized conditions. Data from kindled rats with generalized seizures revealed an increase in activity and heart rate during the resting phase. Total and short-term heart rate variabilities were not affected by electrode implantation or seizure induction. Ictal alterations in heart rate associated with generalized seizures were characterized by a biphasic bradycardia with an immediate drop of heart rate followed by a transient normalization and a second more steady decrease. In conclusion, the findings demonstrate that once daily generalized seizures can exert significant effects on heart rate rhythms. Respective alterations in patients would be of relevance for patient counselling and therapeutic management. Occurrence of biphasic bradycardia associated with seizure induction suggests that the kindling model is suitable to study the consequences and the prevention of ictal bradycardia, which may pose patients at risk for sudden unexpected death.

Heart rate variability measurement in epilepsy: How can we move from research to clinical practice?

Our objective was to critically evaluate the literature surrounding heart rate variability (HRV) in people with epilepsy and to make recommendations as to how future research could be directed to facilitate and accelerate integration into clinical practice. We reviewed relevant HRV publications including those involving human subjects with seizures. HRV has been studied in patients with epilepsy for more than 30 years and, overall, patients with epilepsy display altered interictal HRV, suggesting a shift in autonomic balance toward sympathetic dominance. This derangement appears more severe in those with temporal lobe epilepsy and drug-resistant epilepsy. Normal diurnal variation in HRV is also disturbed in at least some people with epilepsy, but this aspect has received less study. Some therapeutic interventions, including vagus nerve stimulation and antiepileptic medications, may partially normalize altered HRV, but studies in this area are sometimes contradictory. During seizures, the changes in HRV may be complex, but the general trend is toward a further increase in sympathetic overactivity. Research in HRV in people with epilepsy has been limited by inconsistent experimental protocols and studies that are often underpowered. HRV measurement has the potential to aid clinical epilepsy management in several possible ways. HRV may be useful in predicting which patients are likely to benefit from surgical interventions such as vagus nerve stimulation and focal cerebral resection. As well, HRV could eventually have utility as a biomarker of risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). However, at present, the inconsistent measurement protocols used in research are hindering translation into clinical practice. A minimum protocol for HRV evaluation, to be used in all studies involving epilepsy patients, is necessary to eventually allow HRV to become a useful tool for clinicians. We propose a straightforward protocol, involving 5-minute measurements of root mean square of successive differences in wakefulness and light sleep.

Compromised Dynamic Cerebral Autoregulation in Patients with Epilepsy

Objective

The aim of this study is to analyze dynamic cerebral autoregulation (dCA) in patients with epilepsy.

Methods

One hundred patients with epilepsy and 100 age- and sex-matched healthy controls were recruited. Noninvasive continuous cerebral blood flow velocity of the bilateral middle artery and arterial blood pressure were recorded. Transfer function analyses were used to analyze the autoregulatory parameters (phase difference and gain).

Results

The overall phase difference of patients with epilepsy was significantly lower than that of the healthy control group (p = 0.046). Furthermore, patients with interictal slow wave had significant lower phase difference than the slow-wave-free patients (p = 0.012). There was no difference in overall phase between focal discharges and multifocal discharges in patients with epilepsy. Simultaneously, there was no difference in mean phase between the affected and unaffected hemispheres in patients with unilateral discharges. In particular, interictal slow wave was an independent factor that influenced phase difference in patients with epilepsy (p = 0.016).

Conclusions

Our study documented that dCA is impaired in patients with epilepsy, especially in those with interictal slow wave. The impairment of dCA occurs irrespective of the discharge location and type. Interictal slow wave is an independent factor to predict impaired dCA in patients with epilepsy.

Clinical Trial Identifier

This trial is registered with NCT02775682.

Assessment of Time and Frequency Domain Parameters of Heart Rate Variability and Interictal Cardiac Rhythm Abnormalities in Drug-naïve Patients with Idiopathic Generalized Epilepsy

Background and Purpose:

Epilepsy is a disease known to occur with autonomous phenomenons. Earlier studies indicate decreased heart rate variability (HRV) during ictal and interictal periods among epilepsy patients. In this study, we aim to investigate cardiac rhythm abnormalities and HRV during interictal period between drug-naïve patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (IGE) and healthy control group.

Methods:

Twenty-six patients with IGE and 26 healthy individuals included in the study. In order to eliminate any structural cardiac pathology, transthoracic echocardiography was performed in all subjects and time and frequency domain parameters of HRV were evaluated after 24-hour rhythm holter monitoring.

Results:

Between two groups, no significant difference was detected in terms of mean heart rate and maximum duration between the start of the Q waves and the end of the T waves (QT intervals). In the time domain analysis of HRV, no statically significant difference was detected for standard deviation of all R - R intervals and root-mean-square of successive differences between patient and control group (p = 0,070 and p = 0,104 respectively). In the frequency domain analysis of HRV, patients tended to display lower total power and very low frequency power than did healthy subjects, but the differences were not statistically significant.

Conclusions:

Our results suggest that there is no major effect of the epilepsy on HRV in patients with IGE. It should be emphasized that, in this study, HRV was evaluated only in patients with IGE and that the results are not proper to be generalized for patients with partial seizures.

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy genetics: Molecular diagnostics and prevention

Epidemiologic studies clearly document the public health burden of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). Clinical and experimental studies have uncovered dynamic cardiorespiratory dysfunction, both interictally and at the time of sudden death due to epilepsy. Genetic analyses in humans and in model systems have facilitated our current molecular understanding of SUDEP. Many discoveries have been informed by progress in the field of sudden cardiac death and sudden infant death syndrome. It is becoming apparent that SUDEP genomic complexity parallels that of sudden cardiac death, and that there is a pauci1ty of analytically useful postmortem material. Because many challenges remain, future progress in SUDEP research, molecular diagnostics, and prevention rests in international, collaborative, and transdisciplinary dialogue in human and experimental translational research of sudden death.

Modulation of autonomic activity in neurological conditions: Epilepsy and Tourette Syndrome

This manuscript considers the central but neglected role of the autonomic nervous system in the expression and control of seizures in epilepsy (small) and tics in Tourette Syndrome (TS). In epilepsy, consideration of autonomic involvement is typically confined to differential diagnoses (e.g., syncope), or in relation to Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). Investigation is more limited in Tourette Syndrome. The role of the autonomic nervous system in the generation and prevention of epileptic seizures is largely overlooked. Emotional stimuli such as anxiety and stress are potent causes of seizures and tic activity in epilepsy and TS, respectively. This manuscript will describe a possible neural mechanism by which afferent autonomic projections linked to cognition and behavior influence central thalamo-cortical regulation, which appears to be an important means for controlling both seizure and tic activity. It also summarizes the link between the integrity of the default mode network and autonomic regulation in patients with epilepsy as well as the link between impaired motor control and autonomic regulation in patients with TS. Two neurological conditions; epilepsy and TS were chosen, as seizures and tics represent parameters that can be easily measured to investigate influences of autonomic functions. The EDA biofeedback approach is anticipated to gain a strong position within the next generation of treatment for epilepsy, as a non-invasive technique with minimal side effects. This approach also takes advantage of the current practical opportunity to utilize growing digital health technology.

The role of stress as a trigger for epileptic seizures: a narrative review of evidence from human and animal studies

Stress is one of the most frequently self-identified seizure triggers in patients with epilepsy; however, most previous publications on stress and epilepsy have focused on the role of stress in the initial development of epilepsy. This narrative review explores the causal role of stress in triggering seizures in patients with existing epilepsy. Findings from human studies of psychological stress, as well as of physiologic stress responses in humans and animals, and evidence from nonpharmacologic interventions for epilepsy are considered. The evidence from human studies for stress as a trigger of epileptic seizures is inconclusive. Although retrospective self-report studies show that stress is the most common patient-perceived seizure precipitant, prospective studies have yielded mixed results and studies of life events suggest that stressful experiences only trigger seizures in certain individuals. There is limited evidence suggesting that autonomic arousal can precede seizures. Interventions designed to improve coping with stress reduce seizures in some individuals. Studies of physiologic stress using animal epilepsy models provide more convincing evidence. Exposure to exogenous and endogenous stress mediators has been found to increase epileptic activity in the brain and trigger overt seizures, especially after repeated exposure. In conclusion, stress is likely to exacerbate the susceptibility to epileptic seizures in a subgroup of individuals with epilepsy and may play a role in triggering "spontaneous" seizures. However, there is currently no strong evidence for a close link between stress and seizures in the majority of people with epilepsy, although animal research suggests that such links are likely. Further research is needed into the relationship between stress and seizures and into interventions designed to reduce perceived stress and improve quality of life with epilepsy.

Heart rate variability

Heart rate variability (HRV) provides indirect insight into autonomic nervous system tone, and has a well-established role as a marker of cardiovascular risk. Recent decades brought an increasing interest in HRV assessment as a diagnostic tool in detection of autonomic impairment, and prediction of prognosis in several neurological disorders. Both bedside analysis of simple markers of HRV, as well as more sophisticated HRV analyses including time, frequency domain and nonlinear analysis have been proven to detect early autonomic involvement in several neurological disorders. Furthermore, altered HRV parameters were shown to be related with cardiovascular risk, including sudden cardiac risk, in patients with neurological diseases. This chapter aims to review clinical and prognostic application of HRV analysis in diabetes, stroke, multiple sclerosis, muscular dystrophies, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.

Interictal autonomic abnormalities in idiopathic Rolandic epilepsy

We investigated 50 young patients with a diagnosis of Rolandic Epilepsy (RE) for the presence of abnormalities in autonomic tone compared with 50 young patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsy with absences and 50 typically developing children of comparable age. We analyzed time domain (N-N interval, pNN50) and frequency domain (High Frequency (HF), Low Frequency (LF) and LF/HF ratio) indices from ten-minute resting EKG activity. Patients with RE showed significantly higher HF and lower LF power and lower LF/HF ratio than controls, independent of the epilepsy group, and did not show significant differences in any other autonomic index with respect to the two control groups. In RE, we found a negative relationship between both seizure load and frequency of sleep interictal EEG abnormalities with parasympathetic drive levels. These changes might be the expression of adaptive mechanisms to prevent the excessive sympathetic drive seen in patients with refractory epilepsies.

Parasympathetic alteration during sub-clinical seizures

INTRODUCTION

Autonomic instability is considered a contributing factor in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). The aim of this pilot study was to measure parasympathetic activity in sub-clinical seizures to investigate autonomic instability.

MATERIALS AND METHODS

A prospective study based on Video-electroencephalography (EEG)/electrocardiography (ECG)/oxygen saturation (SAO2) recordings was selected from patients having sub-clinical seizures during stage 3 or 4 sleep. We analysed R-R intervals in the ECG from 1-min prior to the electrographic onset to the end of sub-clinical seizures. Matched non-ictal R-R baseline measurements were selected from stages 3 or 4 sleep. R-R interval data were analysed using NeuroScope software providing a cardiac index of parasympathetic activity (CIPA). BioSignal short-term heart rate variability (HRV) software was used to analyse the same R-R interval data previously analysed using NeuroScope except that sub-clinical seizure data was embedded within 5-min epochs and compared to 5-min epochs of non-ictal measurements.

RESULTS

A total of 33 sub-clinical seizures were recorded from 11 patients comprising 19 generalised sub-clinical seizures (2 patients), 9 right temporal lobe sub-clinical seizures (5 patients) and 5 left temporal lobe sub-clinical seizures (4 patients) were compared to matched non-ictal measurements. Parasympathetic activity was clearly altered during total sub-clinical seizures in terms of the CIPA (p<0.001) and 5-min HRV high frequency (HF) % (p=0.026) measures. Generalised sub-clinical seizures resulted in increased cardiac parasympathetic activity whereas temporal lobe seizures were associated with a decrease in parasympathetic activity.

CONCLUSION

This pilot study indicates that parasympathetic changes occur during sub-clinical seizures. Generalised sub-clinical seizures may be associated with more autonomic instability compared to temporal lobe sub-clinical seizures.

Heart Rate Variability, Homeostasis, and Brain Function

Measures of heart rate variability (HRV) are major indices of the sympathovagal balance in cardiovascular research. These measures are thought to reflect complex patterns of brain activation as well and HRV is now emerging as a descriptor thought to provide information on the nervous system organization of homeostatic responses in accordance with the situational requirements. Current models of integration equate HRV to the affective states as parallel outputs of the central autonomic network, with HRV reflecting its organization of affective, physiological, “cognitive,” and behavioral elements into a homeostatic response. Clinical application is in the study of patients with psychiatric disorders, traumatic brain injury, impaired emotion-specific processing, personality, and communication disorders. HRV responses to highly emotional sensory inputs have been identified in subjects in vegetative state and in healthy or brain injured subjects processing complex sensory stimuli. In this respect, HRV measurements can provide additional information on the brain functional setup in the severely brain damaged and would provide researchers with a suitable approach in the absence of conscious behavior or whenever complex experimental conditions and data collection are impracticable, as it is the case, for example, in intensive care units.

Autonomic effects of refractory epilepsy on heart rate variability in children: influence of intermittent vagus nerve stimulation

AIM

Vagus nerve stimulation (VNS) is a therapeutic option for individuals with refractory epilepsy. Individuals with refractory epilepsy are prone to dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. Reduced heart rate variability is a marker of dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. Our goal was to study heart rate variability in children with refractory epilepsy and the influence of VNS on this parameter.

METHODS

In 17 children (13 male; four female; mean age 7 y 6 mo; age range 3-16 y) with refractory epilepsy, electroencephalographic and electrocardiographic data were obtained before and after implantation of VNS during stage 2 and slow-wave sleep. Time and frequency domain parameters were calculated and the results were compared with an age- and sex-matched group of individuals without refractory epilepsy.

RESULTS

Our results show that autonomic cardiac control is affected in individuals with refractory epilepsy. There is a striking reduction in vagal tone during slow-wave sleep and modulation capacity is smaller than in individuals without refractory epilepsy. Implantation of VNS induces a shift in sympathovagal balance towards sympathetic predominance and an improvement in autonomic modulation.

INTERPRETATION

Heart rate variability is affected in children with refractory epilepsy, and changes after implantation of VNS. The observed changes could be of importance in the cardiac complications of individuals with epilepsy and should be explored in more detail.

Heart rate variability measures as biomarkers in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures: potential and limitations

Heart rate variability (HRV) metrics provide reliable information about the functioning of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) and have been discussed as biomarkers in anxiety and personality disorders. We wanted to explore the potential of various HRV metrics (VLF, LF, HF, SDNN, RMSSD, cardiovagal index, cardiosympathetic index, approximate entropy) as biomarkers in patients with psychogenic nonepileptic seizures (PNES). HRV parameters were extracted from 3-minute resting single-lead ECGs of 129 subjects (52 with PNES, 42 with refractory epilepsy and 35 age-matched healthy controls). Compared with healthy controls, both patient groups had reduced HRV (all measures P<0.03). Binary logistic regression analyses yielded significant models differentiating between healthy controls and patients with PNES or patients with epilepsy (correctly classifying 86.2 and 93.5% of cases, respectively), but not between patients with PNES and those with epilepsy. Interictal resting parasympathetic activity and sympathetic activity differ between healthy controls and patients with PNES or those with epilepsy. However, resting HRV measures do not differentiate between patients with PNES and those with epilepsy.

Repeated amygdala-kindled seizures induce ictal rebound tachycardia in rats

It is thought that cardiovascular changes may contribute to sudden death in patients with epilepsy. To examine cardiovascular alterations that occur during epileptogenesis, we measured the heart rate of rats submitted to the electrical amygdala kindling model. Heart rate was recorded before, during, and after the induced seizures. Resting heart rate was increased in stages 1, 3, and 5 as compared with the unstimulated control condition. In the initial one third of the seizures, we observed bradycardia, which increased in intensity with increasing stage and was blocked by injecting methyl atropine. During stage 5 seizures, a rebound tachycardia was observed that also increased in intensity with increasing number of seizures. This study demonstrated the influence of seizure frequency on cardiac autonomic modulation, providing a basis for discussion of potential mechanisms that cause patients with epilepsy to die suddenly.

Cardiac changes in epilepsy

Epilepsy and seizures can have a dramatic effect on the autonomic nervous system by involvement of the central autonomic control centers. The peri-ictal changes can lead to short-term alteration of cardiac functions in patients with seizures, and are partially hemispheric specific. Changes in heart rhythm, conduction and even subtle signs of ischemia have been reported. Ictal asystole and the lock-step phenomenon during seizures play an important role in the pathophysiology of SUDEP. In patients with longlasting epilepsy and multiple seizures, there are now convincing arguments for a chronic dysfunction of the autonomic nervous system. In this sense, heart rate variability can be considered as a biomarker of autonomic dysfunction in epilepsy. Early recognition of these short- and long-term cardiac effects will become useful in predicting seizures and in guiding more individualized treatment in the near future.

Autonomic alterations and cardiac changes in epilepsy

Studies with heart rate variability have revealed interictal autonomic alterations in patients with epilepsy. In addition, epilepsy is frequently associated with ictal tachycardia or bradycardia, which sometimes precedes the onset of seizures. Ictal tachycardia is sometimes associated with electrocardiography (ECG) morphologic changes and ictal bradycardia often progresses to asystole. Such cardiac manifestations of seizures have been hypothesized as possible causes for sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUPEP). The present review relates to interictal and ictal cardiac manifestations of epilepsy with focus on heart rate, heart rate variability, and ECG changes. Aspects of the supporting mechanisms are discussed and attention is drawn to the interaction between central and peripheral effects, interictal autonomic conditions, ictal autonomic discharges, and administration of antiepileptic drugs in shaping the ictal cardiac changes. Because these interactions are complex and not totally understood, closer surveillance of patients and more experimental work is necessary to elucidate the mechanistic support of autonomic and cardiac changes in epilepsy, and to design better strategies to avoid their undesirable effects. It is also suggested that some of these changes could be used as predictors or markers for the onset of seizures.

The circadian rhythm and its interaction with human epilepsy: a review of literature

Knowledge on the interaction between circadian rhythm and human epilepsy is relatively poor, although if it exists, this interaction may be of value for better knowledge of pathophysiology and for timing of diagnostic procedures and therapy. It appears that human seizure occurrence may have 24-h rhythmicity, depending on the origin. These findings are endorsed by animal studies. Rats placed in constant darkness showed spontaneous limbic seizures occurring in an endogenously mediated circadian pattern. More studies are available on the influence of epilepsy on circadian rhythms. Significant differences in chronotypes between patients with different epilepsy syndromes have been found and numerous studies have described influences of epilepsy and seizures on sleep. In contrast, knowledge on (core) body temperature and clock genes in patients is minimal. Reduced heart rate variability and changed hormone levels, which are under the influence of the biological clock, have been observed in people with epilepsy. In short, large gaps in the knowledge about the interaction of circadian rhythm and human epilepsy still remain. Proposals for studies in this borderline area between the biological clock and epilepsy will be discussed.

A review of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: prediction of patients at risk

This review attempts to provide up-to-date quantitative data from published reports on sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) appearing on Medline and, especially, to provide a means to predict the probability of SUDEP in a given patient. The mean incidence of SUDEP was 1.8/1000, similar to the median of 1.5. The mean standardized mortality ratio was 6.8, and the mean percentage of SUDEP cases among deaths from epilepsy was 16.6. Seventeen risk factors were identified, each given a value according to the number of studies in the literature that specified that condition as a significant risk. The addition of these 17 values then indicated the risk for a given patient. The author calculated these for a group of 91 patients who died of SUDEP and also for 91 live patients. Many of their values for the different risks were significantly different. The sensitivity of these SUDEP values was 71.3%, the specificity 81.8%, and the positive predictive value 84.6%. A discussion includes the question of whether the death in SUDEP is primarily cardiac or pulmonary and the suggestion that it may be either or both in a given patient. The most important risk factor in this study was noncompliance with antiepileptic medication, and the main message of this study to caregivers is that therapeutic drug levels are crucial to avoid SUDEP.

Circadian Variation in Heart-Rate Variability in Localization-related Epilepsy

PURPOSE

Case-control studies of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) have reported that SUDEP is more likely to occur during sleep and thus presumably during night hours. The circadian variation of heart-rate variability (HRV) might be of relevance to this risk. We examined night versus daytime HRV in patients with newly diagnosed and refractory localization-related epilepsy, assessing the effects of drug treatment and epilepsy surgery on the night/daytime HRV ratio.

METHODS

We used spectral analysis to assess HRV and calculated the night-time (00.00-05.00)/daytime (07.30-21.30) ratio of HRV in 14 patients with newly diagnosed localization-related epilepsy before and during carbamazepine (CBZ) treatment and in 21 patients with temporal lobe epilepsy before and after epilepsy surgery. Both groups were compared with age- and sex-matched controls.

RESULTS

No significant differences were found from controls in the night/daytime ratios of HRV whether compared before or after initiation of treatment with CBZ in newly diagnosed epilepsy patients. When patients were used as their own controls, night/daytime ratios of standard deviation of RR intervals (p = 0.04) and total power (p = 0.04) were significantly lower during treatment than before. Compared with those of controls, the night/daytime ratios were lower in epilepsy surgery patients before surgery [low-frequency power (p = 0.04); high-frequency power (p = 0.04)]. Night/daytime ratios did not change significantly after surgery.

CONCLUSIONS

The HRV of the patients was more affected during night-time when the risk of SUDEP seems to be highest in such patients.