Sleep Med Psychophysiol.  1998 Jun;5(1):18-33.

Sleep and Epilepsy in Clinical Practice "fears, regas, deliria, leaps out of bed and seizures during the night" - Hippocrates

• Kim CS

Abstract

Sleep and Epilepsy either represent the opposite and independent spectrum of episodic manifestations from brain or closely interact with each other. Sleep or sleep deprivation may provoke epileptic seizures or activate epileptiform discharges in epilepsy patients whereas epilepsy may alter the sleep structure. Sleep stages are also known to influence pathophysiology of seizures in terms of ictogenesis. In this review, the impact of sleep on epilepsy as well as that of epilepsy on sleep are presented. Additionally the interaction between sleep and epilepsy will be discussed. This review will also comment on the differential diagnosis between nocturnal or sleep-related epilepsy and various sleep disorders. Finally, clinical application of the above perspectives of sleep and epilepsy will be suggested for the purpose of a better management of epilepsies.

MeSH Terms

Brain
Diagnosis, Differential
Epilepsy*
Humans
Seizures*
Sleep Deprivation
Sleep Wake Disorders
Sleep Stages