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The role of sleep and arousal in nocturnal enuresis
Author(s) -
Nevéus T
Publication year - 2003
Publication title -
acta pædiatrica
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.772
H-Index - 115
eISSN - 1651-2227
pISSN - 0803-5253
DOI - 10.1111/j.1651-2227.2003.tb02469.x
Subject(s) - enuresis , arousal , medicine , nocturnal , sleep (system call) , population , pediatrics , anesthesia , psychology , neuroscience , environmental health , computer science , operating system
Aim : To review what is known about the role of sleep and arousal mechanisms in the pathogenesis of nocturnal enuresis. Methods : A review of the literature was carried out. Results : The sleep of enuretic children, although polysomnographically quite normal, is exceedingly “deep”; that is enuretic children have high arousal thresholds. Apart from some overlap between enuresis and the (other) classic parasomnias, the sleep of enuretic children is no more problematic than that of the general population. Recently, the exciting possibility has arisen that the low arousability of enuretic children may be linked to the autonomous nervous system and to disturbances in the upper pons. Conclusions : Enuresis is not just a nocturnal problem but a disorder of sleep. The high arousal threshold is one of three major pathogenetic factors in enuresis—nocturnal polyuria and detrusor hyperactivity being the other two.