BACKGROUND： Dysfunctional autonomic cardiac regulation is thought to be associated with high mortality in epileptic patients. OBJECTIVE： To explore changes in sympathetic and parasympathetic activities in epileptic ...BACKGROUND： Dysfunctional autonomic cardiac regulation is thought to be associated with high mortality in epileptic patients. OBJECTIVE： To explore changes in sympathetic and parasympathetic activities in epileptic patients with repetitive generalized tonic-clonic seizures by observing interictal heart rate. DESIGN, TIME AND SEI-I＇ING： A case-control study was performed at the Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital from July 2006 to May 2009. PARTICIPANTS： A total of 30 patients, comprising 15 males and 15 females, who presented with chronic epilepsy and repetitive generalized tonic-clonic seizures according to International League Against Epilepsy guidelines （ILAE, 1989）, were selected. In addition, 30 matched, healthy volunteers were selected as controls. METHODS： Lead I electrocardiogram was performed in the epilepsy and control groups for 5 minutes during a daytime interictal period. Frequency-domain analysis of heart rate variability was performed using fast Fourier transformation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Heart rate interval, high frequency （HF; 0.15-0.45 Hz） power, low frequency （LF; 0.04-0.15 Hz） power, and LF/（HF ＋ LF） expressed in normalized units （LF%）. RESULTS： Compared with the control group, the epilepsy group exhibited a significantly lower mean heart rate interval and HF power, but a significantly greater LF% （P〈 0.01）. There was no significant difference in LF power between the groups （P = 0.17）. CONCLUSION： Patients with chronic epilepsy exhibited faster heart rates during interictal periods, which could contribute to hiclher sympathetic and lower parasympathetic activities.展开更多
基金a Grant from the Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital,Hualien,Taiwan
文摘BACKGROUND： Dysfunctional autonomic cardiac regulation is thought to be associated with high mortality in epileptic patients. OBJECTIVE： To explore changes in sympathetic and parasympathetic activities in epileptic patients with repetitive generalized tonic-clonic seizures by observing interictal heart rate. DESIGN, TIME AND SEI-I＇ING： A case-control study was performed at the Buddhist Tzu Chi General Hospital from July 2006 to May 2009. PARTICIPANTS： A total of 30 patients, comprising 15 males and 15 females, who presented with chronic epilepsy and repetitive generalized tonic-clonic seizures according to International League Against Epilepsy guidelines （ILAE, 1989）, were selected. In addition, 30 matched, healthy volunteers were selected as controls. METHODS： Lead I electrocardiogram was performed in the epilepsy and control groups for 5 minutes during a daytime interictal period. Frequency-domain analysis of heart rate variability was performed using fast Fourier transformation. MAIN OUTCOME MEASURES： Heart rate interval, high frequency （HF; 0.15-0.45 Hz） power, low frequency （LF; 0.04-0.15 Hz） power, and LF/（HF ＋ LF） expressed in normalized units （LF%）. RESULTS： Compared with the control group, the epilepsy group exhibited a significantly lower mean heart rate interval and HF power, but a significantly greater LF% （P〈 0.01）. There was no significant difference in LF power between the groups （P = 0.17）. CONCLUSION： Patients with chronic epilepsy exhibited faster heart rates during interictal periods, which could contribute to hiclher sympathetic and lower parasympathetic activities.
