Journal article

Sleep problems in Dravet syndrome: a modifiable comorbidity

SH Licheni, JM Mcmahon, AL Schneider, MJ Davey, IE Scheffer

Developmental Medicine and Child Neurology | WILEY | Published : 2018

Abstract

Aim: Many children with severe developmental and epileptic encephalopathies experience significant sleep disturbance, causing major disruption to the family's quality of life. We aimed to determine the frequency and nature of sleep problems in individuals with Dravet syndrome. Methods: The Sleep Disturbance Scale for Children and a seizure questionnaire were distributed to the parents/guardians of 96 patients with Dravet syndrome. Sixteen patients had two nights of home oximetry. Results: Fifty-seven out of 96 questionnaires were completed. Forty-three out of 57 (75%) individuals had sleep problems. Twenty-five out of 57 (44%) individuals had an abnormal total sleep score, with difficulty in..

View full abstract

University of Melbourne Researchers

Grants

Funding Acknowledgements

We thank the patients and families for their enthusiasm and willingness to participate in this study. We thank Andrew Davis for his input regarding the pulse rate tracings. This study was supported by generous donations to our Dravet research program by families of children with Dravet syndrome, together with support from a National Health and Medical Research Council Program Grant and Practitioner Fellowship to IES. SHL, JMM, ALS, and MJD report no disclosures. IES receives support from the National Health and Medical Research Council of Australia, CURE, NINDS, March of Dimes, and Health Research Council of New Zealand, US Department of Defense Autism Spectrum Disorder Research Program, and Perpetual Charitable Trustees. She serves on the editorial boards of Neurology and Epileptic Disorders; she may accrue future revenue on patents WO61/010176 and WO2006/133508; she has received travel funding or speaker honoraria from Athena Diagnostics, UCB, GlaxoSmithKline, Eisai, and Transgenomics.