Abstracts

Rationale: Insufficient sleep has been considered a potent seizure trigger in people with epilepsy for a long time. However, the results from human adult studies that have examined the effect quantitatively have shown conflicting results. This work aimed to systematically review all literature on the longitudinal correlation between insufficient sleep and seizure risk in people with epilepsy. Methods: A systematic literature search was conducted for all published journal articles in MEDLINE, Embase, Web of Science, and PsycINFO databases. Only original articles written in English about longitudinal cohort or controlled studies measuring effect of insufficient sleep on seizure risk in human adults with epilepsy were included. AAN Classification of Evidence Scheme was used for rating of the included studies.  Results: Five publications (one randomized trial and four observational studies; all level of evidence class IV) were identified. Two observational studies showed increased seizure frequency with reduced sleep duration. One randomized trial and two observational studies did not show significant correlation between sleep loss and seizure frequency.  Conclusions: Insufficient evidence exists to support or refute insufficient sleep as a modifier of seizure risk in adults with epilepsy. Further research will be needed to clarify and quantify this possible relationship.  Funding: This project was funded in part by NIH T32NS048005.