Document Type
Article
Publication Date
3-19-2025
Abstract
People with epilepsy who have uncontrolled seizures are at increased risk of all-cause mortality, injuries, comorbidities, mood and psychosocial disorders, and diminished quality of life. For those with focal epilepsy, focal to bilateral tonic-clonic seizures (FBTCS) pose the greatest risk for sudden unexpected death in epilepsy (SUDEP), a leading cause of premature mortality in people with epilepsy. Cenobamate is a third-generation antiseizure medication with demonstrated efficacy in controlling focal seizures, including FBTCS, in people with drug-resistant epilepsy. Treatment with cenobamate in clinical trials was associated with a reduction in all-cause mortality to a rate statistically indistinguishable from that seen in the general population, and SUDEP rates were lower than expected. As FBTCS are associated with the highest risk of death, prevention of this seizure type is especially important, and physicians should continue to try new therapies to prevent these seizures. A shared decision-making model should be used when interacting with patients and their care providers to achieve and maintain seizure control and maximize treatment outcomes.
Recommended Citation
Sperling, Michael R.; Rosenfeld, William E.; Watson, John; and Klein, Pavel, "Seizure Freedom and Reducing the Risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Patients With Focal Epilepsy Treated With Cenobamate or Other Antiseizure Medications" (2025). Department of Neurology Faculty Papers. Paper 358.
https://jdc.jefferson.edu/neurologyfp/358
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
PubMed ID
40105710
Language
English
Comments
This article is the author’s final published version in Epilepsia, Volume 66, Issue S1, 2025, Pages 4 - 14.
The published version is available at https://doi.org/10.1111/epi.18307. Copyright © 2025 The Author(s). Epilepsia published by Wiley Periodicals LLC on behalf of International League Against Epilepsy.