Sleep Board Review Question: Epilepsy or Parasomnia?

Rohit Budhiraja, MD

Department of Medicine, Southern Arizona Veterans Affairs Health Care System (SAVAHCS) and the University of Arizona, Tucson, AZ.

Which of the following is the most helpful in differentiating nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (NFLE) from non-rapid eye movement (NREM) arousal parasomnias?

1. Onset during rapid eye movement (REM) sleep.
2. Arousal preceding the event.
3. Stereotypy.
4. Concomitant presence of sleep apnea.

Reference as: Budhiraja R. Sleep board review question: epilepsy or parasomnia? Southwest J Pulm Crit Care 2013;6(2):87-8. PDF