Epilepsy is a highly prevalent disease characterized by recurrent, spontaneous seizures. Approximately one-third of epilepsy patients will not achieve seizure freedom with medical management and become refractory to conventional treatments. These patients are at greatest risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP). The exact etiology of SUDEP is unknown, but a combination of respiratory, cardiac, neuronal electrographic dysfunction, and arousal impairment is thought to underlie SUDEP. Serotonin (5-HT) is involved in regulation of breathing, sleep/wake states, arousal, and seizure modulation and has been implicated in the pathophysiology of SUDEP. This review explores the current state of understanding of the relationship between 5-HT, epilepsy, and respiratory and autonomic control processes relevant to SUDEP in epilepsy patients and in animal models.

中文翻译：

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血清素与癫痫症突然意外死亡。


癫痫是一种高度流行的疾病，其特征是反复发作、自发性癫痫发作。大约三分之一的癫痫患者无法通过药物治疗消除癫痫发作，并对常规治疗产生耐药性。这些患者发生癫痫猝死（SUDEP）的风险最大。 SUDEP 的确切病因尚不清楚，但呼吸、心脏、神经元电图功能障碍和觉醒障碍被认为是 SUDEP 的基础。血清素 (5-HT) 参与呼吸、睡眠/觉醒状态、觉醒和癫痫发作调节的调节，并且与 SUDEP 的病理生理学有关。本综述探讨了目前对癫痫患者和动物模型中 5-HT、癫痫以及与 SUDEP 相关的呼吸和自主控制过程之间关系的理解。