title: The influence of the full moon on seizure frequency: myth or reality?
abstract: To investigate a possible relationship between seizure frequency and the lunar cycle, we reviewed the occurrence of seizures recorded in our epilepsy monitoring unit over a 3-year period. Analysis of the total number of seizures (epileptic plus nonepileptic) showed no significant association. A separate analysis revealed that for nonepileptic seizures, there was an increase at the full moon, and for epileptic seizures, an increase in the last quarter. We conclude that there is no "full moon" effect on seizures as a whole, although there is a possible effect on nonepileptic seizures.
authors.affiliation: Departments of Neurology and Neurosurgery, Comprehensive Epilepsy Program, University of South Florida (Colleges of Medicine and Public Health) and Tampa General Hospital, Tampa, FL, USA. sbenbadi@hsc.usf.edu
authors.forename: Selim R
authors.initials: SR
authors.lastname: Benbadis
authors.forename: Stanley
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chang
authors.forename: Joel
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Hunter
authors.forename: Wei
authors.initials: W
authors.lastname: Wang
mesh_terms: D016009:Chi-Square Distribution; D006801:Humans; D016081:Moon; D010507:Periodicity; D012189:Retrospective Studies; D012640:Seizures / Q000145:classification / Q000209:etiology* / Q000523:psychology*