Pulmonary Disease Patients Experience Seizures Caused by E-Cigarettes

Case Overview

This intriguing case study delves into the complex medical-legal issues surrounding several patients diagnosed with pulmonary disease and neurological injuries, purportedly due to their use of e-cigarette vaping products.

The plaintiffs’ legal team is seeking expert neurology insights for the Extraordinary Injury Fund. Understanding potential neurological injuries caused by vaping products is crucial, especially regarding seizures induced by the product.

Questions to the expert and their responses

Could you elaborate on your familiarity with e-cigarette vaping products and the potential neurological injuries they can cause, including any knowledge of induced seizures?

As a double-boarded Neurologist and Psychiatrist accredited by ABPN, I have extensive exposure to patients who regularly use vaping products. Many of these individuals also experience seizures.

The proposed pathophysiology of E-cigarette-induced neural dysregulation, which encompasses stroke and seizure, involves oxidative stress–mediated neuroinflammation and impairment of the blood-brain barrier.

Have you reviewed a similar case? If yes, please elaborate.

Over my career, I’ve reviewed numerous cases involving seizures patients, some linked to environmental exposures. However, I haven’t encountered a case specifically attributed to vaping.

About the expert

This expert is a seasoned neurologist with over two decades of experience, specializing in traumatic brain injuries and seizure disorders. They have an extensive educational background, including an MD and MPH from prestigious universities, and have completed internships, residencies, and fellowships in internal medicine, neurology, psychiatry, and clinical research. Currently serving as a professor of neurology and psychiatry at an Ivy League university and the director of neuropsychiatry and behavioral neurology at a hospital, they have published over 100 peer-reviewed papers and more than 20 book chapters on relevant topics.