Effect of antiepileptic drugs on sleep

The interactions between sleep and epilepsy are well known. A nodal point o f the relationship between sleep and epilepsy is represented by pharmacolog ical treatment. Sleep disturbances such as drowsiness are among the most fr equent side effects of treatment with antiepileptic drugs, since they can d eeply modify both sleep architecture and the sleep-wake cycle. Severe dayti me somnolence affects patients' activities and it may facilitate the occurr ence of seizures. These considerations underline the importance of antiepil eptic drugs having anticonvulsant properties that do not negatively influen ce sleep and daytime somnolence. In this paper we review some relevant aspe cts of the effects of antiepileptic drugs on sleep. (C) 2000 Elsevier Scien ce Ireland Ltd. All rights reserved.