[Differential diagnosis of seizures in sleep]

Epilepsies and the NREM and REM parasomnias represent the most important sleep-related attacks that can occur in conjunction with sleep apnoea. Most sleep-related attacks arise from certain sleep stages only, which facilitates their identification. Many attacks can only be classified by thorough observation and description, since they lack special electrophysiological correlates. EEG recordings with at least 16 channels and EMGs from several muscles are necessary for differential diagnosis. Video-documentation often reveals relevant additional information confirming the diagnosis.