Razi Journal of Medical Sciences

  Background & Aim : Sudden Unexpected Death after Epilepsy (SUDEP) is one of potentially lethal side effects of the seizures. Cardiac arrhythmia and myocardial damage have been postulated as underlying causes. On the other hand, serum cardiac troponin I (cTnI) level is one of the most specific cardiac markers for myocardial damage. Therefore, the aim of the present study was to evaluate the level of troponin I in non-cardiac uncomplicated epileptic patients.

 �Patients and Method: This analytical cross-sectional study covered forty-nine 12-65-year-old patients with a history of uncomplicated epileptic seizures and no previous history of cardiac problems following an episode of ictal attack during recent 6 hours to 10 days. The subjects underwent cardiac evaluations including ECG, echocardiography, and serum cTnI level measurement. The number of seizures, the age at the onset of seizures, and the time past the last seizure were recorded as well as demographic variables.

  Results: The mean age of the patients was 21.18(SD=8.37) with the male/female ratio of 2.26. The mean of hours past the recent seizure episode was 54(SD=52.97) hours. Serum cTnI values were reported as normal in all the patients with the mean of 0.026(SD=0.015) ng/ml. However, a significant correlation was found between the level of cTnI and the number of seizures (r _Spearman=0.743, P<0.001).

  Conclusion: Our study showed normal values of serum cTnI following an episode of epileptic seizure attack in 12-65-year-old patients with uncomplicated epileptic seizures and no history of previous cardiac problems. However, the level of cTnI was increased in patients with frequent episodes (>3) of epileptic seizures. An experimental model may be suggested to clarify the correlation between serum cTnI levels and ictal states in uncomplicated epileptic seizures.