Using polysomnography (PSG) could help researchers better understand the relationship between sleep disorders and migraines in children, ac...
Using polysomnography (PSG) could help researchers better understand the relationship between sleep disorders and migraines in children, according to a study published in the Journal of Medicine and Life .
"The relationship between sleep disorders and migraines has been studied, especially in adults, following initial clinical observations such as sleep deprivation as a trigger for migraine attacks or termination of migraine attacks after sleep." according to the researchers.
However, sleep plays an important role in children's physical, cognitive and behavioral development, while migraines are a very complex multifactorial disorder with no obvious pathophysiology and a highly polymorphic clinical picture in children.
Currently "there is no systematic approach to correctly assess sleep disorders and to establish a connection between the complexity of the pathophysiological mechanisms of migraines and sleep disorders, especially in children".
In order to better understand the relationship between sleep and migraines in children, the study participants made polysomnographic recordings of an entire night for hospital patients. The researchers used these records to analyze the sleep architecture and electroencephalographic models.
In this prospective study, 18 patients aged 5 to 17 years diagnosed with migraines with aura or migraines without aura underwent an overnight PSG recording. The study lasted 28 months. Due to the lack of healthy volunteers, 16 peers who were diagnosed with emotional disorders were included in the study.
The researchers collected data on total sleep time (TST), sleep latency, rapid latency of eye movement (REM), sleep efficiency, REM percentages, N1, N2, N3 (% TST)) and suggestions. The diagnosis of a sleep disorder was based on sleep efficiency <89% and REM (% TST) <17.
In migraine patients, the frequency of migraine attacks was similar in migraine patients with and without aura ( P = 0.426).
The researchers found from the analyzed records:
- Lower TST (in minutes) in the migraine group compared to the control group, P = 0.371
- Reduced sleep latency (minutes) in people with migraines compared to the control group, p = 0.029
- The REM latency (minutes) was prolonged in migraine patients compared to the control group, P = 0.565
- REM (% TST) decreased in migraine patients compared to the control group, P = 0.049
- Arousal was more common in migraine patients than in the control group, p = 0.011
- N1 (% TST) increased in patients with migraines compared to the control group, P = 0.018
One limitation of the study is the relatively small number of participants. However, the researchers found that the analysis of the results was adapted to small cohorts.
"Larger studies with a large number of children with migraines and healthy volunteers in different age groups are needed to better define the sleep disorders associated with migraines," the authors conclude.
reference
Nita SA, Teleanu RI and Bajenaru OA. The role of polysomnography in the identification of sleep disorders in migraine children. J Med life. 2020; 13 (1): 64-67. doi: 10.25122 / jml-2020-0025.
