Epilepsy and Sleep: Physiological and Clinical Relationships

It is well recognized that there is an intimate and reciprocal interaction between epilepsy and sleep. The book, Epilepsy and Sleep is a ground-breaking, comprehensive source for exploring this correlation and is especially timely because of the considerable growth in the understanding of the physiology underlying both sleep and epilepsy. An insightful reference, it presents many of the complex physiologic mechanisms underlying epilepsy–sleep interaction and highlights sleeping disorder symptoms that may be related to epilepsy. The annual cost of treating epilepsy in the United States is an estimated USD12.5 billion, according to a report issued January 2000 by The Epilepsy Foundation. The Foundation also reports that more than 180,000 Americans develop epilepsy each year. However, thousands more cases may be misdiagnosed as sleeping disorders, causing these figures to jump significantly. This correlation and diagnosis can help determine the correct type of medication to administer to regulate the symptoms, in turn saving hundreds of hours of lost time at work and millions of dollars.