title: Sleep problems in children with Sanfilippo syndrome.
abstract: Sanfilippo syndrome is a rare degenerative disorder which has severe intellectual and behavioural sequelae, commonly including sleep problems. A parental questionnaire was used to gather information on the sleep patterns of 80 children with Sanfilippo syndrome (mean age 10 years 2 months). The majority were found to have sleep problems (78%). Many also exhibited other distressing and unusual night time behaviours (staying up all night, chewing the bedclothes or crying out suddenly), and a few laughed or sang. Such problems may have been more severe in those with Sanfilippo syndrome type B. In four of the families offered individually tailored behaviour-management advice there was immediate improvement, which was maintained at followup in two cases. These results demonstrate the usefulness of even such a minimal intervention, even in a very difficult population such as this.
authors.affiliation: Department of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, St George's Hospital, London, UK.
authors.forename: G A
authors.initials: GA
authors.lastname: Colville
authors.forename: J P
authors.initials: JP
authors.lastname: Watters
authors.forename: W
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Yule
authors.forename: M
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Bax
mesh_terms: D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D009084:Mucopolysaccharidosis III / Q000145:classification / Q000150:complications*; D012893:Sleep Wake Disorders / Q000209:etiology* / Q000628:therapy; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D013997:Time Factors