Benign epilepsy is distinguished from sleep epilepsy by essential features, drug response and prognosis.
1. Intrinsic characteristics:
(1) Benign epilepsy: it is mostly seen in children, partly associated with heredity, and specific changes can be found in EEG. It may manifest as transient motor seizures on one side of the face or corner of the mouth with somatosensory symptoms, which may occur at night, or as clonic seizures, generalized tonic-clonic seizures and automatisms.
(2) Sleep epilepsy: a type of epilepsy that occurs during sleep and is characterized by irregular seizures without warning. It is mostly caused by factors such as heredity and brain injury. It is characterized by sudden symptoms such as convulsions, generalized spasms, panic, and disorganized movements of hands and feet during sleep. Sleep-type epilepsy often occurs during sleep or when one is about to wake up.
2. Drug reaction and prognosis:
(1) Benign epilepsy: most children with benign epilepsy have good results by treating with antiepileptic drugs, commonly used drugs include carbamazepine or sodium valproate; some children can also have self-relief by adolescence. The prognosis is good.
(2) Sleep epilepsy: commonly used antiepileptic drugs include topiramate, lamotrigine, gabapentin, etc.; if it is ineffective, surgical treatments such as hippocampectomy, hemispherectomy, or corpus callosotomy are needed. The prognosis is poor compared with benign epilepsy.
If you have epilepsy symptoms, it is recommended to consult a doctor in time and standardize the medication under the guidance of a physician after a clear diagnosis.