Sleep seizures

Clinic

• Sleep-related hypermotor epilepsy (SHE), previously known as nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy
• It is a form of focal epilepsy characterized by seizures which arise during sleep.
• The seizures are most typically characterized by complex motor behaviors.
• It is associated with cognitive impairment

Symptoms

• Seizures in SHE are brief and usually have an abrupt onset and offset.
• Rapid, hyperkinetic movements as well as tonic/dystonic posturing of the limbs.
• Brief arousals from sleep or wandering ambulatory behavior.
• Non-motor manifestations (such as sensory or emotional phenomenon) are common and retained awareness during seizures may occur.
• Many patients with SHE suffer from cognitive impairment and have behavioral/psychological problems.

Polysomnography can be helpful distinguishing SHE from parasomnias as they often arise from different stages of sleep.