Primary sleep disorders in people with epilepsy: clinical questions and answers

Abstract

The questions facing clinicians with patients with sleep disorder and epilepsy are addressed in this article. Both adult and child epilepsy are discussed in the context of the most typical questions a clinician would have, such as "Are parasomnias more common in people with epilepsy?", "Is sleep architecture abnormal in children with epilepsy", along with outcomes of numerous questionnaire-based, case-based, and double-blind placebo studies on such aspects as sleep duration, daytime sleepiness, anxiety and fears, limb movement, nocturnal seizures, agitation, behavioral disorders, and learning disorders.

Keywords: Insomnia and epilepsy; Sleep apnea and epilepsy; Sleep disorders and epilepsy; Sleepwalking and frontal lobe epilepsy.