Hyperventilation induces sympathetic overactivation in mesial temporal epilepsy

Hyperventilation (HV) during electroencephalography (EEG) is a standard clinical procedure to trigger seizures in patients affected by mesial temporal lobe epilepsy (MTLE). Despite the pathophysiology of this susceptibility to HV is not definitively understood, it may be hypothesized to be related to ictal and interictal sympathetic nervous system abnormalities, the presence of which is well known in MTLE patients. In order to test this hypothesis we investigated the HV effect on heart rate variability (HRV) in a group of MTLE patients, compared to a matched group of healthy controls.

Forty patients affected by MTLE and 40 age- and sex-matched controls were enrolled in the study. In those subjects, a standard electroencephalographic recording has been acquired and the high and the low frequency components (HF, LF) of heart rate variability (HRV) and their ratio (LF/HF) have been analyzed at rest and during the HV. Indeed, LF/HF is a reliable index of sympathetic tone modulation.

HRV did not differ between MTLE and healthy subjects at rest, whereas HV induced a significant LF/HF increase only in MTLE. Within the MTLE group, males showed higher LF/HF increase during HV respect to females, while no differences related to the side of the epileptic focus were found.

MTLE patients showed an increased sympathetic response to HV compared to healthy subjects. HRV analysis points towards an autonomic overactivation as a pathophysiological pathway subtending seizure triggered by hyperventilation in MTLE. Autonomic susceptibility in MTLE may help to explain the increased prevalence of arrhythmic events in these patients, potentially predisposing to Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy (SUDEP).