Nocturnal epilepsy causes seizures during sleep, which can go unnoticed. Symptoms include soreness, tiredness, headaches, and bedwetting. An EEG test can diagnose the condition, which is treated with antiepileptic drugs or surgery. Nocturnal seizures are less dangerous than daytime seizures but can still cause injury. ADNFLE is a rare type of nocturnal epilepsy that causes violent seizures during sleep.
Nocturnal epilepsy is a condition in which patients experience seizures during the night, usually while sleeping. Often people with this condition are unaware that they are having nocturnal seizures, especially since patients can sometimes fall fast asleep soon after having a nocturnal seizure. Even if someone else sees the seizure, he or she may not know a seizure is occurring as the involuntary movements made during seizures may not feel much different from normal sleep movements. Some symptoms of nocturnal seizures include waking up feeling sore and very tired even after a long night’s sleep, and waking up with a headache or dizziness. People who experience nocturnal seizures may also wake up to find that they have wet the bed or bit their tongue while sleeping.
Doctors can administer tests to determine if people are experiencing nocturnal epilepsy. One of the most common tests used is an electroencephalogram (EEG) which measures brain activity. A doctor can use the results of an EEG test to determine if a patient is experiencing epilepsy or some other sleep disorder.
Nocturnal epilepsy is similar to normal epilepsy. Nocturnal seizures, however, are somewhat less dangerous than daytime seizures. Because patients are usually already lying down when nocturnal seizures occur, they are less likely to be injured by things like falling or losing control while driving. Nocturnal epilepsy carries some concussion risk, as someone having a nocturnal seizure can hit their head on a headboard or wall behind the bed.
The seizures experienced with nocturnal epilepsy are often tonic-clonic seizures or gran mal. Tonic-clonic seizures occur in two stages. In the first, tonic stage, the person loses consciousness, muscles stiffen, and the individual experiencing the seizure may make loud vocal sounds caused by air being rapidly expelled from the lungs. This phase usually lasts only a few seconds. During the clonic phase, muscles contract and relax rapidly, causing seizures that can range in strength from mild muscle spasms to violent shaking.
A specific type of nocturnal epilepsy is autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (ADNFLE). ADNFLE is a rare disease that often begins in childhood and causes brief, violent seizures during sleep. Symptoms of this disorder are often misdiagnosed initially as nightmares or night terrors. ADNFLE is thought to be caused by a malfunction of fibers between the thalamus and cerebral cortex called thalamocortical loops.
Nocturnal epilepsy is typically treated with antiepileptic drugs. In cases where epilepsy is resistant to drug treatment, surgery may be a treatment option. Seizures can sometimes be reduced with dietary changes and trigger avoidance.
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