Paroxysmal sleep disorders in children with epileptic encephalopathies and autism spectrum disorders
Authors:   SI Institute of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology named after academician O.M. Lukyanova of the NAMS of Ukraine, Kyiv, Kyrylova L.G. , Miroshnikov О.О. ,   SI Institute of Pediatrics, Obstetrics and Gynecology named after academician O.M. Lukyanova of the NAMS of Ukraine, Kyiv, Yuzva O.O. ,   SI Institute of Pediatrics of Obstetrics and Gynecology named after academician O.М. Lukyanova of the NAMS of Ukraine, Kyiv
Published: November 2022

Purpose - to determine the prevalence of sleep disorders in children with epileptic encephalopathies and autism spectrum disorder (ASD); to evaluate the effectiveness of neuroadaptogenic «Silenta» in the treatment of sleep disorders in children in this group. Materials and methods. We examined 50 children with clinical manifestations of ASD aged 2 to 8 years (mean age was 4.3 years±1.5), including 31 boys and 19 girls. The examination included anamnesis to clarify the features of the pre- and perinatal period, clinical and neurological examination, video EEG monitoring during night sleep for 8 hours, survey of parents on the quality of sleep in children using the Children’s Sleep Habits Questionnaire (CSHQ). All children were divided into 2 groups depending on clinical features: Group 1 - 28 children with ASD who had epileptic seizures at the time of examination or in the anamnesis (children with epileptic encephalopathies); Group 2 - 22 children with ASD without clinical epileptic seizures. Children from the 1st group were prescribed neuroadaptogen «Silenta» for 30 days. Results. Children with ASD and epileptic seizures had higher sub-scales «Difficulty falling asleep», «Parasomnia» and the overall score on the CSHQ-A scale. The results indicate a negative impact of epileptic seizures in children with ASD on sleep quality and the frequency of paroxysmal sleep disorders. The overall prevalence of sleep disorders in children with ASD was determined using the CSHQ-A questionnaire before and after treatment. The incidence of sleep disorders in children with ASD and epileptic seizures after treatment decreased from 85.7% to 53.6%, and in children with ASD without epileptic seizures - from 63.6% to 22.7%. In both groups statistically significant reduction in the proportion of children with sleep disorders after a course of treatment with neuroadaptogen «Silenta». Conclusions. It is shown that the frequency of sleep disorders in children with ASD and epileptic seizures is 85.7%, and in children with ASD without epileptic seizures - 63.6%. In children with ASD and epileptic seizures the incidence of sleep disorders during 30 days of the neuroadaptogen «Silenty» decreased to 53.6%, and in children with ASD and without epileptic seizures the incidence of sleep disorders decreased to 22.7%. The research was carried out in accordance with the principles of the Helsinki Declaration. The study protocol was approved by the Local Ethics Committee of the participating institution. The informed consent of the patient was obtained for conducting the studies. No conflict of interests was declared by the authors.