[Electroencephalographic changes during nocturnal sleep in subjects with familial cortico-cerebellar atrophy]

The purpose of this research was to analyze the qualitative and quantitative EEG sleep alterations in four subjects affected by familiar cerebellar atrophy and in their blood relations, who were clinically healthy. Polygraphic sleep registrations (including EEG, EOG, EMG, ECG and except in two cases, EPG), computerized cranial tomography and clinical evaluation were carried out in all subjects. The EEG sleep records of subjects afflicted by cerebellar atrophy showed quantitative alterations, namely reductions of IV phase and REM, with an increase of the intermediary phase between synchronized and desynchronized sleep. The qualitative characteristic were: slow and recurrent changing phases, instable periods of sleep with frequent fragmentations, numerous arousals, intermediary phases corresponding to the II studies of Barros-Ferreira and in only two cases, presence of spindle activity during REM sleep. Two blood relations showed EEG sleep alterations similar to the atrophy subjects. According to the common genotype and similar EEG sleep abnormalities, we suggest that the latter, in these two subjects, may be produced by small cerebellar lesions, which are insufficient for a clear clinical symptomatology.