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An increased risk of sudden death has been reported in patients with epilepsy since the late 1800s, and possibly much earlier (DeToledo et al., 1999; Doherty, 2004). In the past two decades sudden unexpected (or unexplained) death in epilepsy (SUDEP) has received increasing attention and been recognized as more widespread than previously believed. Despite the recent increase in awareness, “systematic well funded research remains limited. The medical literature contains much repetition, with effort spent on re-analysing data with substantial methodological limitations,” (Tomson et al., 2008). In addition to the need for better clinical and basic science studies, and improved epidemiological data, there is also a need for increased cognizance and understanding of SUDEP among neurologists and other physicians as well as patients and families.

A massive literature on SUDEP and closely related phenomena exists, with many studies having considerable overlap. Many isolated case reports have been published, and considering them collectively increases their informative power. To facilitate comparison of related articles, annotations are provided for most entries in this bibliography, and these are hyperlinked where applicable to other articles’ in the hope of permitting a more efficient synthesis of the literature. To further promote direct consultation of the primary literature, references are hyperlinked to their digital object identifier when available, permitting an interested reader one-click access to the original publication. An index is provided, and its entries link back to the site of their appearance in the bibliography. Because the SUDEP literature contains “much repetition,” it is hoped that this ‘active document’ approach will permit readers to navigate through relevant publications more efficiently, with the ultimate aim of improved patient care and better mechanistic understanding of the process, both of which have the potential to reduce SUDEP deaths.

Articles (organized by author)

A

• Ackerman, MJ (2005): Cardiac causes of sudden unexpected death in children and their relationship to seizures and syncope: Genetic testing for cardiac electropathies
• Adams, R (1827): Cases of diseases of the heart accompanied with pathological observations
• Akalin F, Tirtir A, and Yilmaz Y (2003): Increased QT dispersion in epileptic children
• Al-Aweel IC, Krishnamurthy KB, Hausdorff JM, Mietus JE, Ives JR, Blum AS, Schomer DL, and Goldberger AL (1999): Postictal heart rate oscillations in partial epilepsy
• Almansori M, Ijaz M, and Ahmed SN (2006): Cerebral arrhythmia influencing cardiac rhythm: A case of ictal bradycardia
• Altenmüller DM, Zehender M, and Schulze-Bonhage A (2004): High-grade atrioventricular block triggered by spontaneous and stimulation-induced epileptic activity in the left temporal lobe
• Annegers JF and Coan SP (1999): SUDEP: Overview of definitions and review of incidence data
• Annegers JF, Coan SP, Hauser WA, Leestma J, Duffell W, and Tarver B (1998): Epilepsy, vagal nerve stimulation by the NCP system, mortality, and sudden, unexpected, unexplained death
• Annegers JF, Coan SP, Hauser WA, and Leestma J (2000): Epilepsy, vagal nerve stimulation by the NCP system, all-cause mortality, and sudden, unexpected, unexplained death
• Antoniuk SA, Oliva LV, Bruck I, Malucelli M, Yabumoto S, and Castellano JL (2001): Sudden unexpected, unexplained death in epilepsy autopsied patients
• Arida RM, Scorza CA, Schmidt B, de Albuquerque M, Cavalheiro EA, and Scorza FA (2008): Physical activity in sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: Much more than a simple sport
• Asadi-Pooya AA and Sperling MR (2009): Clinical features of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy
• Aserinsky E (1965): Periodic respiratory pattern occurring in conjunction with eye movements during sleep
• Aurlien D, Taubøll E, and Gjerstad L (2007): Lamotrigine in idiopathic epilepsy – Increased risk of cardiac death?
• Aurlien D, Tauböll E, and Gjerstad L (2008): An insufficient effect of lamotrigine leading to fatal seizures
• Aurlien D, Leren TP, Taubøll E, and Gjerstad L (2009): New SCN5A mutation in a SUDEP victim with idiopathic epilepsy

B

• Bateman LM, Li CS, and Seyal M (2008): Ictal hypoxemia in localization-related epilepsy: Analysis of incidence, severity and risk factors
• Bateman LM, Spitz M, and Seyal M (2010): Ictal hypoventilation contributes to cardiac arrhythmia and sudep: Report on two deaths in video-eeg-monitored patients
• Bell GS and Sander JW (2006): Sudden unexpected death in epilepsy. Risk factors, possible 225 mechanisms and prevention: A reappraisal
• Bell GS, Peacock JL, and Sander JW (2009): Seasonality as a risk factor for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy: A study in a large cohort