title: Is nocturnal epilepsy cause of disturbed quality of sleep and elevated daytime sleepiness?
abstract: OBJECTIVE
  Authors evaluated quality of sleep and daytime vigilance in patients with nocturnal epilepsy and compared it to those with daytime epilepsy.
  
  
  BACKGROUND
  Nocturnal seizures are an important type of epilepsy. They can result in morbidity due to disruption of sleep architecture. Daytime sleepiness, as a serious consequence of nocturnal seizures, has negative influence on quality of life in patients with epilepsy.
  
  
  METHODS
  Authors examined 100 patients with epilepsy. The occurrence of epileptic seizures in circadian rhythm, type of epilepsy and epileptic seizures, as well as aetiology of epilepsy were evaluated. Patients were divided in two groups, 17 patients with nocturnal epilepsy and 83 patients with epileptic seizures not related to sleep. All of them underwent overnight video-EEG-polysomnography and they filled in the Epworth Sleepiness Scale questionnaire (ESS) as well as The Pittsburgh Sleep Quality Index questionnaire (PSQI).
  
  
  RESULTS
  Overnight video-EEG-polysomnography detected significant changes in the sleep architecture in patients with nocturnal epilepsy. Significant decrease of N3 stage of NREM sleep (14.31%±8.07 in the group of nocturnal epilepsy vs. 20.12%±9.24 in the group of daytime epilepsy, p=0.01). Concurrently, significantly poorer sleep quality according to PSQI (18.52±7.51 in the group of nocturnal epilepsy vs. 6.21±3.62 in the group of daytime epilepsy, p=0.01) and tendency to increased daytime sleepiness according to ESS was revealed in these patients.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Remarkable changes in sleep architecture associated with poor quality of sleep and increased daytime sleepiness were detected in patients with nocturnal epilepsy. In conclusion, we emphasize the importance of sleep history taking in patients with epilepsy and their further evaluation in sleep laboratory.
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Katariná
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Klobucníková
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Zuzana
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Carnická
authors.forename: Helená
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Wagnerová
authors.affiliation: 1st Department of Neurology, University Hospital, Faculty of Medicine, Comenius University, Bratislava, Slovakia.
authors.forename: Pavel
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Siarnik
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000465:Algorithms; D002940:Circadian Rhythm / Q000502:physiology*; D006970:Disorders of Excessive Somnolence / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000209:etiology / Q000503:physiopathology; D004569:Electroencephalography; D004827:Epilepsy / Q000150:complications / Q000175:diagnosis / Q000503:physiopathology; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008487:Medical History Taking; D008875:Middle Aged; D017286:Polysomnography; D011446:Prospective Studies; D012894:Sleep Stages / Q000502:physiology*; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D055815:Young Adult