Association of disturbed sleep and the presence of epilepsy in patients with autistic spectrum disorder.
Abstract number :
2.374
Submission category :
15. Epidemiology
Year :
2015
Submission ID :
2326025
Source :
www.aesnet.org
Presentation date :
12/6/2015 12:00:00 AM
Published date :
Nov 13, 2015, 12:43 PM
Authors :
Rafael Villalobos-Nieto, Ana P. Villalobos, Berenice Naranjo, Rosalinda Flores
Rationale: It is well known the association of epilepsy in patients with autistic spectrum disorders (ASD), it is also well known the higher frequency of sleep disorders in that population, where insomnia and disturbed sleep are rather common. We wanted to analyze the prevalence of epilepsy in patients with autism and sleep deprivation manifested by insomnia.Methods: From a population of 2185 patients we included 83 patients diagnosed with ASD that were evaluated in a university affiliated pediatric neurology clinic in south Texas; the variables that included epilepsy and insomnia were evaluated. All the cases were diagnosed with either sleep initiation or maintenance insomnia. All patients fulfilled the DSM V criteria for ASD, and the presence of partial or generalized epilepsy. We included patients that had at least 1 seizure either partial or generalized in a period of 2 years or less. Patients were included regardless of the use of anticonvulsants. The patients treated with at least another medication for behavior were not excluded. The variables related to seizure control were not included in our study. Total sleep time (TST) in insomnia cases was always decreased by 1.5 hours less tan expected for age. Our patients kept the same TST for at least 90 days.Results: The mean age of the patients was 6.8 years. Of all the patients with insomnia 6.3% of the cases the presence of epilepsy was found, in non-insomniac patients the diagnosis of epilepsy was 5.7 % (P of 0.9974, not significant at p < 0.05). All the cases were compliant with current medical treatment as evidenced by therapeutic blood levels of anticonvulsants. No changes on the insomnia variable were seen for at lest 3 months.Conclusions: The pediatric patients diagnosed with autistic spectrum disorders are not associated with a higher chance of epilepsy if the variable sleep deprivation is present; an underlining increased epileptogenic potential suggested in ASD in some series was not evident in our data, or at least not related to a decreased total sleep time over time.
Epidemiology