Erik K. St Louis, M.D.

Location

SUMMARY

The research interests of Erik K. St. Louis, M.D., include the interface of sleep and epilepsy, clinical sleep medicine, and cognitive neurophysiology. He is especially interested in the impact of comorbid obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) on patients with epilepsy.

Focus areas

• Epilepsy and OSA. Research suggests that OSA may worsen seizure frequency in patients with epilepsy, but treatment of OSA with nasal continuous positive airway pressure may effectively reduce seizures. Dr. St. Louis investigates whether OSA also influences aspects of the interictal state such as mood disorders, susceptibility to anti-epileptic drug adverse effects and quality of life. This large, intramurally funded prospective study to analyze the impact of OSA on seizure frequency and crucial interictal state factors is in collaboration with the Epilepsy Subspecialty Group, a multidisciplinary research effort within the Department of Neurology at Mayo Clinic.
• Sleep medicine. Ongoing retrospective clinical research projects include an analysis of cyclic alternating pattern (CAP) non-rapid eye movement (NREM) sleep patterns in complex sleep apnea syndrome, a survey-based analysis of treatment outcomes in REM sleep behavior disorder, and an exploration of sleep-related symptoms in patients with myotonic dystrophy type 2.

Significance to patient care

Elucidating quantitative neural processing of covert cognitive processes helps identify processing errors indicative of neurological disorders. Dr. St. Louis is committed to interdisciplinary research within Mayo Clinic — and collaborations with external researchers — in the disciplines of sleep medicine, neurology, psychology, psychiatry, neurosurgery, and other clinical and basic neurosciences.