I became interested in the pathophysiology of SUDEP after taking a recreational freediving course, back in 2012. The course taught me how to stay submerged for several minutes at a time, on a single breath of air, but most importantly, it taught me about a multi-pronged biological response to apnea I had never heard about: the mammalian diving response (MDR). This potent reflex had not been a part of the curriculum at any of the undergraduate, graduate, or clinical programs that had graduated me.

Since then, 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 by  obstructive sleep apnea .

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

This website summarizes aspects of my research which suggest that: 1) most cases of SUDEP are instigated by augmented forms of the MDR; 2) the white blood cell count after seizures can help identify persons at risk of SUDEP and; 3) 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