[Short-term effects of gamma-globulins on sleep organization in epileptic patients (author's transl)]

A study of the effect of gamma-globulins on sleep was conducted in 8 patients aged 1 to 35 years with epilepsy not responding to any of the conventional treatments. Two polygraphic recordings were carried out during the 4th and 5th nights following a placebo injection and then an injection of gamma-globulin 16 Merieux (1 ml/kg). The short-term effects of the gamma-globulins were : --reduction in percentage of paroxysms, --an acceleration in the electroencephalographic tracings of the different stages of sleep and those of the waking period, --a statistically significant increase in the percentage of paradoxical sleep, though the general organization of sleep remained unchanged.