A Sudden Unexpected Death in an Epileptic with Cerebral Cavernous Angioma.

Park, Jong Pil; Kwon, Taejung; Kim, Yu Hoon; Kim, Hyoung Joong

Case Report

Korean Journal of Legal Medicine 2010;34(1):38-42.
Published online May 31, 2010.

A Sudden Unexpected Death in an Epileptic with Cerebral Cavernous Angioma.

Jong Pil Park, Taejung Kwon, Yu Hoon Kim, Hyoung Joong Kim

Forensic Medicine Department, National Institute of Scientific Investigation, Seoul, Korea. giifpap@korea.kr

Abstract

Cerebral cavernous angioma is a rare form of vascular malformations which is histologically composed of closely-packed, thin-walled blood vessels without neural tissue intervened. One of the most common symptoms is seizure, which is usually well-controlled by medication or surgery and known to be rarely intractable or fatal. Because sudden, unexpected death in epilepsy patients reveals generally its unclear death mechanism and negative autopsy finding in forensic pathology practice, particular attention should be paid. We recently experienced an autopsy case of 32-year-old woman who had suffered from epilepsy and showed cerebral cavernous angioma on autopsy. We report this case with literature review.

Key Words: epilepsy, sudden, death, central nervous system, cavernous, hemangioma