Recent case reports, and in particular the MRI findings, raise an intriguing question: could what we refer to as cerebral DCS in freediving actually, in some cases, not be decompression sickness at all, but rather posterior reversible encephalopathy syndrome – or PRES for short (roughly translated as: a reversible brain disorder syndrome affecting the occipital region)? Taravana syndrome The term ‘Taravana’ originates from neurological incidents among the traditional mother-o

Neuere Fallberichte und insbesondere die Befunde im MRI werfen eine spannende Frage auf: Ist das, was wir beim Apnoetauchen als zerebrale DCS bezeichnen, in manchen Fällen möglicherweise gar keine Dekompressionskrankheit, sondern ein Posteriores reversibles Enzephalopathie-Syndrom – kurz PRES (zu deutsch etwa: ein reversibles Hirnstörungs-Syndrom im Bereich des Hinterhauptes)? Das Taravana-Syndrom Der Begriff Taravana geht auf neurologische Zwischenfälle bei den traditionelle

In scuba diving, the link between a patent foramen ovale (PFO) and decompression sickness is fairly well established. In freediving, however, we know surprisingly little. Nevertheless, there are intriguing indications that a PFO could play a role, particularly during deep and repetitive dives. But the picture is more complicated: perhaps some of what we have so far referred to as ‘cerebral DCS’ in freediving is not actually classic decompression sickness at all. And that is p