Correlations Between Night Sleep Duration and Seizure Frequency in Temporal Lobe Epilepsy

Abstract

Correlations between occurrence of complex partial seizures and altered sleep duration were analyzed in a small but strongly homogeneous population of temporal lobe epilepsy patients. Sleep deprivation and oversleep were determined individually; 682 epileptic seizures occurring on 4,995 days were related to occasional alterations of night sleep duration. The seizure-inducing effect of an actual relative sleep deprivation was 67-100% in four cases and 49-64% in four cases. Oversleep had no consistent seizure-provoking effect. Relative sleep deprivation may have a seizure-provoking effect, especially in temporal lobe epilepsy. This information may be used to instruct epileptic patients concerning sleep hygiene which might improve the efficacy of antiepileptic drug (AED) treatment, even if no change is made in medication.

The role of sleep electroencephalography in patients with new onset epilepsy

“…For each 10 s segment, eyes were opened and closed for 5 s each. The trains were performed at frequencies of 1, 2, 4, 6,8,10,12,13,14,15,16,17,18,20,25,30,50 and 60 Hz. At least 30 min of artifact-free signals were recorded.…”

“…Additionally, increased lateralizing and localizing values were reported for interictal epileptiform discharges occurring in NREM (non-rapid eye movement) sleep stages [7,9,12]. Precipitation of epileptic activities and seizures upon sleep and during sleep deprivation were reported in patients with confirmed epilepsy [13,14]. However, the utility of sleep EEG recordings in new-onset epilepsy with a normal EEG during wakefulness is unclear and should be proven by well-designed prospective studies.…”

Do reflex seizures and spontaneous seizures form a continuum? – Triggering factors and possible common mechanisms

“…Particularly, it could be argued that fever should be considered a facilitating rather than a triggering factor as it generically lowers the seizure threshold rather than inducing seizure occurrence directly. The same may be true for sleep deprivation [16][17][18], alcohol withdrawal, exposure to drugs [19], toxins such as heavy metal or carbon monoxide poisoning which have also been associated with seizure occurrence [20,21]. Further reference to triggers can be found in studies assessing the link between hormonal changes during the menstrual cycle [22] or metabolic disturbances such as hypoglycaemia, renal encephalopathy or hepatic failure [9,23] and seizure occurrence.…”

Comparison of precipitating factors for mania and partial seizures: Indicative of shared pathophysiology?

“…Rajna and Veres (1993) examined seizures diaries, sleep duration and PS in 14 patients with TLE for a period of 4995 days. It was demonstrated that even decrements of 1.5 h from patients' mean sleep time resulted in an increase of seizures.…”