Circadian rhythm and personality profile in Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy

Juvenile Myoclonic Epilepsy (JME) is a prototype of idiopathic generalized epilepsy and is characterized by a strong genetic predisposition. According to clinical observations by Janz and Christian (1), the syndrome is associated with a characteristic sleep/wake rhythm and a typical personality profile. These features have subsequently been interpreted as a mild frontal lobe behavior syndrome. Recent neuropsychological and imaging studies confirmed mesiofrontal and prefrontal dysfunction in JME. We studied 20 patients with JME and a matched comparison group with temporal lobe epilepsy (TLE) using standardized questionnaires with respect to the sleep-wake rhythm and with respect to personality profiles. We confirmed the characteristic circadian rhythm in JME with the tendency to go to bed later at night, to get up later in the morning, and to feel fit at a later time during the day compared to patients with TLE. With the exception of some subanalyses we did not find evidence for a specific personality profile in JME.