We evaluated the correlation between chronobiological variables and characteristics of juvenile myoclonic epilepsy. Sample: 17 individuals epileptic outpatients and respective controls. Instruments: The Social Rhythm Metric for social zeitgebers, lux meter, and an ACT10 ® thermistor for activity-rest rhythm, light exposure, and peripheral body temperature. Regularity scores showed an inverse correlation with age at disease onset (r = −0.5; p < 0.05), but not with disease duration or stabilization time. A significant intergroup difference was recorded for mean diurnal peripheral temperature (p < 0.01) and activity amplitude (= 0.06). There was a correlation between activity and temperature means in both groups. These results underscore the relationship between epilepsy and the biological clock on a physiological level. Epilepsy, in turn, is influenced by the circadian rhythm, indicating the potential involvement of the body's internal clock in the development of the disease or the seizure recurrence pattern.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.