Preventing Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy by understanding impairments on breathing function
Presentation
orcid.org/0000-0002-1992-150XDeutsch, Tyler, MD-ANES AnesthesiologyUniversity of Virginia Boscia, Alexis, MD-ANES AnesthesiologyUniversity of Virginia Miralles, Raquel, MD-ANES AnesthesiologyUniversity of Virginia Wenker, Ian, MD-ANES AnesthesiologyUniversity of Virginia Patel, Manoj, MD-ANES AnesthesiologyUniversity of Virginia Epileptic seizures can stop breathing and the heartbeat, causing Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP). There is a critical need to understand the causes of SUDEP.
Physiologically, when breathing stops, blood CO2 starts increasing. This activates a group of cells in the Retrotrapezoid Nucleus (RTN) of the brainstem, causing the hypercapnic ventilatory response -increasing the frequency and depth of the breaths, to increase blood oxygen and reduce blood CO2-. This response is impaired on epileptic patients at risk of SUDEP.
We are studying the function of RTN neurons on a mouse model of epilepsy: it has a mutation on voltage-activated sodium channel NaV1.6, which causes epilepsy in human patients. We record 1) the mice breathing and 2) the activity of their RTN neurons in brain slices under different CO2 concentrations. We hope to determine if the mutation-mediated impairment of NaV1.6 channels in RTN neurons causes SUDEP.
2024 Postdoc Symposium, epilepsy, SUDEP, breathing, sodium channels, NaV1.6
English
University of Virginia
September 23, 2024
A recording of the presentation is available at the related link above
