Correlation of sleep macrostructure parameters and idiopathic epilepsies.
Sleep and epilepsy share some common mechanisms. The objective of the present investigation was to study the macrostructure of sleep in patients with idiopathic epilepsies, focal and generalized, comparing these two groups to each other and to a control group of 12 individuals without epilepsy. A total of 35 polysomnographies were performed, 12 of them in the control group, 10 in patients with idiopathic generalized epilepsies, and 13 in patients with idiopathic focal epilepsies. Antiepileptic medications were maintained for ethical reasons. The group with idiopathic focal epilepsy showed an increase in the total recording time (p = 0.04) and the group with idiopathic generalized epilepsy had a reduction of phase 4 NREM sleep. The efficiency of total sleep period and of total sleep time was also lower in the group with idiopathic generalized epilepsy (p = 0.03 in both cases). We concluded that the group with idiopathic generalized epilepsy presents sleep of poorer quality, whereas the group with idiopathic focal epilepsy presents a tendency toward an excessive somnolence.
Department of Neurology, Psychiatry and Clinical Psychology, Ribeirão Preto School of Medicine, University of São Paulo, Ribeirão Preto, SP, Brazil.
José Roberto Santiago
JR
Barreto
Regina Maria França
RM
Fernandes
Américo Ceiki
AC
Sakamoto
D000293:Adolescent; D000927:Anticonvulsants / Q000627:therapeutic use; D002648:Child; D002675:Child, Preschool; D004828:Epilepsies, Partial / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D004829:Epilepsy, Generalized / Q000188:drug therapy / Q000503:physiopathology*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D017286:Polysomnography / Q000379:methods; D012890:Sleep / Q000502:physiology*; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology
D000927:Anticonvulsants