Researchers are closer to finding out why up to 300 Australians with epilepsy suddenly die each year, after observing for the first time what happens to the heart during an epileptic seizure.
Pre-clinical trials by researchers from the Royal Melbourne Hospital and University of Melbourne have established a connection between the activity in the brain during an epileptic seizure and the long-term health of the heart.
”We’re the first ones that have made this link, which could prove important,” said Kim Powell, who heads the molecular epilepsy group at the university’s department of medicine.
