Research is currently being conducted to better understand SUDEP. Experts believe that SUDEP may be related to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS), Sudden Unexpected Death in Infancy (SUDI), and Sudden Unexplained Death in Children (SUDC). In animal studies, researchers have found respiratory arrest to be the cause of death in SUDEP. 

In another study from the University of Iowa, researchers found that apnea occurs during seizures in children only when the seizure reaches a specific area of the amygdala — which the researchers have named the Amygdala Inhibition of Respiration (AIR) site. Additional research is being conducted on how to most effectively prevent respiratory arrest and stimulate breathing recovery following a seizure.

Patient Stories & SUDEP in the News:

• Remembering Olympic Gold Medalist Florence ‘Flo-Joy’ Griffith Joyner

• Jeanne Donalty: A Mother’s Story Losing a Child to Unexplained Death in Epilepsy

• All That Remains by Jessica Brandes

• My son Felix was 20 when he died. Better awareness of epilepsy might have saved him

• Disney Channel Star Cameron Boyce

• Cameron Boyce’s Parents Reflect on His ‘Tremendous Loss’ 4 Years Ago 

• A Risk for Sudden Death in Epilepsy that Often Goes Unmentioned

• Epilepsy: Overlooked and Underfunded

• Epilepsy in America: What Must be Done

The information on this website is not medical advice. Please talk to your doctor about any health concerns you or a loved one may be experiencing.