Does Reducing Seizure Frequency Decrease SUDEP?

Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) is responsible for most of the increased mortality in patients with epilepsy. The presence of uncontrolled seizures is considered to be strongly associated with increased risk for SUDEP. Observational studies indicate that complete control of disabling seizures with medication or surgery may mitigate or even eliminate SUDEP risk. However, whether simply reducing seizure frequency — a much more common clinical scenario for patients with medically intractable epilepsy — also helps reduce SUDEP risk remains unclear.

From the past 50 years of medical literature, researchers identified 112 trials of adjunctive antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment for refractory epilepsy with identifiable causes of death (…