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Sleep Seizures in Children

The occurrence of seizures while sleeping may or may not be related to common epileptic conditions, although it is definitely a sign of a neurological disorder that needs to be examined. The frequency and severity of the sleep seizures will be the most important determining factors in diagnosis of the problem, and common side effects associated with known neurological problems that are present after the seizure episodes may also be helpful in clarifying the cause of the condition.

  1. Signs

    • According to Kevin Kennedy, Ph.D., a specialist in child and adolescent psychotherapy, crisis intervention and family therapy, the most commonly reported signs of suspected sleep seizures in children may include stiffening of limbs or of the body itself, coughing or gagging and bed-wetting, in some cases. Children who have had a suspected seizure while sleeping will often feel disoriented or dizzy and will possibly have nausea accompanied by a headache. Children may also feel that they need more sleep due to the lack of rest associated with the seizure episodes.

    Causes

    • According to Carl W. Bazil, M.D., Ph.D., the Director of the Division of Epilepsy and Sleep and Professor of Clinical Neurology, epilepsy does account for many cases of sleep seizures in children. The variety of types of epilepsy can make it difficult to diagnose, in some cases. Partial epilepsy can cause sleep seizures, which occur most often in the frontal lobe area of the brain. More serious cases of epilepsy that produce grand-mal seizures in waking life can also cause sleep seizures. Additionally, a condition known as juvenile myoclonic epilepsy (JME) that generally affects teenage children can cause sleep seizures.

    Other Causes

    • The causal factors that lead to sleep seizures in children are based in neurological disorders that are common to epilepsy, although there may be other reasons for the condition. Incidences of high fever, head traumas and genetic or congenital traits relative to neurotransmitter abnormalities can account for an ongoing occurrence of seizures while sleeping. In other cases, environmental factors may contribute to neurological disorders, such as chemical or botanical poisoning and immune allergy syndromes.

    Diagnosing

    • The presences of certain behavioral patterns are at times indicative of sleep seizures in children, especially if other signs are present. Attention deficiency symptoms may be a result of undetected seizures that occur during sleep cycles, including attention-deficit disorder (ADD) and attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). In some cases, EEG tests may be necessary to study brain activity, either during sleep or both sleeping and waking to compare patterns.

    Treatment

    • According to Carl W. Bazil, M.D., Ph.D., medication is generally indicated for the treatment of seizures of any kind. Such medications will include phenobarbital, Klonopin, Tegretol and Depakote. The process of diagnosing the effectiveness of any medication will include a study of sleep activities and any related seizures, often conducted in overnight hospital stays. EEG tests will also be conducted at this time to monitor brain patterns under varying medications.

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