Abstracts

RATIONALE: Sleepiness in epilepsy patients is commonly attributed to side effects of anticonvulsants and sleep deprivation has been known to be detrimental to epilepsy. To this date there are no studies evaluating sleep disorders in epilepsy patients. METHODS: One hundred epilepsy patients filled out a brief questionnaire regarding their sleep pattern. (Age range 15-81, male:female 38:62). Thirty-one patients admitted to excessive daytime sleepiness (EDS). These patients were asked further questions and polysomnogram (PSG) was recommended when sleep-disordered breathing (SDB) was suspected. RESULTS: Twenty-two patients underwent PSG. Seventeen patients(54.8%) were diagnosed with SDB(See table). Five patients showed no evidence for SDB. Three patients (9.6% all females) were thought to have depression attributing to their EDS. Nine patients (29%)were diagnosed with circadian rhythm sleep disorder. Eight patients (age 15-35) were diagnosed with delayed sleep phase syndrome. Interestingly seven out of eight patients had diagnosis of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy and one patient had diagnosis of grand mal upon awakening. One patient had advanced sleep phase syndrome. Only in 6.7% of patients no cause for EDS could be determined. CONCLUSIONS: : Co-existing sleep disorders are common in epilepsy patients. EDS is a common complaint that can be secondary to sleep disorders and possibly not anticonvulsants. Patients should be questioned regarding their sleep pattern and when appropriate further investigations and treatment should be recommended.