I first became interested in the pathophysiology of SUDEP shortly after taking a recreational freediving course back in 2012, which not only taught me how to stay submerged for several minutes at a time, on a single breath of air, but more importantly, it exposed me to a multi-pronged biological response to voluntary and involuntary apnea which turned out to be a powerful neurological reflex called the mammalian diving response (MDR). This potent reflex was not taught in any of the undergraduate, graduate, or clinical programs that had previously graduated me.

Over the years, the more I have researched the MDR, the more I have become aware of its potential pathological implications during clinical instances of prolonged involuntary apnea, such as those sometimes driven by epileptic seizures or obstructive sleep apnea .

A component of my work focuses on the role that white blood cell counts measured immediately after seizures could play in the stratification of SUDEP risk.

This website summarizes aspects of my research that not only suggest 1) that most cases of SUDEP are instigated by augmented forms of the MDR; 2) that the white blood cell count after seizures can be use to identify persons at risk of SUDEP; 3) and that sudden unexpected atraumatic arterial dissection-related death after seizure  (SUADAS) should be added to the spectrum of mechanisms by which epileptic seizures cause sudden death.

Contact: jose.vega@teleneurologia.com