Some epilepsy syndromes (sleep-related epilepsies, SREs) have a strong link with sleep.
Comorbid sleep disorders are common in patients with SRE and can exert a negative
impact on seizure control and quality of life. Our purpose was to define the standard
procedures for the diagnostic pathway of patients with possible SRE (scenario 1) and
the general management of patients with SRE and comorbidity with sleep disorders (scenario
2).The project was conducted under the auspices of the European Academy of Neurology,
the European Sleep Research Society and the International League Against Epilepsy
Europe. The framework entailed the following phases: conception of the clinical scenarios;
literature review; statements regarding the standard procedures. For the literature
search a stepwise approach starting from systematic reviews to primary studies was
applied. Published studies were identified from the National Library of Medicine's
MEDLINE database and Cochrane Library.Scenario 1: Despite a low quality of evidence,
recommendations on anamnestic evaluation and tools for capturing the event at home
or in the laboratory are provided for specific SREs. Scenario 2: Early diagnosis and
treatment of sleep disorders (especially respiratory disorders) in patients with SRE
are likely to be beneficial for seizure control.Definitive procedures for evaluating
patients with SRE are lacking. Advice is provided that could be of help for standardizing
and improving the diagnostic approach of specific SREs. The importance of identifying
and treating specific sleep disorders for the management and outcome of patients with
SRE is underlined.
