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Unexplained Death (unexplained + death)

Distribution by Scientific Domains
Medical Sciences80%

Kinds of Unexplained Death

  • sudden unexplained death
    		•

    Selected Abstracts

    Anoxia,ischemia: A mechanism of seizure termination in ictal asystole

    EPILEPSIA, Issue 1 2010
    Stephan U. Schuele
    Summary Cerebral anoxia,ischemia (CAI) is a potent inhibitor of cerebral hyperactivity and a potential mechanism of seizure self-termination. Prolonged ictal asystole (IA) invariably leads to CAI and has been implicated as a potential cause of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy (SUDEP). IA was seen in eight consecutive patients (0.12% of all patients monitored). Ten of their seizures with IA had evidence of CAI on electroencephalography (EEG), manifested by bilateral hypersynchronous slowing (BHS), and were compared to 18 seizures without signs of CAI. The ictal EEG pattern resolved in all 10 CAI events with onset of the BHS. The period from IA onset to seizure end was reduced in events with BHS compared to events without BHS (10.5 s vs. 28.3 s, respectively; p = 0.005), and the total seizure duration tended to be shorter. Anoxia,ischemia as a result of IA may represent an effective endogenous mechanism for seizure termination and may explain why the hearts of patients with ictal asystole reported to date in the literature resumed beating spontaneously. [source]

    Postictal Central Apnea as a Cause of SUDEP: Evidence From Near-SUDEP Incident

    EPILEPSIA, Issue 11 2000
    Elson L. So
    Summary: While undergoing video-EEG monitoring, a 20-year-old woman had a 56-second convulsive seizure, after which she developed persistent apnea. The rhythm of the electrocardiogram complexes was unimpaired for approximately 10 seconds, after which it gradually and progressively slowed until it stopped 57 seconds later. Evaluation after successful cardiorespiratory resuscitation showed no evidence of airway obstruction or pulmonary edema. The patient had a previous cardio-respiratory arrest after a complex partial seizure without secondary generalization. Although epileptic seizures are known to be potentially arrhythmogenic to the heart, our observations strongly suggest that one probable mechanism of sudden unexplained death in epilepsy is the marked central suppression of respiratory activity after seizures. [source]

    The Role of Environmental Factors in the Causation of Sudden Death in Infants: Two Cases of Sudden Unexpected Death in Two Unrelated Infants Who Were Cared for by the Same Babysitter

    JOURNAL OF FORENSIC SCIENCES, Issue 6 2007
    Bennet I. Omalu M.D., M.P.H.
    Abstract:, We report two cases of sudden unexpected death in two unrelated African American female infants, 2 months and 4 months old. Both infants were attended to by the same babysitter in the same apartment and died 39 days apart in the same bed and in the same bedroom. The autopsy of the first infant revealed sudden unexplained death in an infant. Toxicologic analysis for carbon monoxide (CO) was not performed because it was not suspected. When the second infant died, investigation into the ambient air quality within the apartment revealed high levels of CO emanating from a poorly ventilated and defective hot water heater, which was located across a hallway from the bedroom where the two babies died. CO saturation levels in the postmortem blood samples of the two babies were elevated and were similar (13% and 14%). Nicotine and cotinine were not detected in the blood sample of the two infants. Cherry-red livor mortis was absent. Acute CO intoxication was determined to be the underlying cause of these two unexpected deaths. These two cases underscore the need to integrate ambient air analysis and postmortem CO analysis as routine components of the comprehensive death investigation of infants who die suddenly and unexpectedly. [source]

    Urinary bladder hyperreflexia: A rat animal model

    NEUROUROLOGY AND URODYNAMICS, Issue 7 2003
    Hassan Shaker
    Abstract In this work, we are presenting a rat animal model for bladder hyperreflexia after suprasacral spinal cord transection. Our aim was to standardize an animal model that can be useful in studying this condition. After standardizing the animal model in a pilot study, 26 female Sprague,Dawley rats were subjected to spinal cord transection at the level of T10 vertebra. Four animals were subjected to cystometrogram (CMG) 24 hr after spinalization and six rats 3 weeks post-spinalization. These CMGs were compared to that of six normal controls. The detailed description of the model presented in this manuscript, is the final result after several modifications. All the animals consistently developed hyperreflexia after an initial period of spinal shock phase. Expressed volume of urine continued to decrease until it reached a plateau after peaking at 1-week post-spinalization. The attrition rate reached 27.3% after several improvements in the animal model and was mostly from self-inflicted injuries. Post-operative complications included hypothermia, decubitus ulcers, hematuria, urinary tract infection in addition to the unexplained death of two animals. In conclusion, we believe that this animal model closely resembles the clinical condition of hyperreflexia and follows similar course. The relative low cost of this animal model and the easy maintenance makes it a valuable tool to study such a condition. Neurourol. Urodynam. 22:693,698, 2003. © 2003 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]

    Lung-function tests in neonates and infants with chronic lung disease: Tidal breathing and respiratory control

    PEDIATRIC PULMONOLOGY, Issue 5 2006
    BMedSc, David N. Baldwin MBBS
    Abstract This paper is the fourth in a series of reviews that will summarize available data and critically discuss the potential role of lung-function testing in infants with acute neonatal respiratory disorders and chronic lung disease of infancy. The current paper addresses information derived from tidal breathing measurements within the framework outlined in the introductory paper of this series, with particular reference to how these measurements inform on control of breathing. Infants with acute and chronic respiratory illness demonstrate differences in tidal breathing and its control that are of clinical consequence and can be measured objectively. The increased incidence of significant apnea in preterm infants and infants with chronic lung disease, together with the reportedly increased risk of sudden unexplained death within the latter group, suggests that control of breathing is affected by both maturation and disease. Clinical observations are supported by formal comparison of tidal breathing parameters and control of breathing indices in the research setting. Pediatr Pulmonol. 2006; 41:391,419. © 2006 Wiley-Liss, Inc. [source]