CPAP May Help Ease Epilepsy Seizures

New research suggests that wearing a continuous positive airway pressure (CPAP) mask to sleep each night may reduce the frequency of seizures in individuals with epilepsy.

Lead investigator on the study Thapanee Somboon, MD, Cleveland Clinic Sleep Disorder Center (Cleveland, OH), said in a news release, “Sleep apnea is common in people with epilepsy, but few physicians screen for it” (American Epilepsy Society 2017 Annual Meeting. December 2, 2017).

Included in the study Dr Somboon and his team presented at the Meeting were 122 patients who had both epilepsy and sleep apnea. Seventy-three of these participants used the CPAP machine each night and 49 individuals did not. After monitoring these participants for over a year, over 60% of the CPAP-treated patients saw a 50% or greater drop in seizure occurrence compared with prior to the CPAP intervention. In the group not using CPAP at night, only a 14% drop was seen in seizures.

Epilepsy experts who commented on these findings said that these findings seem logical, however, more in-depth research is needed to confirm the findings (WebMD. December 2, 2017).

Dr Somboon noted: “Many people with epilepsy don’t realize they have sleep apnea. Being diagnosed is the first step towards getting effective treatment and potentially decreasing the risk of seizures.”

—Amanda Del Signore

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