ABSTRACT
In 1902 Spratling reported on the causes and manner of death in epilepsy, including sudden unexpected death. For the next 100 years, examinations of mechanisms of sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP) in controlled animal experiments were few. Published human case reports or epidemiology studies with conjectures about the mechanisms of sudden death did appear in the literature. None of these human reports could concretely address mechanisms of and risk factors for SUDEP due to limitations of conducting explorative, definitive studies in humans. Research funding for animal studies were almost nonexistent with many focused on the concerns about raising the issue of sudden death when talking with people with epilepsy, their family and friends. It was not until ~2008-2013 that National Institutes of Health with strong encouragement by the American Epilepsy Society, Citizens United for Research in Epilepsy (CURE), and other organizations funded studies about SUDEP. Their most recent call for proposals finally addressed the need for and lack of animal studies to address mechanisms of and risk factors for SUDEP.
