SUDDEN UNEXPECTED DEATH IN EPILEPTICS FOLLOWING SUDDEN, INTENSE, INCREASES IN GEOMAGNETIC-ACTIVITY - PREVALENCE OF EFFECT AND POTENTIAL MECHANISMS

Abrupt, intense increases in global geomagnetic activity during the lo cal night may precipitate a significant proportion of sudden unexpecte d (or unexplained) deaths (SUD) in epileptics. Over a 2-year period SU D in healthy chronic epileptic rats occurred when the average daily ge omagnetic activity exceeded 50 nT (nanoTesla) and suddenly began durin g local night. Other experiments demonstrated that epileptic rats disp layed more spontaneous seizures per night if there had been sudden inc reases in geomagnetic activity. Analyses of previously published data indicated that the number of SUDs/month in a population of human epile ptics was positively associated with the number of days/month when the average geomagnetic activity exceeded 50 nT. The results support the hypothesis that suppression of the nocturnal concentrations of the end ogenous anticonvulsant melatonin by sudden increases in geomagnetic ac tivity may encourage fatal cardiac arrhythmias by uncoupling the insul ar/amygdaloid-paraventricular hypothalamic-solitary nucleus pathways.